Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Almost back in the saddle


Tulips taking a bow, 2/9/14

As many of you reading this know by now, I was diagnosed in late January with a brain tumor, assumed malignant. On January 30, a neurosurgical team at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs went in after it. Removal was successful, and we now await full recovery.

I am at home with my wife, a tireless caregiver and patient advocate beyond measure or comparison. My daughter is also here for a time before returning to her home back East, reasonable travel weather permitting.

Blog. I expect before long to be blogging regularly again. The one hitch is that I have lost full use of my left arm and hand—a condition I hope is temporary. Single-handed keyboarding is a bit of a chore.

To be honest, after the kind of trauma that comes with literally having your cranium cracked, I worried that I would lose the capacity to continue what I’ve been doing here—thinking and writing about frontier fiction and westerns. As mental and physical energies have rallied, my concern about that has abated. If anything, I may come out on the other side of this more garrulous than ever. (You have been warned.)

Thanks. There is no adequate way to say thanks for all the good wishes and prayers (same thing) that kept me going through all this. I was aware of the company of many others, keeping vigil and silently walking with me. That awareness of being remembered helped the passage of some solitary hours and reinforced my faith that I was always in Good Hands. Most amazing is how few of us have ever met except here in this digital ether. I remain in awe of that for us all.

Wrapping up. I have that same digital ether to thank for the ease with which I can adapt to this new normal. Yesterday I was downloading novels to my kindle and nook, all without leaving bed. And while holding a book easily with both hands remains a challenge, I’m grateful for e-readers that get me around that.

With any luck, blogging will come again as easy.

Resuming eventually: Glossary of frontier fiction

27 comments:

  1. We're all glad to hear the surgery was a success, and look forward to seeing you get garrulous-er day by day.

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  2. I'm glad to see this post! And to graduate to the superlative, look forward to when you get garrulous-est. ☺

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  3. Oh Ron, this is great news and I am relieved to hear it. Being even more garrulous would be a delight. You are in good hands and being held in good hearts. Continued quick recovery. I look forward to future one sentence posts. (They're easier to type with one hand.) ♥

    Carla

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  4. I'm so glad to hear you're doing well. And naturally looking forward to your blogging again. I haven't been a regular commenter lately, but I have been keeping up with all your posts!

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  5. Very good new - I am relieved too and happy to hear from you. If the arm/hand issue continues, you could always try using something like Dragon Naturally Speaking software (voice recognition). I've used it when I was having a lot of pain and couldn't sit and type. It was a huge help and the accuracy of the software has improved dramatically over the years.

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  6. Ron, I'm so glad to hear you are home and on the road to recovery! I was going to suggest what Laurie did above with the voice recognition software. I don't have it myself, but have coveted it for a while now. LOL Above all, I'm glad to know that our thoughts and prayers helped you through such a "crapulous" (Troy's word for the day) time and that you are feeling well enough to write again!
    Cheryl

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  7. Ron--I didn't know you were facing this challenge, and I am glad to know that you are coming out of it well. Maybe somewhere in the ether, you are getting the moral support of Dane Coolidge, Helen Hunt Jackson, and others. Take care.

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  8. I'm pleased to see your progress. I don't think I would have the courage to face brain surgery, but you did, and have found a safe shore on the other side. You have a wonderful family gathered around you.

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  9. Ron, it's wonderful to have you back and on the mend. As you are grateful for all of us, we are grateful for you. Rest, read well, and give your tireless caregiver our best!

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  10. I'm so glad that you are doing well and may be back to BITS soon. I've been so use to reading your thoughts about western fiction and movies and I've missed the daily fix. Welcome back!

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  11. This is great news. I saw by your recent responses on my blog and Facebook that you were at least partly back in the saddle, sorry I didn't respond quicker than this. But this update *had* to warrant a response. You've got that good, tough Nebraska blood in you (even if you didn't, 'fessing up to just *liking* our cornhusker state shows your courage and toughness) so I know you're gonna pull through all the way ... Persevere, friend.

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  12. I hope you're back in the saddle soon and swapping tales around the old campfire. I'll remember when I pray to the Great Spirit. Get well, pard.
    Joe West

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  13. Ron, welcome back! The headline of your post is very reassuring. Now that you are (almost) back in the saddle I hope and pray you'll soon be able to gallop at top speed. My best wishes to you and your family.

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  14. Great to have you back Ron. So relieved! As stated above, this little community around BITS would not exist without you. Thanks from all of us.

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  15. I'm at best a two-finger typist. So it's good to know I can write faster than somebody else. But I'm continuing to wish you a full recovery and were real close on finishing your book, Ron. I should have something to show you by week's end.

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  16. I am very glad to hear from you and that things are going well. I hope the hand and arm issue dissipates soon. We'll keep our good thoughts up for that. I guess our modern scientific age is good for some things.

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  17. Great news, modern medicine can work wonders. I hope, that now, every day will be better than the last one. Welcome back Ron!

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  18. Glad top hear that you're on your way to a full recovery, we hope anyway. Will be watching for the blog to resume.

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  19. Great news, Ron and I know how it can be a reilief. I've had a touch of the big C, some chemo,, been told after that marvelous experience that the type of thing I had requires nothing more than a steady knife ... Oh well, 4 years now and all is well.
    I'd buy one of my novels and send it to you, but I realy don't know how to do that. The buying part I have down fine, but I don't know how to send it anywhere but to myself.

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  20. Sending you very best wishes!!!!

    Best wishes,
    Laura

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  21. Your news was surprising. For whatever reason, my image of you is of someone impervious to that sort of thing.
    .
    I'm shaking my head in disgust about old age! I've been "the picture of health" ... until this past December 23rd, when struck with a Lacunar Syndrome—“Pure Sensory Stroke.” So here we are now; a couple of bona fide “old farts.”
    .
    I’m sending my best wishes for a speedy and total recovery. — glw

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    Replies
    1. There's always a hole in the road that you can't see.

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  22. Good to hear that you are eyeing the saddle at the moment.

    Hopefully you'll be back in it, and riding tall, soon enough.

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  23. Great news, Ron. Gosh, darn...none of us are youngsters anymore!
    Cheryl Ann

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