The news is good

The news is good

David returned home from Stallworth Rehab Hospital a week ago yesterday as expected. He is coming along very well and it is hard to believe that less than 4 weeks ago his prognosis was not encouraging. PRAISE THE LORD. He started rehabilitation therapy at Hillside Therapy in Pulaski, last Friday. Loretta and I took him for his session on Monday. That session lasted 2 hours, and he was pretty well beat afterwards. But with that and home exercises, he is coming along very well. His appetite is returning and he is starting to gain back the 30 pounds that he lost while in the hospital. He still has a long way to go and can still use your prayers, but he is looking forward to almost a complete recovery.

Other than that, we haven't been doing much. What with at least 12 days in the last 2 weeks over 100 degrees and 21 days in a row over 98, we don't do much outside. Mostly just shopping trips and a few eating out times. Loretta has been going to our chiropractor with a painful back for a few weeks. I scheduled an adjustment when I took her in Monday. Good thing, as last Wednesday mine started hurting. Dr. Haynes has me straightened out again it appears. Loretta does have to see him again next Monday and hopes that he says she is OK to travel, as we plan on returning to New York State next week.

I also suffered an eye irritation a couple of weeks ago. I suspect it is caused by the dust in the air due to the heat here. A trip to our Ophthalmologist resulted in a week on a steroid/antibiotic eye drop. However after stopping the drops, the irritation returned, so I saw him again Monday. Wasn't sure if I would see him, as while I was in the waiting room, there was a power failure. However with an battery powered lantern and small light he was able to check it out. He felt perhaps suddenly stopping the steroid was not a good thing, so I will be back on those drops the next 3 weeks, tapering off the dosage till then.

Other than that, not a whole lot to report. I had planned on changing one of the trailer tires before leaving. But I think I will wait till it is cooler for that. It is easiest to change it when it is hooked to the truck as I can drive the other wheel up onto blocks instead of jacking the trailer up. So perhaps some evening while on our way north I will do that. I have an air wrench, so it isn't a bad job. In fact we never use our Road Service for trailer tire changes as I can have it changed before we could even arrange for someone to come and do it for us.

Guess that is all for now.
GOD Bless
Andy and Loretta
Andy@W2UCZ.com

Really HOT in Tennessee

It has been a busy schedule since arriving here. We went to Vanderbilt University Hospital about every other day to visit David. He did improve rapidly but even so spent a week and a half in the Trauma Unit there. A week ago last Friday he was moved to Stallworth Rehab Hospital (part of Vanderbilt). We have continued going to visit every couple of days and his improvement has been miraculous. Last Thursday we went up to find that he was no walking the halls in addition to his scheduled therapies. He was also eating solid food by then (some improvement from a feeding tube down his nose).

That day as we left Nashville, the Air Conditioner on our truck quit. It had been noisy for the past couple of days and I had planned on getting to a repair shop ASAP. However in a few miles it started working again and I felt it would last till Friday when I could seek repairs. We had left the trailer wheel with the damaged tire at Buddy's Tire Store in Columbia. So we picked that up and ran another errand in the area. Then before getting out of town, the Air Conditioner quit again. Very shortly we smelled something - upon opening the hood, I discovered the serpentine belt was off. I drove to the closest place we could get safely off the road which was Best One Tires. They allowed me to use an office to make calls to a service shop and to Good Sam Roadservice. The road service verified that RP Williams Truck Service that I had called would handle the repairs and dispatched D&D Towing to haul our truck there.

We were going to have a 45 minute wait and the tire store would close in about a half hour. This meant we would be waiting outside in over 100 degree temperatures for the tow truck to arrive - sure hoped he wouldn't be late. We also contacted Loretta's grandson Scott who works near Brentwood and would be coming through Columbia on his way home. He said he should be arriving about the same time as the tow truck. The tire store owner stayed open late, but I told him not to stay for us. Just then the tow truck came so we didn't have to stay out in the heat. Scott came along just after he got our truck on the hook and followed us to RP Williams. We had been told at the tire store we could drive that distance without the water pump and fan running as it was a very short distance. However it turned out to be about 5 miles and the engine would have been destroyed had I attempted to drive that far. RP had said he would be closing before we arrived and left instructions as to where to leave the key. However, he was just leaving as we pulled in so also got instructions as to park our truck. He also said that the new compressor had been ordered and would be in about noon on Friday. Then after signing off with the tow truck driver and loading the things from the truck into Scott's, we came back to our trailer.

Friday at about 2:30PM we got a call from the repair shop that our truck was ready. By time we could get a ride up there, it was almost closing time again. But a nice visit with RP informed me that the compressor was defective as well as the clutch which I knew was. So the repairs were not cheap, but it now cools better than it has in ages. This is good with temperatures in this area going over 100 almost every day.

Yesterday daughter Sharon prepared supper for David, and we rode up with her to visit, deliver that and enjoy a meal with him and Cathy. Before we left, we discovered the Air Conditioner was not working in the trailer. However some other appliances were also off. All circuit breakers were OK, so I felt that the power cord had lost one circuit. I replaced the power cord which solved the problem. Then I pulled the twist-lock receptacle on the adapter cable apart to find a loose screw in the connection that ties the 2 circuits together. I tightened all screws and feel confident that it will work fine the next time we need it. He had told us that the hospital food wasn't anything to brag about and really enjoyed the meal. He also informed us that his progress was so good that next Tuesday he is expected to be sent home to finish his rehabilitation. Great news -PRAISE THE LORD. It is hard to believe that 3 short weeks ago we weren't sure he would survive and now he is doing so well.

This morning at church they were elated to hear the news also. They along with many others around the world have been praying for him. He still has a long way to go, but everything looks AOK now.

Guess that gets us up to date.

GOD Bless
Andy and Loretta
Andy@W2UCZ.com