August 12th, 2009

 

20 miles

After being released from the hospital yesterday, I met the handcart at Chimney Rock.  What a great place to be able to be at with the handcart.  I appreciate all those that pulled the cart for the three days to get it down the road, especially Jeff Tapp and his brother, the Peters family and especially Ryker Green, Shirley’s grandson. Ryker and I both walked today and I took a two mile break for my leg this morning but was able to put in 18 miles today and it felt alright even though the temperature reached 97 before I got to my destination.

The leg is completing it’s miracle phase as we speak.   We don’t have time here to go into all of the details and prayers and answers that have placed me from a very serious unknown condition to being back on the trail within a week.  I can’t thank everyone enough for taking the time to include me in their prayers and I am eternally grateful to Joe Jeter Physicians Assistant at Regional West Hospital, for his great knowledge, tenacity, and comfort in a trying time, truly a friend forever.  So I am

following instructions on keeping it clean, healing, and watching for any abnormalities.  Who says that miracles don’t happen anymore?

So… Since I am only about 25 miles away from the WY border, I may try and surmount another milestone and catch up on one of the days that I have lost by being in the hospital.  Stay tuned.  Stepping foot in WY, in my mind, is a HUGE psychological advancement to getting towards home.  The hardest is yet to come, but it will be the most rewarding.

Well, I need to set up my tent, clean and evaluate the progress of my leg and eat something.  By the way, I was interviewed by the newspaper today and am on the Scottsbluff television this evening.

Time for some sleep....