July in San Diego or How to Stretch a 2 week Vacation into a Month

Finally! We are home again and all is/are relatively well! Now to the begining of the story. Don just couldn't shake the "I need to build another cradle" syndrome and after making several attempts to get me to go along with one of his many "schemes" he finally suggested one that I thought might work...so, we flew to San Diego on June 24th (our anniversary) to spend the day celebrating with Don's brother Walt and his wife, Linda (who were married on the same day as we were, 47 years ago). The plan was that Don would stay 2 weeks and spend time working on a cradle with Walt; I planed to stay the first week and then fly to Seattle to visit Rachel and Robert and family at their new house in Enumclaw, WA and an in-person visit and look at pictures of the Thailand honeymoon with Aaron and Chrys. Don woould return to Salt Lake City from San Diego on the 8th of July and I would return from Seattle the same day, landing in SLC within 1/2 hour of one another...perfect plan until I received a call on my cellphone the morning of July 8th from Don, saying that he had fallen and was in the hospital. Don said he was pretty banged up, but that I should fly home as planned and he would catch up with me later in the week. (He didn't give me many details about the fall, but I later learned that he had fallen backwards and had hit his head on the cement in the driveway at Walter's while he was trying to pick up tools and no one was with him at the time, so he had spent about 15 minutes trying to get upand fell again before he finally made it into the house and got help.) I spent the next day tearing into the apartment with great plans to continue our downsizing while he was gone and I could plan my days without interruption...I also decided this was a good week to begin my "healthy eating" weight loss plan, so I shopped for fresh fruits and vegetables (lots of lettuce and berries, etc.). At 11 am on the 10th of July I received a call from one of the nurses at the hospital telling me that Don's MRI showed that he would need surgery on the cervical area of the spine before he would be able to travel home and that the surgery was scheduled for the next day. I had just finished washing and drying the dirty clothes that I had taken out of my suitcase, so I folded them up and put them back in the suitcase; called our good friend Sally and asked if she could take me back to the airport (she had picked me up two days before) if I could get a flight out...next I went on-line and booked a flight for 5 pm; called Nancy and asked if Callie coould stay on until I got back; called my visiting teachers and arranged for them to continue to water my plants; called Alishia (who was planning on me to take her to the airport in a few days to fly home to Florida); called the dentist to cancel Don's appointment; called the beauty shop to cancel the appointment for my haircut and perm; packed the fresh produce in bags to give to Sally and was ready for Sally at 2:30...leaving the apartment in a REAL mess. Don's surgery went well and Walt and Linda took me to the hospital everyday at 8 am and picked me up at about 7 pm every night. Those long days dealing with medical staff taught me that even when they are among the best we've encountered, every patient needs an advocate to get the very best care. Four days later Don wa transferred to the Acute Rehabilitation Center on the same "campus" as the hospital (Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, CA). WOW! If you didn't have to be in pain to get into this place it would be like an expensive spa...golf pro (private lessons); wonderful guitarist to seranade and sing-along in the evening; therapy pool; patio; spacious"gym"; wonderful food and the BEST , caring physical therapists; occupational therapists; doctor and nursing staff...even the housekeeping staff was friendly and professional...(if I ever need knee or hip surgery, this is where I will have it done!). Don couldn't have been at a better place if he had to fall away from home...his roomate and he actually had FUN and became good friends. Anyway, here are some pictures of Don and this fabulous place.