101 HOME

Finally, the day came, 7 weeks and 5 days after it started.  So, for arguments sake, 8 weeks.  I thought I would just be able to get up and leave, but I had to wait for a Doctor to sign the order.  Unfortunately, there was no telling when that would be.  Breakfast came and went.  I had a physio session and had been granted independent walking privileges the day before.  I went all the way to the end of a very long hallway and all the way back.  My therapist watched me from the nurse’s station, but did not intervene.

A little while later I walked down to the nurse’s station where there was a scale.  Patients were not allowed to use it un-supervised, so I grabbed my therapist and jumped on the scale.  I weighed in at 240 pounds, a sixty plus pound weight loss.  Other than surviving the whole ordeal, this is the one bright spot to come out of it.  I am determined to not only keep it off, but to lose another 15 pounds and get down to 225.  I’ll have some speed when and if I can ever get back to playing hockey.

Lunch time came and went and just as lunch was delivered, my old work partner arrived for his second visit.  After, I finished eating and while we were chatting up a storm, the nurse came down and gave me the words I had been waiting to hear.  “You’re free, the Doctor just signed the order”.  I already had my bags packed, Griff grabbed my electric fan and get-well poster and we headed for the door.  A quick call to Renee and we sat outside and waited.  Then I remembered I needed my prescriptions and trekked back inside.

MY RED CROSS LOANER
BOOKED FOR 3 MONTHS

LARRY ONE OF MY
ROOM-MATES

Renee arrived, and brought my loaner walker and loaded all my stuff into the truck.  Then she brought Toby out for our big reunion.  We had not seen each other since the evening I was loaded into the ambulance.  He didn’t even notice me at first with all the new smells around the hospital.  Plus, I was in a full beard and my voice was very weak.  Finally, he figured out who I was an gave me a great greeting.  Then it was into the truck, Renee driving as I have been banned until my air-cast comes off.

 Toby was constantly nosing and kissing me as we pulled into the parking lot at London Drugs.  I made the long walk into the pharmacy section and got my prescriptions in.  Of course, there was a long lineup.  By now, the excitement and all the exercise I had been doing had taken its toll.  I was exhausted and collapsed into the seat of my walker and began the wait.  I started getting dizzy and was sweating buckets.  Finally, I had the prescriptions in hand and started the trek back to the truck.

I got another greeting from Toby and the air conditioner blowing in my face helped me to revive a little.  Then I was home.  I sat on my walker in the visitor parking, just behind my place.  I was feeling just awful and must have looked it as well.  I had to wait while Renee parked the truck and came to open the balcony door. I was dizzy and sweating and feeling awful, I started slumping lower and lower in the seat of the walker. Because I was slumped over and looking awful, my neighbour’s daughter came out to make sure I was ok.  I assured her I was, but I really wasn’t too sure myself.

WAITING TO GO HOME

We had arrived home on garbage day, how appropriate, because that’s what I felt like at the time.  Renee was trying to turn the truck around to go park on the street and got trapped behind the garbage truck.  I had no idea where she was or what was taking so long.  It’s only a one block walk from the street to the house.  But, finally she opened the balcony door and came out to help me in.  She carried my stuff in and brought my walker up the stairs.  The 6 stairs for some reason looked so intimidating.

Finally, I got up the stairs into the house and slumped down into my recliner.  I was home after being away since June 21.  I reclined in the chair and took a nap.  Now, the rehab would begin in earnest and I would have to do it without medical assistance.  Renee was here until Labour Day and was a big help with meal preparation and all the little things that needed to be done.  I couldn’t make it up the inside stairs so taking a shower was not in the cards, nor was sleeping in my own bed.  So, I spent the night in my recliner.  Not a problem as I have fallen asleep in it many times before.

Things had changed around here while I was gone, the building right across from me was still under construction when I left, was now complete and all 6 units were occupied with new neighbours.  The main road was now open and so was the kids park up the street.  But, I was home, no matter how much it had changed.