Country roads, take me home....

...to the place I belong, West Virginia, mountain mama, take me home, country roads! I'm headed off to my favorite place, the blue-green mountains of West Virginia, in the early morning hours of this coming Sunday, to attend the Irish Week workshops of the Augusta Heritage Center at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia. Thanks to my beloved family, who are giving me $300 to help me go, I will be able to attend after all and still be relatively financially solvent. I've agonized over this whole thing as this month has ticked by, day by day, with no real sure idea of whether or not I was going to be able to go. Being something of a minor control freak as I am, I always want to feel in complete control of my life and when I feel as if I am somehow not in complete control of my destiny and feel sometimes victimized by circumstances beyond my control, it makes me crazy and causes me a lot of undue stress. I need this vacation break in the worst way as it is and to finally know that I will be able to go and not break the bank in so doing takes so much pressure off of me. I haven't had a week off since December and I am feeling pretty tired and worn out as a result and need this break from reality. Being the hard core news junkie that I am, it's exhausting daily digesting tons of news and editorials that I do day in, day out. So much information to try to make sense of, so much to think about, so much to worry about and to try to put into perspective, it can mentally wear me out in a very big hurry, and one of the luxuries of going to Augusta is that there are no TV's, newspapers, radios or Internet to distract me from what I love doing, and that is making music with the best people I know of. It mentally, emotionally and intellectually stimulates me and refreshes my news weary soul by giving me a much needed break from it all. I always joke that they could drop a nuke on New York City and I wouldn't know of it because I was too busy making music, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes, you just need that break from all the bad news that is trumpeted by all of our media that can so depress you as to make you feel as if you don't even want to get out of bed in the morning to face another day of it. Well, when I'm on vacation, I'm not facing it at all, and that comes as a real relief and a break from the "weltschmerz" I often feel creeping over me on any given day. (In case you don't speak German, that word means "world pain" - gotta love those Germans for their oh, so descriptive words!) So anyway, I'm off at first light on Sunday morning to head east and south to West Virginia's scenic mountain country for some desperately needed R&R and a week long immersion into some lively Irish music, language, dance and culture. Sigh.....I can breathe easy now.

THE FOOT BONE'S CONNECTED TO THE ANKLE BONE....

It seems that these days, there are almost no more generalist doctors in any of the specialized fields. I can now say in all honesty that I have three, count 'em, three orthopaedic specialists, one for hands and arms, one for knees and hips, and one for ankles and feet. Dr. Mineo is my knee and hip specialist, Dr. Njus is my hand and arm specialist, and now Dr. Bennett is my foot and ankle specialist. Whatever happened to generalized orthopaedic surgeons that did it all? Is it any wonder that health care costs are so bloody high, with so many subspecialists within specialties? Yesterday I saw Dr. Bennett, my new foot and ankle specialist (who I really like!) about my injured Achilles tendon. I was sent to him by Dr. Mineo for evaluation for possible surgery, owing to still being in pain after six weeks of PT and six weeks in an air cast. The good news is that I do not need surgery, just a good rigorous stretching program that I can do myself at home. If, after 8 weeks of this, I still haven't loosened my tight hamstring and Achilles, then I will need surgery to lengthen the Achilles tendon. I don't anticipate that such a thing will be necessary unless I just can't loosen up no matter what, but I know that I've been relatively successful in the past doing stretching exercises for other parts of my body, so if I devote myself to this regimen and do exactly as the doctor says, I should be out of my air cast in another two months, when I see Dr. Bennett again, and feeling a whole lot better. Sure, it means having to spend the rest of the summer in a cast - not exactly the way I envisioned spending my summer - but I suppose it could be worse. Soft tissues injuries are always worse than a broken bone because they take longer to heal, especially the older we get. So at least I got a reprieve from surgery, at least for the time being, and a PT regimen that I can do by myself at home and at work that won't cost me any money to do. I am so much more relaxed now knowing that my vacation will happen after all and that I am not going to have to come home facing a difficult surgery and a long rehabilitation. What a huge relief. It feels as if a ten ton weight has been lifted from my shoulders this week.