Happy Birthday and Happy Checkup

Today was a big day. It was Sam's fourth birthday and Ken's followup x-ray and visit with Dr. Six to verify his fusion. Happy birthday, Sam! and Congratulations, Ken!

We drove to Harlingen this morning in one of those classic "hurry up and wait" scenarios. First we picked up the orders for the x-rays and carried them to the hospital, where we waited for registration and then waited to be called to radiology. We were beginning to be a bit anxious, because the appointment with Dr. Six was at 10:50 a.m., and it didn't look like we were going to make it.
Harlingen Medical Center holiday tree decorates the lobby waiting area.

We were only a few minutes late for the appointment--but that didn't matter at all. We sat in the waiting room for an hour. It was all worthwhile, though. When we were ushered into the consulting room, Dr. Six was putting up the x-rays. He pronounced the fusion good and answered all our questions patiently and fully. When Ken asked what the prospects were for his needing further surgery, Dr. Six said he should never need more surgery as long as he is smart about caring for his back.

Ken will always have to be careful about bending, twisting, and lifting, to protect the adjacent vertebrae and disks. Otherwise he is released and will not need further x-rays or followup. That's what we pretty much expected, since Ken has been doing so well, but it was really good to hear it from the surgeon and see the evidence on the x-rays that all is well.

We left Dr. Six's office at 12:20 p.m. and headed back to Mission, stopping at the Subway for a quick lunch. Then we went to Darryl's C-1 workshop. There were six squares plus. Darryl definitely called some challenging moves, but we did pretty well and learned a lot. Jim and Jane were there. Jane had her great-grandmother's brag book, showing off the newest addition to the family, including a four-generation photo. Baby was cute, of course!

It was getting cool and dark by the time we got home, so we put away the groceries and went for our walk. A full day, but a good one, especially since I gained a few points on Ken in the Rummikub wars.