For those of you who are concerned about the well-being of the people who live in my house (Thank you. It is appreciated.) here is the long version of “How’s Tammy Doing?”

Tammy’s ankle has been weak since she turned it in the driveway on my folk’s ranch in La Grange. A couple of weeks ago, she turned it again, bad. She fell down in the apartment parking lot and called me from her cell phone. I was in my skivvies, enjoying my raisin bran in our 3rd floor apartment when I received this classic “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” phone call. Not the best way to start your day.

Tammy’s a real tough cookie. She shook it off and went to work. It was still tender and swollen a couple days later and friends and family convinced her to see a doctor. Dr. Kwong (who is a real miracle worker in my book) looked at the x-rays and said, “I know what’s wrong with your ankle. It’s broken.” Whaa? Huh? That can’t be right, she’s been walking on it. Well, I guess her cookie is tougher than we thought.

The tip of her fibula (the smaller of the two shin bones) had broken off in three fragments right were all these tendons with five syllable names attach and hold your ankle together. Three words: Sur Gur Eee. When he had Tammy on the O.R. table, Dr. Kwong was able to fold her ankle over. Basically there was nothing but soft tissue and pain holding it straight while she walked on it. But, the good doctor did his thing and made it “boo-boo all gone”.

Now comes the fun part. Tammy has a hard cast on her right foot for the next 6 weeks or so. She just started a new job that’s 30 minutes to an hour away depending on traffic and now she can’t drive. Remember me mentioning the 3rd floor apartment? Yeah. That sucks too.

She’s feeling alright, not much pain, but cabin fever is something she doesn’t deal with well. She only missed two days of work and is back to a full schedule working from 7 to 4. But since she can’t drive, I have to get up with her at 5. (Yes, it’s true, though I always doubted it myself. The clock in my bedroom really does have a 5 AM on it.)

From there the morning goes something like this:

• Tammy washes her hair in the kitchen sink while I try to convince my body that I AM serious and it really DOES have to get out of bed.
• Tammy sits on the toilet with her cast propped up on her trumpet case and does her hair and make-up.
• I fix breakfast and lunch for both of us and run back and forth getting stuff she can’t reach or left in the other room.
• Tammy struggles to find something to wear that fits over the cast and doesn’t need ironed. (A real challenge since the man of the house doesn’t keep up with the laundry like he should.)
• I shower, etc.
• By 6:20 I’m carrying all our stuff down to the car while she slowly and carefully hippity-hops down two flights of stairs.
• She reads a Psalm or two while I try to remember I’m a Christian driving on a highway packed with heathens and morons.
• I carry her backpack turned purse, work papers, and morning beverage of choice in to her desk while she plods down the hall on her crutches.
• Then I get back on the highway and go to work.

I’m trying really hard not to be cranky, but I know that the schedule change causes me to do and say things that are much meaner than should be done or said. Tammy’s great though. She showers me with appreciation and love even when I’m a bear (not the soft cuddly kind)

So, all in all, we’re doing good. Tammy’s already counting the days til she can take a real shower (instead of sitting in the tub with one leg hanging out) and get back to rock climbing on a regular basis.

And that’s all I have to say about that.