Barbie has been RELEASED!

Barb was released from the Oklahoma City Veterans Hospital today after being in there for 6 weeks and 2 days. She is doing fine. For the next couple of weeks she'll have a few follow-ups and then it will be time to hit the road again.

A situation has come up with our boat so we'll be leaving here on June 13th heading up to Menominee, MI. John Winter, the builder on our boat, has sold his property and has to vacate in 2 months. I'll help him finish the work that we contracted him to do then move the boat back over to the Hi Seas Marina in Oconto, WI. We plan on being up in the area until the middle of August.

3-Day Pass

Barb received a 3-day pass from the hospital yesterday. She has to go in everyday though to receive an IV then sign-in again on Monday evening. They are now saying that they will release her from the hospital next Friday if everything goes ok this coming week and she will not have to undergo a daily IV at home afterwards.

2nd 12-hour pass

Barb had her second 12-hour pass from the hospital today. We visited our friend Suzi, who just returned from a 2 week trip to Belize, for a couple of hours and the remainder of the day just relaxing at home. We both feel she will be released from the VA Medical Center this week. She will still have to receive antibiotics through an IV administered by a nurse who will come to the motorhome until the middle of June.

12-hour pass

Barb got a 12-hour pass today from the hospital. I had to have her back by 10 PM this evening but I'll be able to take her out again for another 12-hour pass tomorrow. As soon as they are able to take the stitches out they will release her so she can come home. A nurse will come out then to the motorhome everyday for a couple of weeks to give her an IV of antibiotics.

Out of the shop

We got our house out of the shop today. The Pergo laminate wood flooring looks great. Final bill for repairs was $8198.84. I get to pay the first $500 and Foremost Insurance will pick up the rest.

Update

There were tornado warnings across Oklahoma City last night. The warning sirens were blaring and the news channels were telling everyone to take cover. There were heavy rains and reports of ping ball size hail. There was lighting and thunder and power transformers flashing through out the city. They showed where these vortexes were supposed to be but the spotters on the ground didn't see anything. After it was all over with there was very little damage.

Barb is doing better. They told her that they want her to stay up to two more weeks before releasing her. She is not to walk on the foot yet and has to use a wheelchair to get around. She will be getting a 12-hour pass on Saturday and Sunday so she will be able to leave the hospital but has to be back by 10 PM each night. It's a little time together. Our house gets out of the shop tomorrow so we'll have someplace to go other than my daughter's house. I'll be able to pick it up by 4 PM.

Mother's Day

Barb was able to "escape" from the hospital for a few hours today. We "borrowed" one of the VA's wheelchairs and first we went to the Tinker AFB Exchange to buy a few things. We also bought a small recliner that we have been looking for to put in the motorhome. She wanted sushi for lunch so we went to a new Vietnamese restaurant across from Tinker AFB called Pho Air One. A couple of hours of private snuggle time and then I had to get her back to the VA before she was missed too much. Barb is doing real fine. I hope they will release her by the end of the week. I hope we get our motorhome back by the end of the week too.

In for repairs

The motorhome went in for repairs today at AAA Fiberglass in Oklahoma City. The winter before last we flooded out the bathroom area when a valve stuck in the toilet causing an overflow. The chipped wood sub flooring never dried out and became soft causing the ceramic tile to start cracking this last fall. The soft sub flooring migrated into the galley area too. All the tile in the bathroom area and wood floowing in the galley area has to be tore out so the sub flooring can be repaired. It will be replaced with laminated wood flooring. The repairs may take up to two weeks. In the meanwhile, I'm staying with my daughter Evon in Oklahoma City while Barb is at the OKC VA Medical Center.

Update on Barb's condition

Barb finely went through her surgery yesterday. All they had to remove was her big toe. Her surgery was completed by 10am, she was wheeled back to her room by 11am, she set with everyone else for lunch at 12 noon, she was able to walk by herself to the bathroom by 1pm. She will probably remain in the VA Medical Center for another week while they care for her wound ensuring that it's going to heal which is a good thing because our motorhome goes into the shop next Monday so the floor in the bathroom and galley to tore out, repaired and replaced which will take a good week or two.