The home health physical therapist came by today,

evaluated my needs, gave me some exercises to work on, and said that I was already being active enough for this point in my healing. The hospital physical therapist had set me up for how to stand up, walk, stand still, sit down, etc. The home physical therapist expanded on that, gave me a picture of what my next 2 months or so will be like, and let me know that there are people behind me to help.

I'm not looking forward to the things I'll miss out on due to not being physically capable, but I'm not going to jeopardize my future by overdoing it, or trying something too soon. I think I have the right mix of impatience and common sense to have an efficient recovery.

A little freedom!

The IV has been removed at my request because the morphine wasn't doing anything for me and dragging that cart around was cramping my style. The needle is still in to make injections easy but I'm not constantly hooked up.

Before they disconnected it I walked to the elevators and back with a standard walker & then went from the room out to the hall and back with a 4 wheel walker. Then ate lunch and took a shower by myself. No morphine all day, just Tylenol and Lortab.

Hoping to go home in a day or two and then work at least part time next week. Short term plan is a nap right now. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Prayer request for myself

Friends, I just don't ask for prayer for myself. I plod through life helping other people.

But I'm writing this from a hospital room with 3 broken ribs and a pelvis with 2 breaks on 1 side & hairline cracks on the other. A horse we were training spooked and took off running. I lost the stirrip with one foot and couldn't stay in the saddle when she turned.

In the process of checking for head injuries, the cat scan showed a mass behind my left eye that has been growing for some time. The follow-up MRI was inconclusive so it will take more testing to find out how bad it is.

I've never been so uncertain about my future and it's a little scary. I'm learning how to use a walker and not put weight on the leg that doesn't hurt. Don't know when I can go back to work or what I'll do when I get there.

Thanks for reading and please keep me in your prayers.

Chuck Boyle

When exactly did "vaping" become a word?

Don't get me wrong: Anything that helps a person stop smoking is good. But the name just sounds funny, like "vamping."

 

And the ones that don't look like a traditional cigarette but more like a pen or a pipe - the cartoon part of my brain keeps expecting to see bubbles come out and drift across the room. Can you load one with bubble soap?

A big thank you to EMSA and the Bethany Fire Department

We rode our horses in the Bethany parade this morning and after a fun ride stopped by the fire station to cool off. Dee passed out from the heat before she could get inside. They carried her in and put her on a couch, put a fan by her, and checked her vitals. An EMSA crew showed up and hooked up a heart monitor and checked her blood sugar. She came to and gradually became coherent again. Even after she refused treatment they stayed awhile to make sure she was going to be ok. As all this was going on, other firefighters were outside giving water to the horses and holding them while they grazed on that nice green grass. Eventually one of them gave me a ride to the truck so I could bring the trailer back and load up the horses. They even helped me with that!

We made it home alive and well thanks to some dedicated people working above and beyond the call of duty on Independence Day.

PS- I showed the EMSA crew how their brand new computer converts from a laptop to a pad. It's only 3 days old and they were afraid of braking it in the process of figuring it out.