Monday, October 11, 2004
OUR SECOND STAY AT FITZSIMMONS.....1980
We were taken by medical transportation to the hospital where Becky was waiting. Chaplain Farr and some of the other medics were with her and we had a good visit with them before leaving. On the ride home we feasted our eyes on familiar sights and exchanged news with Becky. When we pulled into our driveway the yard was full of people waiting for us. Becky got the word out that we were coming home for a short period of time and they gathered expectantly. Some men from the church built a ramp so Warren could come and go with the wheelchair and crutches.
I still feel the excitement as we got out of the car and greeted everyone. Few people ever get to witness love and affection on such a grand scale. It will always be one of my favorite memories of human kindness to another. Joy reigned supreme. To our amazement, friends from Florida were even here. They were on their way to points West and called to see how we were. Of course, Becky took the call because we weren’t home yet. When she told them we would be here the next day, they decided to stop over to see us.
Understandably the next few days were spent getting used to our home surroundings again and having visitors call. Our own bed felt so good after sleeping at the Guest House so long. Warren was able to be up more all the time in his wheel chair and I continued dressing the stump with the surgical scrub and Betadine, then wrapping it in elastic bandages as I’d been shown. He was up most of the day but did rest some in the afternoon. When we went to church the following Sunday they had “Welcome Home Warren and Esther….We Love You” on the sign out front. Needless to say we were very touched by the message.
Captain McKee, from the Highway Patrol, came to visit and told me I could go back to work when I was ready. I had written to him from Fitzsimmons and told him I couldn’t leave Warren until he was able to come back with me…..and I told him I would understand if he needed to hire someone in my place. (I knew our “stay” was going to be weeks and weeks.) He told me he read my letter to the guys I worked with and “to a man, they wanted to wait for Esther to come back.” I was amazed at their generosity and grateful to have my job back.
Warren was able to get around and take care of himself during the day. He had the wheel chair and crutches so he could trade off if one became tiresome. I went back to work a few days after getting home and mom was next door so she looked in on him several times a day. He got along fine……mom had supper ready when I came home the first day. I was working part time….Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It was good to see the guys again and be in their light-hearted company….life was getting back to some sense of normalcy and time flicked by.
July 16th we went back to Leonard Wood and checked back in until morning when we would fly back to Fitz. We got to see Chaplain Farr who was in the hospital himself for sinus surgery…we went to his room and he was surprised when we walked in. It was very good to see him again. We went by ICU and saw all the kids that took care of us….they were happy to see how well Warren had come along. I took a cab to the Guest House to sleep for we would have an early flight out.
I was up at 4:15am and got ready to go to the hospital, called a cab and got there by 5:30am….Warren and I went down to the cafeteria for breakfast and got our luggage together for the bus ride to the airport. We got there in time to see our flight come in. Like a lone eagle in the sky it suddenly made a steep decline and taxied a short distance on the runway before stopping near the people and luggage.
We were loaded and on our way before 8:00am and made stops at Omaha and Manhattan, KS., before landing at Buckley Field in Denver. We were fed a steak dinner on the plane and went by bus back to Fitz. As soon as Warren was settled I went immediately to the Guest House to acquire a room….I got the last one…a double. The next day Mrs. Johnson, the manager, had a single for me with a private bath. I appreciated it more than she knew.
July 29th Warren finally went to surgery for his left Carpal tunnel. It went well and he came back with his arm in a sling. When he was able to get up after a few days we went to the prosthesis shop for fitting. Warren got tangled up in his crutches with so much dry powder on the floor and fell, hurting the hand that he had surgery on. That set us back a few days while we waited for the swelling to go down. They packed his hand in ice and we just had to wait it out.
The prosthesis had been revised several times for a better fit and Warren had a lot of coaching in physical therapy. He was doing well enough they allowed us to come home a second time. He would now have his therapy at Leonard Wood. We told all the staff and the patients goodbye and it was very sad. We had grown so fond of everyone…..still….home was calling us back and we were anxious to go…………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
I still feel the excitement as we got out of the car and greeted everyone. Few people ever get to witness love and affection on such a grand scale. It will always be one of my favorite memories of human kindness to another. Joy reigned supreme. To our amazement, friends from Florida were even here. They were on their way to points West and called to see how we were. Of course, Becky took the call because we weren’t home yet. When she told them we would be here the next day, they decided to stop over to see us.
Understandably the next few days were spent getting used to our home surroundings again and having visitors call. Our own bed felt so good after sleeping at the Guest House so long. Warren was able to be up more all the time in his wheel chair and I continued dressing the stump with the surgical scrub and Betadine, then wrapping it in elastic bandages as I’d been shown. He was up most of the day but did rest some in the afternoon. When we went to church the following Sunday they had “Welcome Home Warren and Esther….We Love You” on the sign out front. Needless to say we were very touched by the message.
Captain McKee, from the Highway Patrol, came to visit and told me I could go back to work when I was ready. I had written to him from Fitzsimmons and told him I couldn’t leave Warren until he was able to come back with me…..and I told him I would understand if he needed to hire someone in my place. (I knew our “stay” was going to be weeks and weeks.) He told me he read my letter to the guys I worked with and “to a man, they wanted to wait for Esther to come back.” I was amazed at their generosity and grateful to have my job back.
Warren was able to get around and take care of himself during the day. He had the wheel chair and crutches so he could trade off if one became tiresome. I went back to work a few days after getting home and mom was next door so she looked in on him several times a day. He got along fine……mom had supper ready when I came home the first day. I was working part time….Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. It was good to see the guys again and be in their light-hearted company….life was getting back to some sense of normalcy and time flicked by.
July 16th we went back to Leonard Wood and checked back in until morning when we would fly back to Fitz. We got to see Chaplain Farr who was in the hospital himself for sinus surgery…we went to his room and he was surprised when we walked in. It was very good to see him again. We went by ICU and saw all the kids that took care of us….they were happy to see how well Warren had come along. I took a cab to the Guest House to sleep for we would have an early flight out.
I was up at 4:15am and got ready to go to the hospital, called a cab and got there by 5:30am….Warren and I went down to the cafeteria for breakfast and got our luggage together for the bus ride to the airport. We got there in time to see our flight come in. Like a lone eagle in the sky it suddenly made a steep decline and taxied a short distance on the runway before stopping near the people and luggage.
We were loaded and on our way before 8:00am and made stops at Omaha and Manhattan, KS., before landing at Buckley Field in Denver. We were fed a steak dinner on the plane and went by bus back to Fitz. As soon as Warren was settled I went immediately to the Guest House to acquire a room….I got the last one…a double. The next day Mrs. Johnson, the manager, had a single for me with a private bath. I appreciated it more than she knew.
July 29th Warren finally went to surgery for his left Carpal tunnel. It went well and he came back with his arm in a sling. When he was able to get up after a few days we went to the prosthesis shop for fitting. Warren got tangled up in his crutches with so much dry powder on the floor and fell, hurting the hand that he had surgery on. That set us back a few days while we waited for the swelling to go down. They packed his hand in ice and we just had to wait it out.
The prosthesis had been revised several times for a better fit and Warren had a lot of coaching in physical therapy. He was doing well enough they allowed us to come home a second time. He would now have his therapy at Leonard Wood. We told all the staff and the patients goodbye and it was very sad. We had grown so fond of everyone…..still….home was calling us back and we were anxious to go…………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
