A Hip Vacation

Last month Gail and I took a little trip to NYC. For me it was a vacation with some obligations, for her it was to get a new hip at Lennox Hill Hospital. Our first stop was lunch at the Bolder Field in Hickory Run State Park in NE PA. Very cool place, but tough to get around on if your hip is shot and you're walking with a cane.

A Hip Vacation

During surgery I went a few blocks over to Central Park and watched birds and people. The Hans Christian Anderson statue and the Alice in Wonderland statue are both by the Model Boat Pond, the best vantage point for watching Pale Male and his nest. On the return trip two weeks later Gail and I sat here and watched the filming of a scene of an upcoming movie, "Bitter Pill" with lots of famous people we didn't recognize. The extras who were "jogging" or "strolling" around the pond were fun to watch. I spent quite a bit of time in the park as visiting hours in the hospital didn't start until 11am and I stayed with our friends at their apartment at Columbia University which meant I walked through the park to get back and forth.

A Hip Vacation

We thought my banjo was going to be the ticket to a private room. It turned out her roommate loves the banjo and pleaded to hear me play. She had knee surgery and things didn't go well, on top of that she couldn't handle pain meds so she was in agony. She claimed "the music made the pain go away." That I was "brilliant" and my fingers "are miracles." Hey, she was in really bad shape. Anyway, it was nice to sit on the windowsill and watch the activities on Park Ave. and 77th St. That's the hospital from Park Ave. where all the tulips were in bloom. Gail's room was on the 8th floor next to the line of single dark windows.

A Hip Vacation

Gail was supposed to be up and walking the same day as the surgery, but hospitals being what they are the instructions didn't get to the people who would have carried them out. So the next day she was up and around, she even walked out on my banjo playing just like at home. The second time she walked she went out into the hall with the walker and returned with crutches. That was the last I saw of the walker.

A Hip Vacation

As I've posted before, a trip to NY usually involves a visit with Glenn DiBiasi and maybe a visit to the building he manages. This time I had the added adventure of doing his commute out to Long Island and back to see his home and visit with Mary Ann and Jackie. Glenn was a little grumpy (shocking) due to my having to go through a security check to get up to his office when he'd left instructions to let me straight up, and the fact that he was picking up his tax return from the accountant and wasn't happy about how much he has to pay "to take care of other people." All for naught, security thought I was driving in and were prepared to wave my car through, and he got a little return from the IRS. I got to see almost all their cars, and it's true, most of the rooms in the house have car parts. Here's the guest bed next to a hood.

A Hip Vacation

After the morning commute back into the city on the LIRR (which I reminded Glenn is paid for by upstate taxes) I walked by the Empire State Building and decided to go up since I had a few hours to pass and at 8 am the lines that normally take a few hours to get through haven't formed. I tried to see Pale Male in this view up 5th Ave. but it's too far. I did pick out Glenn's building, it's there on the right. I saw some snowflakes which always make me feel good, but especially so in April in NY.

A Hip Vacation

Being very diligent with her PT, Gail is once again more agile and stronger than me. But I could do these exercises if I wanted to and I wouldn't have to take a nap afterward.