Columbus OH

Ugh! A month down the tubes. A month of management by crisis -- all the reasons Lew despises Columbus. Our "work week" always started off at a high point, with the signed mass. The next two days Lew vegetated and caught up on email while Bobbi worked at the prison hospital (while we were gone, DRC had cancelled her contract effective 1 April, but she is continuing to work without pay.) In between, Lew saw (Deaf) patients two days in Columbus, and two days in Dayton and Piqua. The other days were devoted to medical appointments, one a day. And Robert and Paul brought us their series of crises. Out of town? Not a chance.

And after the blizzard, it rained. And it rained. Every few days, a cold front would waft over the area, preceded by two days of more or less intense rain, followed by one day of clearing. Spring? Only in the last two days has the sun shone, the ground dried out on the surface, and the temperatures warmed up enough for Lew and the dogs to be outside with the Airstream door open so Smokey could sit in it.

Not that all was gloom and doom, with no postitives. Smokey continued to heal from his surgery; he and Lew took two one-mile walks every day. He gets feistier and feistier, so we know he is feeling good -- and we are so grateful.

Audrey and Bobbi are a different situation medically. Audrey had to go back on a rather aggressive form of chemo, which really compromised her mobility and independence. And finally she got nauseated and began to puke. Fortunately, her oncologist was prepared and placed her on a very effective medication that had her feeling better within hours.

Bobbi continued to have difficulty with her right shoulder, whip-lashed in our collision last October. Before we went to Florida, a very skilled AT had worked patiently with her and obtained significant improvement. But while we were gone, the orthopedic group forced them out of business -- and our magician-therapist had her baby prematurely. So we came back having to start over. But last week, the first PT we were able to get in to overstressed both of us, exacerbating both our symptoms and setting us back at least 3 months. So come the 22nd we have appointments with a new provider. We shall wait and see how that goes.

So Lew now spends his time trying to get a few days in a row free so we can go out of town -- but it is an uphill battle.