A Sigh of Relief

 A few weeks ago my phone rang around 7:30 on a night Bruce was playing pickleball. A worried friend described how winded he had gotten that night, and it wasn't the first time. Her recommendation of having it checked out was spot on and that's what we did. To begin with,  he visited Dr. Parrillo, his regular physician, the next morning for a consultation which was normal, however he wanted him to see a cardiologist to make sure that his heart was not the culprit. While that sounded easy enough, in the time of Covid-19, nothing is easy, in this instance it takes six weeks to get an initial appointment. And why is that, you ask? Apparently Covid patients suffer damage to their hearts leading to jammed appointment books for cardiologists. He made an appointment for six weeks out with one doctor, however, talking with Fallon, we asked her who she would recommend from working at the hospital in PCU. He called that doctor's office and got an appointment in five weeks. Ordinarily Bruce is a patient man, far more patient than his wife, however, he was told not to play pickleball until he was cleared to do so. Even though he became winded when playing hard, he still wanted to be on the court. Not long after making the appointment he received a call about a cancellation. Did he want it? You bet!

Following his visit, he scheduled the requested CCTA test and was told it would be weeks before he could have it done. Yikes! This was getting old. Lo and behold, another cancellation and he snapped it right up. We went to Advent East on Lake Underhill Road where everything went beautifully, from the registration to the parking to the test. The nurse who took care of him before he went into the scanner was fantastic. I only wish the photo I took of her was not out of focus! 

Anyway, the test result was revealed to Bruce last Friday, and while there is some blockage in his arteries, it is not enough to need any treatment. That said, the doctor would like to see Bruce lower his cholesterol, so if you have any success stories on how to accomplish that, let us know! As you can imagine, he was back on the court Saturday morning and felt fine. The test will be tonight when he's playing only with the guys. As a matter of fact, yours truly was on the court as well, yet only in a very limited capacity so far. Baby steps is what it's all about.

It was very hard for Bruce to remain inactive for those weeks, but from experience, I know that doing a jigsaw puzzle helps to pass the time. I'd begun this puzzle, given to me as a Christmas gift from my dear husband, and one reason it had not been attempted yet was because it seemed like it would be far too difficult with all those tiny people. While I began it, Bruce did an amazing job finishing most of it.

Keen-eyed readers will note the one missing piece at the top!

One day last week we drove over to Warren Park in Belle Isle. Eons ago, it is a place where the boys and I occasionally played tennis. Turns out that on a hot summer morning, it was just perfect! The paved pathways were exceptionally flat, something we all know I very much appreciate. Furthermore, it is an excellent place for seniors to walk, not only because it is heavily shaded, but there are about ten handy little exercise stations with helpful information as well.

You just know I had to stop and read this one in its entirety.  Across the street there used to be a little beach for swimming that is now closed because of the potential for an alligator encounter. Seems like that warning is happening more and more on our lakes. Good thing that when we were young, long before air conditioning became the norm,  swimming in lakes to stay cool was encouraged. The gigantic oaks in the area are really special.

Leaving there, we drove all through Belle Isle, an unexplored area to us. Turns out there are some gorgeous lakeside neighborhoods, one where you could see the downtown skyline through the trees.

Another day when Bruce was working at the church I re-visited a tiny park in Dover Shores where I am thrilled to say that I saw an immature Cooper's Hawk for the first time. At least that is what I'm surmising after searching for a hawk in Florida with an extra long tail.

As I walked along, I came across an Egret that seemed like something wasn't quite right with the one leg held out behind. 

Indeed, when it allowed me to cross the bridge without budging, I knew it most definitely had some sort of disability. Poor thing.

Another day Bruce went out with Keith on the Conway chain of lakes, in order for Keith to test out his pontoon boat before a scalloping trip to Cedar Key. Once back at their home, he noticed something for the first time and that was the fireplace. What he realized, after a full examination, is he was sure that he and his old friend Herbie built it!!! He began questioning Patty, whose family has owned the home for decades, whether there was a deck out back and he went on to describe his memory. Sure enough, it was one and the same. He couldn't wait to return home and call Herbie to confirm his memory, that is if he could find him as they lost touch years ago. I am describing the time when our children were but toddlers and they not only worked at a place called Presentation South, but did side jobs together, the above being one of them. A Google search brought up sad results. He died seven years ago. Looking at the picture with his obituary, I was reminded of one I had of him from those long ago days.

From left to right, Bruce, Herbie and brother Cris, taking a break from digging a huge new drain field. Needless to say, it was not what Bruce was hoping to find. 

In that same photo album I came across this oldie, but goodie. I think Bill (l) and Dave(r) were about three months old, while Momma was a mere 25.

While I do love handling old photos, it is a shame that they degrade isn't it? 

The number of fish surrounding the dock continues to be remarkable!

Every time I think that I've photographed everything possible in our neck of the woods, something new appears. This time it was a beautiful Jewel Beetle on the tennis courts.

Isn't it remarkable? Unfortunately, it got flipped on its back, allowing me to discover that the iridescence is on both sides.

Looking at the photo above, it makes me think of the world at large during this time in history when everything seems to be going wrong. Should the beetle have been turned right side up in time, it would go about its business, however, I went back a short time later and found that was not the case. As someone who likes to take the long view, I know that history is chock full of horrible times when it seems as if the beetle will never be righted. Eventually things improve, but not without a whole lot of misery beforehand. While it is too late for the pictured beetle, if more people would take the Coronavirus seriously and get vaccinated, it would go a long way toward a recovery, at least on the virus front. While it won't do a thing for all of the myriad of weather disasters, including flooding in Tennessee, an earthquake in Haiti, and now Hurricane Ida, it would be reason for a tiny bit of optimism again. With all of the horrible news, it is enough to make me wish I were a turtle and could pull inside my shell until this all goes away!

No doubt we are breathing a sigh of relief over Bruce's test results and of course, we hope more exercise will improve his ability to play. Now our prayers are for others to find something good in their lives that will allow them to do the same.

your friend,

Gail