The surgeon was happy to report to me the damage was not as extensive as the MRI had reported; therefore he did not need to put in a screw, still have the same incisions as I would have had otherwise, but won't require as long to heal. When I went back today for a dressing change today, he told me I could lose the sling and exercise my fingers, but not raise my arm up, it can hang down and dangle in circles until I go back in a week to have the stitches removed. All very good news.
I had very good care in the new Short Stay Unit at Soldiers and Sailors Hospital in Wellsboro. All of the years I worked for Dr. Thomas and Dr. Nespola this was the second time I had been a patient there and I am very proud of our small town hospital and the staff. They made me feel very much at home and I certainly could not have received better care. When I reached home, I also had very good care. Lou couldn't do enough for me, how fortunate I am to have such a caring and loving person for a husband.
The picture that I took on my walk is from the Catlin Hollow Road towards my brother's house. The biggest red building is his tool shed and the small building is the Sugar Shanty that Daddy, Jerry and Al built from an old barn of William Irwin that was located next to the Catlin Hollow Cemetery in 1981. Daddy, Jerry and Al made Maple syrup in the Shanty the old fashioned way. Gathering the sap with Jerry's Belgium work horses pulling a homemade red box wagon with a stainless steel gathering tank to the sugar bush where the trees had been tapped with spiles with buckets hanging from the spiles. I remember slipping and sliding in snow carrying the buckets of sap from the trees to the gathering tanks, trying not to spill the sap. Especially after a really cold night and a warm sunny day, sometimes the buckets would be running over with sap.
Next stop would be the Sugar Shanty, to use a hose to transfer the sap to the boiling pan to start the long process to boil that sap down to the proper consistency for the finished product. It kept one man busy just keeping a steady wood fire under the boiling pan. Sometimes it would be so steamy in there you couldn't see across the shanty. Daddy would always want to have a dozen eggs so he could have hard boiled eggs in syrup. The stories that would fly through the air while we waited for "syrup" were to be remembered for years to come. Great Memories for our families. Gone are the horses, gone are Daddy and Al, but the memories are plentiful with our families and Krista keeps reminding me of these memories, as she is the youngest in our families and she grew up here and these things are all so important to her. She is very rooted in Catlin Hollow and has the great privilege of living in the Homestead and I am next door and Jerry is two doors down and he takes care of all of the Goodwin property in grand shape. Our parents would be very proud of what they left to him.
So glad everything went well with surgery.Hope and pray you heal quickly!
ReplyDeleteI did not know about Grandpa making syrup from sap and etc.
I am going to need you to tell me some more stories about Grandpa for my Family tree book.
I love to hear about anything our ancestors did in the old days.
I still have lots more to do on the family tree have not had time lately. I try to get as much from Mom as I can as she remembers them.
When Rexa and i were walking the grounds at Uncle Jerry's we wondered about all those buildings. Thank you for telling about that.