It's been only 9 days

Karen is now 9 days post surgery and had her first Physical Therapy appointment on Wednesday, February 7 for an evaluation. Her first manipulation PT appointment was 1 week post surgery on Friday, February 9. She worked out for about an hour and was sore afterwards but survived the treatment. Bill, her physical therapist thinks she is progressing well, but he warned her not to push it too quickly.
Sleeping comfortably at night is Karen's biggest challenge right now. We're still trying to figure out the right timing for the pain medication throughout the night. During the days, Karen keeps moving around the trailer just fine with the help of the walker or cane we have available and she even gets in those short walks without any aids to help the healing and strength process. She is having no problem getting in and out of the truck or trailer.

We're staying relatively close to home in Bushnell most of the time. Occasionally we venture out to run errands, however she will stay in the truck while I go into the store. On Tuesday, February 6 we got brave and ventured out on a double date with Sean and Kathy Earley as we decided to push the envelope to drive 30 minutes to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant for a steak dinner. Karen navigated the restaurant and the crowd just fine; almost felt like normal life again. Super Bowl Sunday we have planned another dinner outing to the local Mexican restaurant Pico de Gallo in Bushnell before the big game.

Besides playing the role of caregiver, I've kept myself busy doing RV projects in our fifth wheel. I added an accumulator tank to our fresh water pump system and changed a couple of the water hoses. Fitted close to the discharge port of the pressurized water pump, the accumulator tank acts as a pressure buffer, ensuring a smooth flow of water from the outlets. Without an accumulator tank, the pump is liable to switch itself rapidly on and off whenever its flow rate exceeds demand from the outlets. We also had a small leak in the basement around the water pump, so I fixed that problem too.
Project #2 was mounting our Roku audio sound bar on the entertainment cabinet in the rig to free up a shelf behind the TV. Project #3 involved upgrading our RV radio with a better model that includes a DVD and remote control. We can now enjoy some of our musical DVDs when we cannot get Pandora using internet connectivity. And finally, I'm replacing our stock outdoor speakers with better marine grade, higher output speakers to enhance our outdoor music enjoyment.

Sean and Kathy came over during the week to talk about our upcoming trip to Alaska this summer. We've completed the number one item on the checklist: we scheduled our meeting place and time in Shelby, Montana for June 11, 2024. From there we plan to drive through Canada to Tok, Alaska by July 1, and spend the Fourth of July in Fairbanks, Alaska. From there we have a three day reservation to stay in Denali National Park from July 8 through July 11, before heading south of Anchorage and a possible meet up with Jeff and Dana Guidi ,tentatively looking at joining us for a week or two in July. We are leaving the travel itinerary loose to allow time to modify the route, destination and visiting times in each location. We finished our planning sessions excited to see progress in making this trip of a lifetime a reality! The Earleys are leaving Bushnell on Monday, February 12, but we will see them in a few months in Montana...WooHoo!

That's it for the Classy Nomads for now as we enjoy the warm weather here in Florida. We have asked if we can extend our stay at Sumter Oaks Escapees RV Park for another month if Karen's recovery warrants it, but honestly I think we might be able to hit the road again by February 26 when our original stay ends.
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