When I met Scott, he had a motorcycle. He and said motorcycle were a package deal. Just kidding, but I did say, “I’ll never get on that thing.” Well, it didn’t take long and I was hooked. My father would have been so disappointed. I can just hear it now.
Dateline: April/2017 – Scott and I were out for a ride on a Sunday evening. We drove approximately half an hour north of our city of Pittsburgh. We decided to get a coffee and enjoy the beautiful evening, outdoors. After cruising around a bit more, it was time to head home. The motorcycle ascended to the stop sign that we’ve literally been to a thousand times before, 30 seconds from home. Scott lost his footing and down we went. I remember thinking on the way down that I was going to break my arm.
There was a car behind us and the kind souls called 911 and even got a folding chair out of their trunk for me to sit on. Scott had originally tried to move me, but he wanted to grab my right arm. I screamed, “Don’t touch my arm. I think it’s broken.” I have no clue how I ended up in the chair. It’s all, now, a blur….
When I was finally loaded into the ambulance, the paramedics wanted to take my jacket off. “No way”, I barked. “Ok. We’ll have to cut it off,” came the response. Go For It….
After the x-rays were taken, the orthopedic doctor came in. “Kelly, you are going to wish you had broken your arm. You broke a couple of bones in your shoulder. One of them in the ball of your shoulder. We were going to do surgery, but I saw that you’ve been going through a lot of other things.
Cancer treatment….
I spent what was left of that evening in the hospital without a wink of sleep. Hospitals were becoming a way of life for me, at this point. I was told that I would need physical therapy – Pronto….
I must remind everyone that I was still in a time where I didn’t think I would make it much longer because of my cancer situation. I was still doing treatment, once a week, at this point.
When I finally was convinced that I may live longer than was expected, I began the long overdue physical therapy. This was after another long hospital/nursing home stay in 2018. The immunotherapy was wreaking havoc on my immune system and I had to take time to re-learn to walk before I could even think about rehabbing my shoulder.
The therapists could only do so much and I basically have a frozen shoulder, now. I will forgo surgery. Call me a fool, but….
I made an appointment to see my head and neck surgeon about a year and a half ago. I was having some issues with my tongue and wanted to get it checked out. Some small changes, but it was okay. When he saw me in the room, he came over and took my hand. His eyes looked a bit teary as he said, “You know you have nine lives, don’t you?” And I believe I do.
It’s certainly not my idea to encourage people to give up what they love, but for me the choice was clear. Scott sold the motorcycle several months ago. I certainly did not want him to think I was giving him an ultimatum. He said, “No, it’s time. I have been thinking about this for quite awhile.” Speaking of teary eyed. I certainly was, but motorcycle riding will now be a spectator sport.
With Love – K xo
