Leaving Alaska

To catch you all up, I left Homer and headed to Anchorage for my flight home. First a bus ride from Homer to Anchorage. I took the 5pm bus which arrived at the Anchorage Airport around 10pm. I then had to wait until 1:30am for my flight to Seattle.

Arriving in Seattle with time before my flight I settled in and ate breakfast at the assigned gate. About 20 minutes before departure they change the gate. The new gate was about a mile away, I was attempting to run to the gate with my arm in a sling while I rolled my carryon with my other hand. This was not easy and took awhile to arrive at the gate, sweaty and tired. As I caught my breath and listened for a boarding call, they change the gate, again. It is now past the scheduled departure time, the new gate is only two gates down, about a quarter of a mile. We finally boarded and were on our way to Albuquerque.

Arriving in Albuquerque I headed toward the transportation desk to locate the bus to the train terminal. There was a bus waiting and I hopped on for the ride to the depot. First time I have ridden the RoadRunner rail service, it was cheap and very nice. I got off at the station closest to my ultimate destination and took a Uber to my vehicle.

I arrived at my vehicle to find a dead battery. I called for service which was very prompt. My car was parked head-in in the garage and the cables would not reach. We had to push the car out of the garage, a Toyota Highlander is heavy, especially when pushing uphill and I could only use one arm. Eventually, we were able to move it just far enough that the cables reached. I then headed to my house.

Arriving home I first checked my solar system which had shut down during the snow storm two weeks earlier. I was sure that all the food in my freezer and refrigerator, I turned the system on and entered the house, it was freezing cold. I went to light the heaters and discovered that my propane tank was completely empty. 

Two weeks earlier I had asked the person checking my place for the meter reading and he said it was at 50%, no way it should have run out. He read the wrong meter. I got online ordered a refill I was informed it would be 4 to 7 days. Wore lots of clothes and blankets for 7 days until they refilled the tank. During the day, I heated the house with my electric heaters, kept the one in my bedroom running most of the night. The freezer and refrigerator had held their temperatures and no food was ruined.

I spent the next couple of days cleaning and making appointments. Saw my urologist for my follow up treatment, he found a spot that he wanted to biopsy. Had to arrange rides to the hospital and someone to stay with me for a few hours after the procedure. The recovery was much faster then last years procedure. The spot is benign. 

I also had to see a wrist doctor and set up continuing Physical Therapy. Pretty much spent most of the month of February seeing doctors and doing PT. PT is now down to once per week for the next two weeks and then I should be done. I was able to remove the splint a week and a half ago but need to be careful.

I finally got a referral to a surgeon for a hernia I have had for 14 years.

Here is a picture of the X-ray of my wrist a plate and seven screws.

Here are a few photos I have taken since returning.

Sunrise

Captured from the Ortiz Mountains

3/10/26

Sunset

Captured from the Ortiz Mountains

3/14/26

Normal, Abnormal, Unique

Wednesday 1/7/25

Getting up well before the rising sun to head to the hospital on a very chilly morning. Arrived at the hospital at nine, an hour before the sunrise in Homer, Alaska. 

After getting checked in, I was prepped for my surgery. They offered and I accepted a nerve pain block. While they were dong the injection, I was able to watch, as they were using an ultrasound to ensure they hit the right area and didn’t nick the artery. As the artery showed up, I commented that I didn’t see any signs of arteriosclerosis. They went back to the artery and did a color view and confirmed it was clear. The first injection didn’t work, so they injected some more, that worked. I was wheeled into the operating theatre at 10:30. They situated me on the operating table and started me on oxygen.

The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room, in extreme pain. They did a third nerve block, and that did the job. As she was injecting the nerve block, she stated that normally there are 5 nerves, I have 8. I am unique, though those who are close to me would probably use the word, abnormal. LOL!

I was then able to get dressed with some help from the nurse. I was given instructions and sent home, it was 1:30.

Later that evening, my fingers got very swollen and warm. This concerned me as the nerve block was still in effect. I attempted to contact the doctor unsuccessfully. I called the hospital and was eventually transferred to a triage nurse. After going through a bunch of instructions, I was advised to go to the ER. After limited sleep the night before the surgery, the surgery and being on hydrocodone, it being freezing cold with snow on the roads, I was not looking forward to the journey. 

After arriving at the ER I was seen quickly. They contacted my doctor and determined everything was proceeding normally. Came back home around 11:30, -9 degrees, grabbed my iPad, went to the cabin and bed, another late night.

My thanks to all the professionals who made this a great experience.

Before Surgery.

Sunset and Wrist Repair

 Start off with a sunset from Fritz Creek Alaska. 1/5/26

Today, I met with the orthopedic surgeon, after taking and reviewing an x-ray, it was determined that surgery to repair my wrist was the best option. Tomorrow, I go in to have a plate and screws installed to repair the fracture. This will give me the best chance of retaining full mobility and faster healing.

Plans go awry

I had planned to go into Homer, early tomorrow. I was hoping to photograph the sunrise on the Spit. Then off to buy pastries for New Year’s morning. So I headed off to the guest cabin at 8pm an early evening. Later, I would possible displaying my art at the Grace Ridge Brewery in Homer Alaska. It will be on display for the month of January. First Friday Art Walk is this Friday the 2nd. The galleries in Homer stay open and the Artists are in attendance. Hope to see you there.

Now the Awry.

While walking to the cabin I slipped on a patch of ice hidden under some snow. I went down hard on my right wrist. I iced it for a while and it started to numb it. We had no pain meds it was swelling and hurting. Finally decided to head to the ER. I first check with my insurance that I am in network, as I live in New Mexico and am currently in Alaska. Long story short I fractured my wrist. So tomorrow I call the orthopedic surgeon about having it set. I think we arrived home somewhere around 11:30pm, so much for the early evening.

My thanks to the doctor and staff at South Peninsula Hospital, they were professional and friendly.

My sister and a friend are going to hang my art.