I’ve always loved the song “New York Minute” by the Eagles. Even though it’s not one of their more popular or notable songs, in my opinion it’s one of their best. There’s a line in the third verse that goes, “If you find somebody to love in this world, you better hang on tooth and nail.” That line reaches out and grabs me by the heart every time I listen to the song. But there lies the whole crux of the matter, doesn’t it? I think most people would agree that from the beginning, as music evolved it was meant to evoke some kind of emotional response from your heart, your soul, or your mind.

But in my current situation, it’s the first line in the chorus that by far resonates the loudest and truest of any line in any song that I’ve ever heard: “In a New York minute, everything can change.”

Boy, can it ever!

I do property management for our friend and neighbor, Wiley Wakeman. She utilizes her place as a vacation rental for most of the year when she is not here in Bocas del Toro, Panama. It’s a beautiful property in the jungle with a lovely beach out front and lots of monkeys and sloths in the trees. Throughout the pandemic, the place sat forlorn and empty except for two months last summer when another soon-to-be neighbor, Traci Orr, along with her daughter Elly, came from Texas and rented Wiley’s place so she could begin plans for cacao farming on her property. Since then Panama has gradually reopened and lots of tourists have started coming back.

After putting her rental back on the market, Wiley got her first booking for September 17th through the 20th for four people. She has two cabins and a yoga pavilion and my job is to get it all cleaned up and ready and then meet the clients in town on the day they arrive. We shop for groceries in town before setting out on the hour-long drive to the other side of the island to Wiley’s place, which is only a few hundred yards past our own property. The first thing we do when we get there is unload all the luggage and groceries, put a few things away and then I give them a short orientation on the facilities and the property. The last thing I do before leaving them to settle in, is take them down the cliff stairs to the show them the beach. I have the routine down pat after having done this for Wiley for several years.

So on the afternoon of the 17th, I was waiting at the ferry landing when it arrived from Almirante. I had been in touch with Whitney, one member of the group, a couple of days in advance by email. She told me that the other girl was named Inga and the two guys were Dustin and Mulget. She said she had been doing research, studying frogs for one month at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa on the Panama Canal, and they would be driving a white Toyota pickup truck with the Smithsonian logo on the doors. They were easy to spot coming off the ferry and I flagged them down while standing in the street next to my truck. They pulled over and parked and after introductions, I told them to follow me to the grocery store. At the supermarket I noticed the bed of their truck was full of bags and boxes covered by a tarp. They said they had already stocked up on most everything they needed but they would grab a few extra things and then we’d head to Wiley’s.

After the long drive to the north side of the island and arriving at Wiley’s, the five of us unloaded their truck, carrying their luggage and groceries up the stairs to the house. As everyone does when they get to the veranda at the top of the stairs, they started “Ooohing” and “Aaahing.” The view is spectacular, looking out over the beautiful Caribbean with Isla de Los Pajaros (locally called Bird Island) just offshore.

They put their cold items in the fridge and after they stowed away a few other things, I filled them in about the electrical, water and septic systems, giving them a few pointers about living off the grid. By this time it was after 4:00 in the afternoon so I suggested we go down to the beach so I could show them where to swim. As we walked to the other side of the property I pointed out various fruit trees and herbs until we reached the stairs that led down to the beach. Down below, I could see that the high waves in the previous month had washed out most of the sand on the right (east) side of the beach, down to the bedrock. However, I could see a big build-up of sand on the western side of the beach. I pointed and said, “Hey let’s walk over there and I’ll show you a great place to swim.” I led the way across the rocks and on taking my third step, my whole world changed.

In that microsecond, my feet went airborne and I came crashing down on my left side. I immediately felt intense pain, more severe than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. I was stunned and in so much pain that I couldn’t move or speak. I simply laid there for a moment replaying in my mind what had just happened. In my mind’s eye I saw it looking exactly like a classic pratfall in an old Three Stooges movie. At the same time, I realized everyone was gathered around me and asking in frantic voices if I was all right. I remember saying, “No, I don’t think so. I think I might have broken something.” It seemed like I felt something give when I impacted the rock, but I wasn’t sure. They asked if they could help me up and I said, “No, I think it would be better if I just lie still for a while to see how I feel.” Everyone was very quiet and after a few minutes the pain had subsided and I was feeling better. I started to think and hope that maybe it was only a bad bruise. I told them I was going to try to sit up and as I pushed up with my elbows the pain hit me again so I had to lie back down. At that point I asked Whitney and Inga if they would drive over to our house, tell my wife Allene what had happened and bring her over here. I had pointed out our gate and driveway on the way to Wiley’s so they knew where we lived.

After the girls left, Dustin volunteered to go up to Wiley’s and bring down a lawn chair. He said he and Mulget had worked in hospitals and knew how to lift an injured person without hurting them. I was skeptical at first and turned the offer down but after a few more minutes on the rock, I wanted off. I asked him to get the chair and when he returned with it they explained what they would do. I agreed and they lifted me quickly and painlessly and sat me upright in the chair. I was amazed and very grateful to be off that rock.

Dustin asked me how I had come to live in Bocas. I told him Allene and I had been in the music business, had toured with our band for 30 years and decided to retire from that and pursue our other passion, which was surfing. Dustin said that he was a musician based out of New Orleans, which is where Allene was born, and that his band had toured a lot in Texas. He knew a lot of the same venues where we used to play. I asked Mulget how he liked Panama and he said he liked it fine so far but had not seen much of it since he had just arrived recently from South America. He spoke very good English but with a foreign accent.

I asked, “What were you doing in South America?”

He gave me a big grin and said, “Running the Pan American Highway.”

Hmm, I thought, and asked, “Where are you from?”

“Ethiopia,” he said proudly, and then it clicked.

“That explains it,” I said. “Ethiopians are the best long-distance runners in the world.”

“That’s true,” he said, with a beaming smile.

Meanwhile, as I was told later, Allene was at home finishing the last two minutes of her stair-stepper exercise when she saw our truck come up the driveway. She noticed there were two ladies in the front seats which immediately made her stop, wipe off some sweat and walk outside. The women were masked and walking towards the house when Allene asked, “Are you fully vaccinated?” They both nodded so Allene said, “So am I, so you can take off your masks. I need to see your faces when you speak.”

They explained, “There has been an accident on the beach and Clay wants you to come there.”

Allene asked if one of their friends had been hurt, and they said, “No, Clay is the one that was hurt.”

Allene walked immediately down the stairs, saying, “Let’s go.”

Just about the time I felt I was getting to know these two interesting characters, Whitney and Inga showed up with Allene. As they reached the bottom of the stairs and saw me sitting in the chair laughing and talking with the boys, they all had quizzical looks on their faces. Allene came over to me and said, “The girls said you had a bad accident.”

“I did,” I said.

“Well, you don’t look like it.”

“I feel okay right now, but I’m pretty sure I broke my leg.” I explained how the guys had lifted me and set me in the chair. Allene asked if I had tried to stand since then and I said No. She asked me to try. I put my hands on the arms of the chair and barely shifted in an effort to stand but the intense pain shot through me like fire again.

“Okay,” Allene said. Then she turned to the girls and asked them if they would go up the beach stairs but instead of going left to Wiley’s, to take the path to the right which would lead to a fence.

“There’s no gate so just stay on the path and cross through the open fence. You’ll see a house there where our friend Roger lives and he should be home. Explain who you are, what happened, and ask him to call the firemen and have them send an ambulance. Make sure he tells them that they will need several big guys to haul Clay up the cliff.”

The girls left, and when they came back ten minutes later, they had Roger with them. He explained that instead of calling the fire department himself, he called our other neighbors, Courtney and Rosemary, who have lived here the longest of all of us, and gave them the message. They notified the firemen and made sure that Denis, a fireman and good friend of ours, knew it was me who was injured. Rosemary then called Tom (who lives closest to the main gate to our road), told him what had happened and asked him to let the ambulance in and out of the gate.

We knew the ambulance would not arrive within 45 minutes so everyone just hung out there on the beach with me for about a half hour, hearing each other’s stories. Then Roger and Allene went up to his house to meet the ambulance. Roger walked to the road and waited so the firemen would not go on to Wiley’s driveway but to his own, as it was closer to the beach stairs and easier for vehicles to navigate. Allene checked out Roger’s yard and found the quickest and safest path to the gap in the fence from the driveway and waited for the ambulance to tell the driver where to park.

About 15 more minutes passed with the four visitors and me learning more about each other and then I heard a booming voice at the top of the stairs that I immediately recognized.

“Hey Clay, we came to help you, mon!”

“All right, Denis! Come on down and get me out of here!”

To my relief, the cavalry had arrived. Allene and Denis (carrying a backboard) walked down the stairs, followed by Miguel, another fireman and good friend, and farther up the cliff behind them a paramedic named Joana, and Roger were making their way down. As Denis and Miguel stepped down onto the sand I said, “Be careful of those rocks. They’re really slippery.” At that exact moment, Miguel slipped and nearly went down but was able to catch himself.

On reaching me, Denis said, “Clay, Joana needs to check you out.”

“Okay,” I said. “But everyone needs to go around those rocks.” Allene, Whitney and Inga stood at the bottom of the stairs and helped Joana across the sand to where I was sitting.

Joana’s first question was, “Are you in any pain?”

“No. Not at the moment.”

“Did you hit your head when you fell?”

“No,”

She bent down and looked closely at both of my eyes. She straightened up and said, “Okay, I’m going to check your vital signs now,” as she slipped a blood pressure cuff on my arm. She pressurized the cuff and put her stethoscope below it to check my pulse. When she finished with that, she said, “Well, you’re in no pain, your eyes are not dilated, your blood pressure and pulse rate are normal. What exactly is your problem?”

Everyone laughed and I answered, “Well, I’m pretty sure my left leg or hip is broken.”

“Okay, then. I need to cut your jeans off so I can take a look at your leg.” She pulled some scissors from her bag, knelt down and zeroed in on the ankle area of my jeans.

“Whoa! Whoa!” I hollered. “You can’t do that. I’m not wearing any underwear. I’ve been going commando since 1968.”

Everyone laughed again, including Joana, this time much louder. Unfortunately, that was the last laugh I’d get out of this crowd.

Denis took charge and said, “Clay, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna stand you up, put the backboard behind you, lean you back slowly and lower you to the ground. Then we’ll strap you in, carry you up the stairs, put you in the ambulance and get you to the hospital.”

It sounded easy enough so I said, “Okay, let’s do this.”

Wrong!

Miguel got on one side of me, Denis on the other, and they started lifting me out of the chair. As my leg straightened out, the pain hit me so hard that I don’t have words to describe it. All I could do was just scream at the top of my lungs. Once they had me upright, the pain subsided somewhat but I realized I was starting to faint. Allene was directly in front of me and I screamed, “Allene! Hold on to me, I’m passing out, I’m passing out!”

She gently touched my arm and said, “I’m here, Clay, but Denis and Miguel have you and you’re not going to fall.” She told me later that my face had turned snow white and that Dustin had told her to squeeze his hand while I was screaming. She said she thought she might have broken his hand she was squeezing so hard. I never did pass out although I knew I was now going into shock.

Denis said, “Clay, we’re gonna have to lay you on this board to get you strapped down. I’m sorry it’s gonna hurt but we’ve got to get you out of here and to the hospital.” At that point Denis realized my wallet was still in my back pocket, slipped it out and handed it to Allene.

“Okay, I’m ready. You guys do what you need to do. I will scream when I need to but don’t stop. Just get me outta here.”

And did I scream! I screamed when they laid me down. When they put the straps over my legs. At every stair going up the cliff, and at every jostle getting to the ambulance which was in Roger’s driveway. I was so happy when I was secured in the ambulance because I was finally at rest and there was very little pain.

That was short-lived. The driver started the engine and slowly started driving but every bump had me screaming. Joana was riding next to me when we hit the first bump and I grabbed her hand and held on tightly. The touch of her hand somehow helped me manage the pain.

I had no idea who was driving the ambulance. Denis and Miguel had come from town following the ambulance in the Fire Department pickup truck. Denis said he would ride with Allene in our truck. Allene told Dennis she had to stop at our house first. Dustin and Inga followed them in their truck. Allene grabbed our passports, her purse, and then turned to Dustin and Inga who had said they would do whatever needed doing to help us out. Allene introduced them to our dogs, Whitey and Junior, showed them where the dog food was, gave them our house keys, told them to make themselves at home, thanked them gratefully and rushed out saying she would be in touch.

Allene and Denis caught up to the ambulance at the paved road to town. I say “paved” lightly, as the road is so bad there is hardly any pavement left. By this time it was starting to get dark and the ambulance was stopped with the back doors open. (Joana needed to start a drip in my arm and the road was too bumpy so she had asked them to stop.) Allene asked if she could ride in the ambulance too and Joana said, “Sure!” I imagine she was happy for the relief from my hand. Allene turned our truck keys over to Denis who said he would be following the ambulance in case of any trouble. Joana hung a bottle of solution on a hook from the ceiling of the ambulance as Allene climbed in.

“I hope that’s morphine,” I said.

“Nope,” Joana said. You won’t get pain medicine until you get to the hospital and the doctor questions you. This is just to keep you hydrated.”

That was extremely disappointing but at least now I had each of their hands to hold as I screamed through every hole we hit on the way to the hospital. To his credit, the driver went super slow and dodged the potholes as best he could, but that road is so bad it was still pure torture.

The 13-mile trip took close to an hour, because of the bad road. We reached the hospital with Denis parking in the lot beside the ER and he was at the back door of the ambulance as I was unloaded. I was wheeled into the ER where Dr. Ben Morales and a crew of orderlies and nurses were waiting for my arrival. They immediately began assessing my condition. Dr. Morales asked me and Allene how old I was (71), what medications I was taking (None), was I allergic to any medications (No), and did I have any health issues (No). After hearing the answers, one of the orderlies put a port in a vein on my arm and started a drip bag of medication. I didn’t bother to ask what it was because almost immediately my pain diminished substantially. Another orderly began cutting off my jeans. He had to destroy a fairly new pair of Wrangler 13 MWZs but there was no way around it. After he had them cut off, he handed over the contents of my front pockets (Swiss Army knife, loose change and a guitar pick) to Allene. A nurse inserted a catheter attached to a bag that would hold my urine and then draped a hospital gown over me. Dr. Morales said, “Clay, we’re going to take you to Radiology now to see what exactly is wrong. How are you feeling?”

“Much better. Thank you!”

As soon as I was wheeled out of sight, Allene got on her phone and texted her sister, Lynn. She wrote that she was in the ER with me and that I had slipped on a mossy rock at Wiley’s beach and might have a broken hip.

Lynn asked, “Are you are okay?”

Allene wrote, “Nervous.”

At that, Lynn called Jacy (her daughter and our niece), and told her what was going on. Jacy was at the Bocas Brewery where our friend Kurt Fargo was just walking up on the stage to play a good couple of hours of country music, when Jacy took the call. She discreetly stood up, left with no explanation and drove to Lynn’s house to get the latest information.

Meanwhile, Rosemary and Courtney arrived at the ER and Rosemary told Allene she was willing to go with us if I needed to take the water ambulance to Almirante. Allene told her she had texted Lynn and depending on the X-ray results we really needed Jacy with us because she was fluent in Spanish. Rosemary pulled out her phone and immediately dialed Jacy.

Jacy told her she had heard from Lynn already, that Lynn had bags packed for me (a sheet and blanket) and for Allene (a couple of changes of clothes), and they would be on their way to the hospital after stopping at her own house to pick up a few items. She told Rosemary she would be going with us anywhere we went for as long as she was needed. Rosemary told this to Allene who was totally relieved.

Uniformed attendants wheeled my gurney through the hospital to Radiology and parked me under a giant moveable metallic arm that hung just above me. The technician moved the arm so that it was facing over my left hip and then he disappeared from view. Lying on the gurney, I could only see straight up or a little to either side by turning my head. The arm was moved a couple of times more to the left and lower to get different angles on the injury. Then I was wheeled back to the emergency room to wait for the results.

Allene was waiting there, of course, and told me that Courtney and Rosemary were in the waiting room and would like to see me. I said, “For sure. Tell them to come on back.”

Courtney and Rosemary had brought bottles of water and Gatorade, and granola bars which would all come in handy as the night and days wore on. Soon Dr. Morales came in with the X-rays and everyone got quiet to listen to what he had to say. The news was not good. He said I had a complete fracture of the femur just below the hip joint. I immediately said, “I guess this means you’ll send me to Changuinola.”

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve already contacted an orthopedic surgeon at the Changuinola Hospital and told him what we found in the X-rays. He said you need to come right away so your leg can be put in traction overnight until surgery can be done tomorrow.” He left to go make arrangements for my transport via water ambulance from Isla Colon to the mainland town of Almirante.

I was being prepared by the Bocas hospital nurses for my journey to Changuinola, which would include being moved to a special gurney, when Jacy and Lynn arrived at the hospital. Courtney and Rosemary filled Jacy in on the doctor’s report and they all got on their phones and started calling friends in Panama City and David to get recommendations of hospitals and orthopedic surgeons. Some people who had been contacted started contacting others and soon they had a whole network of people gathering information for me. (This would go on for a few more hours during the night and then picked up again the next morning.)

Dr. Morales came back into the room and once again everyone quieted down.

“Okay,” he said. “All the arrangements are made. You will be taken by the ambulance to the hospital’s dock in town and then go by water ambulance to Almirante where another ambulance will meet you and drive you to the hospital in Changuinola.” He wished me luck and a speedy recovery and I thanked him and his staff for their excellent care.

Allene, who all this time, had been dressed in the same exercise clothes she was wearing while doing the stair-stepper when Whitney and Inga arrived, took out a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved shirt that Lynn had packed for her, quickly went to the ER bathroom, changed clothes and met us again in the ER.

We said our goodbyes to the ER doctor and attendants as they wheeled me out of the hospital and into the ambulance waiting at the emergency bay. Lynn stood at the ambulance door and wished me well. I told her, “I’m sorry to mess up your birthday plans!”

She seemed astonished that I had remembered her birthday was on the 18th, just a few hours away. She said, “Don’t worry about that, but thank you. We can celebrate when you get back. Love you!”

Allene and Jacy climbed in and sat on the bench beside my gurney and the doors were closed.

“Well,” Allene said, “Off we go on another adventure!”

That was the line we said to each other every time we strapped ourselves into a plane heading for anywhere. Or stood on a platform preparing to Zipline, or went whitewater rafting in flood-stage conditions, and so on. With this accident and all that was to come, we were definitely going off on another adventure.

It was a five-minute ride from the hospital to the dock on Saigon Bay. There was a small incident when they were loading my gurney onto the boat. For some reason the boat rocked right when they were lifting me over the gunnel and the gurney tilted over far enough that I had to grab the sides and hold on tightly to keep from rolling off into the drink. The attendants stepped back onto the dock and then on the second try they got me smoothly into position inside the boat. The boat driver fired up the big 4-stroke Suzuki motor and we eased out of the slip for the 30-minute ride to Almirante.

Although I couldn’t see anything while lying down in the boat, I could tell when we passed out of the small bay and into the open water because we immediately encountered waves due to the strong winds. The boat driver went as slowly as possible so as not to hurt me from the jarring. Even though I was medicated, I cried out in pain every time we hit a wave. After we got closer to the mainland, the ocean smoothed out and the driver opened it up and we made good time. The transfer from water ambulance to the dock was sketchy once again but once they had me secured in the waiting ambulance I thanked them all before they returned to the boat for their ride back to Bocas.

The road out of Almirante was bumpy and painful but as soon as we hit the highway, the 40-minute ride to Changuinola was smooth sailing. We were all happy when we finally arrived at the Emergency Room entrance of the Changuinola Hospital.

I was wheeled into ER and put in a curtained-off cubicle. There were no chairs so Allene and Jacy stood beside my bed. After a short wait, a well-dressed gentleman came in and introduced himself as the orthopedic surgeon. He explained that in a few minutes they would put my leg in traction to prevent the fracture from spreading apart during the night. He said the next morning they would prep me for surgery around 10 a.m. and then he would put a metal plate with five screws over the fracture and that I could go home the following day.

Something about that just didn’t sound right to me. Two orderlies then arrived with a cart full of the things they needed to put my leg in traction. The surgeon said a few words to the orderlies then bid us good night and said he would see us in the morning. The first thing the orderlies did was hook me up to a couple of drip bags of clear liquids which I assumed were to keep me hydrated and for pain. They finished securing my leg in about 20 minutes and then verified that I was okay before they left.

Finally having some privacy, Allene, Jacy and I started discussing my options. Jacy had already come up with a couple of names of surgeons from the networking that everyone was doing on my behalf. We realized how late it was and decided that Jacy and Allene should go get a hotel room and that we would take up the discussion in the morning.

After they left, I was alone with my thoughts and something again started nagging at my mind about what the surgeon had said but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I let it go for the moment and started thinking about the irony of the situation.

Back in February, my 93-year-old Dad was outside on the avocado farm (where he and Mom reside in Maui, Hawaii), chopping weeds with a pick-ax. He tripped and fell over a lava rock that was buried in the grass and broke his femur in the exact same place where I had just broken mine.

Allene and I had not been able to visit my folks for a year and a half because of the pandemic but were finally able to go this past August. Thankfully, my Dad was fully recovered from his broken leg and was working back out in his garden. Then, of all things, while we were there my mother tripped and fell on the corner of the stairs that led to the upstairs bedrooms while on her way to the laundry room. After a trip to the hospital it was discovered that she had fractured her pelvis in two places. Luckily she did not need surgery and was released from the hospital in three days, already able to walk with a walker. She is also fully recovered and back out helping my Dad in the garden.

So here I was in the Changuinola Hospital thinking, Good Lord, is this the year all the Blakers break their bones?

And right then it came to me. When we were at my folks’ place in August, I remember my Dad telling me his surgeon was one of the top orthopedic surgeons in Hawaii and that the guy had put two metal rods inside his femur. Recalling that, I realized it didn’t jibe with how the surgeon in Changuinola said he would fix my fracture. If nothing else, it made me want to investigate it further.

All things considered, I had a fairly restful night. I did remember being awakened a couple of times by nurses changing my drip bags and emptying my catheter bag but I went right back to sleep afterwards.

I was already awake when Allene and Jacy showed up around 8:30 the next morning, wearing the same clothes they had on yesterday. I made some kind of wisecrack like, “Morning, ladies! Y’all look very nice today.”

They didn’t bother to reply but they both did give me the stink-eye. Then they got down to business, checking all their messages from the night before and sending replies. While they were networking, a nurse brought me some scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice. I had very little appetite but I ate as much as I could. By then the activity started picking up in the emergency room and things were starting to get noisy. Jacy said she was going outside so she could hear better and Allene stayed with me. She informed me that from all the networking and research online from the night before and this morning they had come up with the names of supposedly the two best orthopedic surgeons in Panama. One of them worked exclusively at a big hospital in Panama City and the other split his time between Hospital Paitilla in PC and Hospital Chiriqui in David. When Jacy came back to the room, she said, “I’ve left messages at all the contact info for both of these surgeons so hopefully one or both will call us back.”

Shortly after, an orderly came in and said I could only have one visitor at a time, so Allene said she would go outside while Jacy filled me in.

“Jacy,” I said, “I’d prefer not to do the surgery here but I really don’t think I can handle another ride in an ambulance. The trip to David over the mountains is three or four hours and you know how bad that road is. If we have to go on to Panama City, that’s another six hours.”

“I know, Tio, but let’s not make a decision yet. Let’s wait and see if one of the surgeons gets back to us.”

“Okay, but remember the doctor here is coming at 10 a.m. to start prepping me for surgery, so if we’re not doing it here we have to let him know then. If we haven’t heard anything by then, I’m just gonna have it done here and get it over with.”

Ten minutes later, Allene came back in with a big smile on her face and said, “I got hold of Traci.” (I mentioned Traci earlier in this story as being a new neighbor from Texas who has already started a cacao farm at her nearby Drago property, though was still living in Dallas.) Allene continued, “We have some great news. I told her what happened and she immediately booked some flights and will be here to housesit and take care of the dogs for as long as we need her. She will arrive in Panama City tonight, stay at a hotel there and arrive in Bocas on the early Air Panama flight.”

Allene had to wipe the tears off of my face after telling us. In today’s world, it’s getting more and more difficult to find a friend whom you can depend on in any situation through thick or thin. Traci is one of those. Thank you, Traci!

Right then, Jacy’s phone pinged and she said one of the surgeons had just sent a message. She said she’d go outside so she could hear better and call him back. As Allene and I were making a list of things that needed immediate attention (notifying our medical insurance company, for one), the orthopedic surgeon from the night before came into the cubicle.

“Good morning!” he said. “How was your night and how are you feeling?”

“Good morning, to you, too. I’m feeling better today and actually got some sleep.”

He said, “I’m glad to hear that. I have scheduled the surgery for 1 p.m. so we have to start getting you prepared.”

“Well, we need to hang on a few minutes. I may not be having the surgery here,” I replied.

Instantaneously, his whole demeanor changed and I could easily see he was offended and disappointed. He told me his team was already preparing and that he had done hundreds of these surgeries and was a good surgeon. I felt bad and tried to backtrack a little by saying I wasn’t sure what we were doing until I heard back from my niece. He said he needed to know something soon and then abruptly left.

Jacy returned and said she had spoken to Dr. Heraclio Barria who was head of orthopedics and also president of Hospital Chiriqui in David. Of course, he wanted us to come to David to do the surgery with him. Jacy explained to him that I did not want to ride in another ambulance over the mountains. He told her to tell me that he would call an air ambulance in Panama City and tell them to pick him up in David and fly to Changuinola. Then he would come to the hospital, supervise the administration of pain medication, so I would be pain-free for the trip, and fly 25 minutes to David to a waiting ambulance for the 15-minute ride to the hospital.

“Wow,” I said to Jacy. “This guy’s really going all out. Did he say how much this is all going to cost?”

“No,” she replied. “But we need to make a decision now. It’s either do the surgery here, take an ambulance ride over the mountains, or fly on a plane.”

I thought it over for about two seconds and said, “Let’s take the plane. We’ll worry about the bills later.”

“Okay,” Jacy said. “I’m calling him now.”

She did, and from listening to her end of the conversation I understood what the plan would be, but she explained it all to me anyway after ending the call.

“Dr. Barria is making all the arrangements with the air ambulance company and also with the hospital here. He said they will be arriving at the Changuinola Airport around 1 p.m. He said for us all to relax and he would see us at the hospital.”

So that’s what we did. As we were passing the time with small talk, I asked Allene if she knew what happened to my phone. She said, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I found it in the truck when I left with Denis to go to the house. And I brought your charger, too.”

“Alright, Allene! You are amazing! I knew there was some reason I married you!”

She whacked me on the arm before handing me the phone and then smiled as she gave me a kiss. I was so happy to be reconnected to the world. The first thing I did was send Whitney a message to see how the dogs were doing, how their stay at Wiley’s was going and also to let them know I was doing fine and getting ready to be airlifted to David for surgery on my femur. I also told her that Traci would be there the next day to watch our place and that she would come and get the dogs. I received a reply almost immediately saying that the dogs were happy and that she and the others were very much enjoying their stay at Wiley’s. She was ecstatic to have encountered lots of frogs. She wished me well and said she would stay in touch now that I was back online.

Around 1 p.m. Jacy received a message from Dr. Barria saying that they would not arrive in Changuinola until around 3 p.m. because of a weather delay. Shortly thereafter, the local surgeon came back to my cubicle and to my surprise was very cordial and had a whole new attitude. He said he had heard from Dr. Barria and was happy to accommodate us to get me ready for the airlift and to check me out of the hospital. He said in an hour or so, orderlies would come and take me to Anesthesiology to sedate me for the plane ride. In the meantime he would prepare the paperwork to check us out.

It felt good to know things were moving forward to a resolution and it made the minutes flow by faster. In no time, it seemed, the orderlies arrived and wheeled me a long way through the hospital. They put me in a fairly large room with a team of one female and three guys. The female introduced herself and said she was the anesthesiologist and the other guys were her assistants. She explained that they were going to make it where I would not feel one bit of pain on the trip to David. I thanked her and said I was very glad to hear that. They started a new drip bag of clear liquid in the port in my arm. Then one of the guys approached with a long syringe with a very long needle, lifted my hospital gown and started injecting medication directly into my thigh at the location of the fracture. Again and again, in the whole area. When he finished, I assumed they were done but I was wrong. Two of the guys helped me to a sitting position and the anesthesiologist inserted a needle into my lower spine and gave me an epidural. They let me lie still for what seemed like 20 minutes or so, I guess to make sure I had no bad reaction. Then they wheeled me back to my cubicle in the emergency room.

Soon some orderlies came and took my leg out of traction and the surgeon came with release forms that I had to sign. Allene went with him to the cashier’s office and paid our bill. He and Allene reappeared in my cubicle in a while and the surgeon informed the three of us that the plane was en route and would land shortly. I was wheeled outside and loaded into an ambulance with Jacy and Allene climbing in beside me. It was only a five-minute ride to the airport and as we were nearing the entrance, Jacy and Allene could see the hired plane landing. After it taxied to the small terminal, the ambulance drove out onto the tarmac and parked beside the plane. When they unloaded me from the ambulance I was surprised to see the Changuinola surgeon had also come to the airport in another vehicle. I guess he wanted to hand me off to Dr. Barria in person.

Dr. Barria and the pilot came over and introductions were made all around. Then the two doctors stepped aside and spoke to each other for a few minutes. I could see the two of them shaking hands and patting each other on their shoulders, and although I could not actually hear what they were saying, it seemed very amiable and respectful. Then the Changuinola surgeon walked over to me and wished me well and said goodbye. I thanked him for all he and his team had done. The ambulance driver and attendant helped Dr. Barria and the pilot transfer me from the gurney to a stretcher. It appeared to me that Dr. Barria was in his early 60s, very fit and strong. He also spoke good English.

The ambulance crew bid us goodbye and good luck and Dr. Barria and the pilot wrestled me into position inside the plane. It was a small, twin engine, six-seater with the rear two seats on the passenger side removed to accommodate my stretcher. Once they had me all strapped in, Dr. Barria hooked up a drip bag to the port in my arm and then everyone else started to board.

Jacy climbed up on a wing and sat in the copilot seat; Allene sat behind the pilot, in a seat facing toward the rear of the plane and was pretty much hemmed in by our carry-ons and the doctor’s emergency bag; Dr. Barria sat in the seat farther back, facing Allene and right beside me. We were ready to go.

Right then the pilot got a message over his headset saying the David Airport had just shut down because of a big thunderstorm in their area. There was nothing we could do but wait. The late afternoon sun was beaming down on us and there was very little breeze so even though the pilot opened all the doors again, the interior of the plane got quite warm. He then went into the terminal to watch the radar and get updates. Jacy exited her seat, too, and came to stand on the tarmac at the open passenger door. And then all of a sudden a wave of nausea hit me. I let Dr. Barria know and he said it was a common side effect of all the medication I was given earlier and probably brought on by the stuffiness inside the plane. He said he would go to the terminal to look for a bucket or some kind of container in case I needed it.

Before he returned, I hollered out, “I think I’m gonna puke!” Allene started scrambling around her seat and found a small blanket underneath it while Jacy jumped into the plane behind Dr. Barria’s seat, knelt on it and lifted my head while Allene thrust the blanket back to her. Jacy held my head upright with one arm and the blanket with the other and I let it rip. After I was done, I felt a little better and Jacy wadded up that blanket and dumped it into a trash can by the terminal. Dr. Barria came back in a few minutes with a plastic container. I told him he was too late but to keep it around in case I would need it later. (Fortunately, I wouldn’t.)

After spending an hour on the tarmac, we got word that the David airport had reopened and we all got seated and belted up again. The pilot went through his checklist, started the engines and we taxied out to the runway entrance. The Changuinola airport, not ever being very busy, gave us clearance right away for the takeoff and soon we were airborne.

As we climbed over the mountains of the continental divide, the pilot had to take a circuitous route to dodge all the big, black thunderheads that seemed to be everywhere. I had a nice view out my window and could see occasional flashes of lightning in the dark clouds. But the pilot knew what he was doing and soon we came out of the clouds into a clear sky just as the sun was setting and we descended into the beautiful Pacific coastal plains and landed smoothly at the David airport. The pilot taxied to a private terminal and pulled up beside a waiting ambulance.

I was unloaded from the plane and loaded into the ambulance, giving a quick “Goodbye and huge thanks!” to the pilot as Dr. Barria, Jacy and Allene climbed in with me for the ride to Chiriqui Hospital.

At the emergency entrance, I was wheeled in and taken to a room where they would prepare me for surgery. I had not felt one bit of pain since we left Changuinola Hospital. So, after two days of riding in seven ambulances, including one by water and one by air, I felt as if I had finally made it home. It was a great feeling of relief.

A nurse entered my room and gave me a COVID test. She said the results would be ready in about a half hour and if it was negative, they would begin the prep for my surgery. I was resting comfortably when several people entered the room and began a flurry of activity. The nurse who had administered the COVID test said it was negative and it was a “Go” for the surgery. Other attendants were attaching things left and right, up and down, and checking my vital signs.

Dr. Barria came in and said that he was getting his team and equipment organized and that he would begin the surgery around 9:30 p.m.

I asked, “About how long will the surgery take, Dr. Barria?”

“Between an hour and a half and two hours,” was his reply.

Because of the late hour, Allene and Jacy would not be allowed to visit me after the surgery so they decided to go look for a hotel. But Dr. Barria told them that if they wanted to see me in the morning they would have to show a negative COVID test result. He said there was a lab directly across the street from the hospital’s north entrance and the test results would be ready within 20 minutes. They kissed me good night and thanked the doctor once again. They told me the next day that after getting their tests done, with negative results, they flagged down a taxi and asked to be taken to the Gran Hotel Nacional, a very nice hotel only five blocks from the hospital. After checking in they immediately went to the hotel restaurant, ordered a bottle of wine which they split while sharing a large salad and huge serving of lasagna, and retired to their room, but wouldn’t sleep until Dr. Barria let them know how the surgery had gone.

Dr. Barria introduced me to the members of his team and although I can’t recall any of their names, they all were friendly and personable and reassured me that they would do their best and take good care of me during the surgery. I appreciated that very much. It gave me comfort and the confidence that this would go well. Apparently everyone was ready to begin when the anesthesiologist came to my side and said, “I’m going to give you the medication now to make you sleep and have nice dreams. I’ll see you when you wake up.”

I smiled and said, “Okay. I’m ready,” and rapidly drifted off to sleep. Then later, something really strange happened.

I woke up and quickly realized I was still in surgery. There was a big X-ray monitor to the left of my bed and I was able to see the main part of the operation in real time. I was totally clear-headed and mesmerized by what was happening. I could feel everything they were doing besides seeing it on the screen but I never felt one bit of pain. I watched them ream out the main shaft of the femur and also the short part of the bone that goes into the hole of the hip joint.

Then they inserted a rod that was threaded into the part of the bone going into the hip socket and screwed it in tight. Then a longer rod was inserted into the shaft which was not quite perpendicular to the short rod. The rods were then connected at the intersection point by a small screw, or bolt. A long screw was then inserted through a hole drilled through the bone shaft and rod at the midpoint of the rod.

Wow, fascinating stuff but I decided I had seen enough and let myself drift off back to sleep. When I awakened again, I was all tucked into a comfortable bed in a good-sized private room. The anesthesiologist and Dr. Barria were there. The anesthesiologist asked, “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, and I had a lot of good dreams,” but chose not to mention that I had been awake during a good portion of the surgery. Dr. Barria said, “The surgery went very well, Clay. Sleep well and I’ll see you in the morning.”

They showed me the call button at the head of my bed and said if I needed anything during the night to just press the button. They bid me good night and waved as they walked out the door.

The next morning I felt something tugging on my foot. As I roused myself from a deep sleep and slowly opened my eyes, I was surprised to see a very attractive young woman with long, dark hair and big brown eyes, dressed entirely in white, standing at the foot of my bed. For a moment I thought I must still be asleep and having a wonderful dream.

“Good morning, Randall,” the vision said. I opened my eyes again, and the woman in white was still there.

“I’m Tamara,” she said and added a bright smile. “I’m a physical therapist and I’m here to help you start on your daily exercises.”

“Good morning,” I said politely. Then added, “Are you serious? I just had surgery last night.”

“Oh yes, I’m serious. This is how we do it now. We don’t let the patient lie around anymore. We’ve found that it’s much easier for the patient to recover faster if we get them up and moving right away.”

Well, I had heard that before, but Jeez, I didn’t think it would be this quick.

For the record, my full name is Randall Clay Blaker but I’ve always gone by my middle name. When Dr. Barria came to Changuinola I was introduced to him as Clay. When Allene checked me into the Chiriqui Hospital she gave them my passport so they could take down my information. So the whole time I was in the hospital, Dr. Barria, Allene and Jacy were the only ones who called me Clay. Everyone else called me Randall.

Tamara explained the exercises she would be helping me with. They were mainly leg lifts and knee presses. She put her hand under the heel of the foot on my bad leg and lifted it straight up about ten inches and back down for repetitions. Then we did ten more, with her raising my leg and then moving it sideways about a foot to the right, back to the center and down. Next, ten more of the same exercise but moving the raised leg to the left, back to the center and down. For the following exercise, she put a small rubber ball under my knee and made me press down as hard as I could for three seconds. She had me do ten of those. Even though she was doing most of the work, she could easily tell that I was already spent.

“Excellent work, Randall. It’s been a pleasure to assist you today,”

“Oh no, the pleasure is all mine,” I assured her.

“After lunch there will be another therapist coming to see you with Dr. Barria,” she informed me, “and they will bring you a walker and show you how to use it.”

“Well, I hope the other therapist is as lovely as you,” I said, giving her my best smile.

“Oh, he is!” she said, and was laughing as she left the room.

Shortly afterwards, another woman in hospital scrubs came in with a clipboard, introduced herself as a dietary aide and said she would take my order for breakfast and lunch. I was taken aback. My limited experience in hospitals was that you ate whatever they brought you. I asked for the menu and saw it was fairly diverse with many choices. I didn’t have much of an appetite but I ordered scrambled eggs, a mixed fruit plate and orange juice. For lunch I picked a bowl of chicken sancocho. It’s a special soup that is officially known as the National Dish of Panama. No matter where you are in Panama, whether at a street cart, a sidewalk café, or a fancy restaurant, it’s always good and wonderfully filling. And the one I was served for lunch that day did not let me down.

It was still very early in the morning but there was a knock on the door and Allene and Jacy rushed in. I was so happy to see them but figured they would be sleeping in on account of the long two days they had just been through. We gave hugs all around and they showed me their negative COVID tests but said not a single person asked to see them from the time they entered the hospital until they reached my room. I guess the staff just knew we would do the right thing.

I told them about my surgery, and how I even watched it on the big monitor and they were horrified. I also told them about the physical therapist who had come in earlier, like an angel visiting from heaven until she started making me do exercises, and Allene made a point that she would arrive earlier from then on.

They told me about their night, and about how wonderful it was to get showers but they had changed into their same traveling clothes so needed to spend the morning doing some shopping. They made a list of things I needed for the hospital room. A box of Kleenex, a roll of paper towels, etc.

My breakfast arrived and Allene and Jacy said they were going on a quick shopping trip, would change clothes and should be back before Dr. Barria and the other physical therapist showed up.

A little later, Dr. Barria came into my room with a young Latino whom I knew my wife would consider quite handsome. He was carrying a walker and introduced himself as Tomas, adding, “I’ll be the main therapist working with you from now on, Randall.”

“What happened to Tamara?” I asked, and he laughed. “She’s around but working with some other patients. You’ll see her again, don’t worry.”

Dr. Barria asked me how I was doing.

“Fine,” I said, “May I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” he said, “ask me anything you want.”

“Did you know I was awake during the surgery?”

“Yes, I knew you were awake.”

He said nothing more about it, so I left it at that.

Then he said, “I want you to do something for me. Lift your good leg as high as you can.”

I lifted my right leg up until it was perpendicular to my body.

He nodded, and said, “Now lift your other leg as high as you can.”

I tried to lift it but the leg would not budge. I strained as hard as I could for several seconds but it would not move even a millimeter off the bed.

What the hell? I was stunned. I’d broken my femur but it had been repaired. I wasn’t wearing a cast to weigh it down, so I figured I should be able to lift my leg at least a little bit. I tried again but my leg did not respond.

Dr. Barria could tell I was disheartened and upset. With a reassuring manner, he said, “Clay, don’t be alarmed. This is totally normal for an injury such as yours. The bad news is, that when you fell on the rock, not only did you break your bone, but the blow also traumatized the muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments and nerves.” (This was verified two days later when the whole back of my thigh turned dark purple and black.)

He continued, “You will have to teach all of those body parts to work together again in order to get your leg to do what you need or want it to do. The good news is that Tomas will show you exactly what to do to make that happen. If you do what he says, you will surf again. So here’s some incentive. When you can lift your leg a foot off the bed, I’ll discharge you from the hospital. Okay, I’m going to leave you two. Good luck, Clay, and I’ll see you soon.”

Allene and Jacy knocked on the door and entered the room while Tomas was showing me how to use the walker. I told them they looked very nice in their new clothes and introduced them to Tomas. Tomas had me walk around the room a bit until he was sure I was doing it right and then we did a short walk in the hospital hallway. I couldn’t believe how tired I was when I got back to the room.

I was in really good shape before the accident, doing my daily morning workout, surfing almost every day and taking long walks with the dogs in the evenings. It was hard for me to believe that the injury had knocked me back so far. Tomas encouraged me though, and said I did great. He said he’d see me in the morning and left the room.

A nurse came in and re-hooked me up to the drip bags of medication. I asked her what was in the various drips. She said one was for pain, one was an anti-inflammatory, one an antibiotic and another to prevent blood clots. During my whole hospital stay, my meds were only stopped when I was walking with the walker.

Allene and Jacy hung out with me for a while but soon said they were very tired and wanted to get back to the hotel. They had stayed up waiting for word from Dr. Barria as to how the surgery had gone. He texted a report after midnight that all was well and I was in my private room. Knowing that, they had fallen almost instantly asleep. But they had awoken early in order to get to the hospital even before visitors were allowed. The events from the previous 50-something hours had taken a toll, and it was obvious they needed about as much rest as I did. They kissed me goodbye and said they would be back in the early evening.

This was my first extended period of being alone in the room. Unfortunately, I got a bad case of the blues. Loneliness and despair set in. I started to feel like a down-and-out character in an old Lightnin’ Hopkins song as I was slowly sinking into the rabbit hole. Anger came next. Why did this have to happen to me? Is God punishing me for my transgressions? Is this some kind of karmic payback for a wrongdoing? 

All these thoughts were going around and around in my brain like a broken record. Then doubt came waltzing in. At my age will I be able to fully recover from this? Will I be able to walk normally again? Will I be able to surf?

When Allene and Jacy came back in the evening, I tried my best to conceal my feelings from them. They could sense that something was wrong but I think they thought I was just fatigued. They left fairly early so I could get some sleep. That didn’t help. I still had a rough night. Bad dreams and malignant thoughts.

I didn’t feel like eating much at breakfast. Allene and Jacy showed up right about the same time Tomas did. Everyone was in a good mood except me. Tomas brought a small black box with him that he said was an electric stimulator to treat the nerves in my upper leg. He pasted some electrodes to my skin and turned a dial until my leg muscles started twitching and jumping. He kept it on there for about 15 minutes and it did make my leg feel better. Then we began the exercises with his hand under my heel doing the lifting, like Tamara had done the day before. I didn’t show a lot of enthusiasm and mainly was just going through the motions. But Tomas the whole time did his work with confidence and encouragement and I could easily tell he enjoyed his job. As we went through each exercise he was also teaching Allene and Jacy how to do the therapy so they could take turns doing it with me at various times during the day. The rest of the day was uneventful and like yesterday, everyone just thought I was tired out. When Jacy and Allene tried to get me to walk with the walker I told them I just didn’t have the energy.

That night as I was lying in the bed, wallowing in self-pity and misery, I realized in a moment of clarity that I needed to pull my head out of my ass. It was suddenly obvious that if I was gonna get through this and make it back to being the ol’ Clay, I had to get back in the game. At that moment I felt a big weight lift off my shoulders and a pleasant feeling of contentment come over me. It was like having the warm sun breaking through the clouds after a long, cold rain. And right then I knew I was going to be okay. I drifted off into a night of peaceful sleep and sweet dreams.

The next morning I was like a new man. When the two nurses came in early to give me a sponge bath and change the linens, they could tell right off that I had a different attitude and they engaged me in conversation. The day before I was so quiet and subdued that they hardly spoke to me at all. Today, I could tell that they were pleasantly surprised when I spoke to them in Spanish. (Tomas and Dr. Barria both spoke good English so that’s what we mainly used in conversation. But with Tamara, the nurses, orderlies and other hospital personnel I spoke only Spanish.) As we were talking, the younger nurse said, “You have a good body for someone as old as you.” I laughed at the back-handed compliment but I knew she meant well so I thanked her.

A couple of other morning tasks the nurses did was change my diaper and empty the catheter bag. I was going to omit these embarrassing details but for the sake of honesty, I decided to disclose it all. I was self-conscious wearing the diaper but I guess it was good preparation for if I live long enough to make it to a nursing home. I came to love these two nurses. Their tender care every morning was so considerate and compassionate that it not only lifted my spirits for the day but also helped this old cynic to restore some faith in the true goodness of people. That, in itself, made the whole hospital stay worth it.

Allene and Jacy showed up while I was having breakfast and Tomas came shortly thereafter.

“Good morning, Randall,” he said. “How are you today?”

“Actually, I’m much better, Tomas. From now on I want you to push me as hard as you can. I want to do whatever it takes to get better faster.”

“Those are the words I’ve been waiting to hear, Randall. Let’s get to work.”

From that day forward, I improved a little every day, with the exercises getting easier and my being able to walk with the walker a little further.

That afternoon, Jacy received a message from our mutual friends Wade and Margaux who also live in Bocas del Toro. They said they had to come to David the next day with their son Louie and did we need them to bring anything to us. Jacy responded with YES, we did need a few things and would get back to them with more information later in the day.

This was great news. Allene contacted Traci, who was watching our house and dogs, and gave her a list of things to gather up and put in a small carry-on. The list included our laptop, U.S. and Panama checkbooks, Kindles, chargers, and a few clothing items. Our neighbor Roger, who had been planning to go to town the next day anyway (or so he said) picked up the bag from Traci and met Wade, Margaux and Louie at Taxi 25, the water taxi station that they would be departing from on the first leg of their trip to David. Lynn had also connected with them and handed over a few items to bring to Jacy. That night Allene and Jacy met Wade, Margaux and Louie at a nice Italian restaurant, enjoyed a good meal and visit and received our care packages. Thank you, Traci, Roger, Wade, Margaux and Louie!

I was excited to get the laptop. Now I could get on YouTube and watch Naked Yoga videos on the big screen. The cell phone just doesn’t cut it.

Just kidding. Actually, I wanted the laptop because it was so much easier to delve into all the research I wanted to do about healing broken bones. I did find out a few important things.

One was diet. Every single article and piece of research I read pretty much said the same thing about what you should eat: fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat, beans and lentils, dairy (especially whole milk, yogurt and good cheese), fish, eggs, whole grain rice, cereals, breads and pastas, and lots and lots of water. Fortunately, this is very close to the way we eat already.

Another thing that every article was emphatic about was to quit drinking alcohol and to stop smoking while the bone is healing. So I decided right away to give up cigarettes and booze. Just kidding again, about the cigarettes. I’ve never smoked them in my whole life. Well … there was that one time when my cousin Bubba and I stole a pack of cigarettes from our grandmother, Granny Blaker, went out behind her garage and started chain-smoking them. After about the third one, I suddenly got sick as a dog and puked my guts out. I’ve never touched a cigarette since.

The alcohol is another story.  Allene and I love to have a nice wine with our evening meal and every Sunday at 5 p.m., Allene fixes herself a margarita and I make a Bloody Mary or have a single malt Scotch. I also enjoy a cold beer sometimes after surfing. But I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since the day before I broke my leg. And I’m not going to have any until my leg totally heals up. After that, who knows? I’ll make that decision when the time comes.

On my fifth day in the hospital I had two milestones. One was that I had my first bowel movement since the accident. (Honesty again.) And not in the diaper either. (Thank God!) From doing the exercises and walking with the walker I could move my leg just enough to be able to sit on the raised chair that was placed over the toilet. What a relief!

The second thing was that I was able to lift my leg up unassisted about a foot up off the bed. Tomas was in the room with me and he was just as excited as I was. He said, “Let me get a photo with my phone and send it to Dr. Barria. I succeeded in lifting it one more time and he took a photo and immediately forwarded it Dr. Barria who wrote right back and said, “That’s great but I’m in Panama City. I had to come here to do an emergency surgery and won’t be back for two days. Tell Clay I’ll check him out of the hospital then.”

It was disappointing, but no worries. At this point I felt I could deal with just about anything.

Later on, Allene, Jacy and I decided we should celebrate the milestones with some take-out food. They let me choose and I said I wanted barbecued baby back ribs, French fries and cole slaw from TGIF. Jacy placed orders for the three of us through her cell phone and she and Allene went to the restaurant to have one margarita before bringing our dinners back to my room. They showed back up with the food and had snuck in a bottle of wine. They offered me some but my will was strong and I turned it down. But I sure tore into those ribs. They weren’t quite as good as how I make them but after getting a little burnt out on the menu at the hospital, they tasted pretty durn good.

I thought the next two days would go by slowly but it was just the opposite. Tomas came and we did a full session of therapy and later I did two more sessions with Jacy and Allene taking turns helping me. We decided that we should celebrate again that night in honor of my being released from the hospital the next day. As you can tell, in our family we don’t really need much of an excuse to have a celebration. We’ve always been able to throw down on a party at a moment’s notice. I guess that was from being in the music business for thirty years. We all agreed that tonight we should include the nurses. Jacy got on her phone to Domino’s Pizza and ordered four large combinations and several liters of Coca-Cola. She asked them to deliver it to the front of the hospital and when she went down to wait for it, Allene went to a nearby store and bought some wine. When Jacy returned with the food and drinks, she left one pizza in my room and took the other boxes and all the soda bottles down the hall to the nurses’ station. She came back with tears in her eyes and said the nurses were blown away by our generosity. One or two at a time, they came to my room and thanked us and visited for a few minutes. We thanked them for taking such good care of me and when the last nurse had left, we three felt that we were leaving the hospital on a really good note.

The next day my two adorable nurses did their morning routine with me for the last time and then we sadly said our goodbyes. They already knew that I would be leaving that day and they wished me all the best. I would be so fortunate to have a duo such as them to attend to me if I’m ever hospitalized again.

After breakfast, Tomas came in and did an hour’s worth of therapy with me. He gave me directions to the therapy center in the new wing of the hospital and congratulated me for my release from the hospital. As he was leaving he said, “Okay, Randall, I’ll see you tomorrow at 8 o’clock sharp. Be ready for some hard work.” I gave him a thumbs up.

Another nurse came in after that and told me, “They’re checking you out of the hospital today, Randall, so I will take your catheter out now. However, they will not let you leave until you are able to urinate on your own.”

She left the room for a minute and came back with a small plastic urinal and set it on my bedside table. She said, “You have to go in this so I can see it, so don’t use the toilet. When you are able to go, push the call button and I will return.”

“Okay, no problem,” I replied, hesitantly. I wasn’t too confident that I could pee on demand after having the catheter in for so long. I admit it gave me some anxiety as I sure didn’t want to screw up my discharge from the hospital.

When Allene and Jacy showed up, I asked Allene to go to the cafeteria and get me at least three bottles of water. I was determined not to let this matter get the best of me. When she returned I started guzzling. Sure enough, in about 45 minutes I started feeling an urge.

I asked Jacy to step out of the room for a minute and then I grabbed the urinal and peed into it. I hit the call button and told Allene to tell Jacy she could come back in. The nurse arrived shortly afterwards and I handed her the urinal with a big smile.

“Very good, Randall. I’ll let Dr. Barria know so he can start processing you out.”

The day before, Allene had reserved the handicapped room that they had at the Gran Hotel Nacional. She said it was a nice, large room with a queen-sized bed, raised toilet seat, shower chair, and easy access. The hotel had a very good restaurant specializing in Italian cuisine so we decided to skip lunch at the hospital and wait until we got to the hotel so we could eat something from the restaurant.

Well … lunchtime came and went, and still no Dr. Barria. Finally a lady came in and explained that she was an anesthesiologist and would disconnect me from the medications and remove the three ports from my body. That didn’t take long and she assured us that Dr. Barria would be along soon. He came to my room around 2 p.m. and asked, “Who will be responsible for paying the bills and signing all the discharge papers?”

“That would be me,” Allene said, “but I need to bring Jacy with me because I can’t hear that well and practically can’t hear at all with everyone wearing masks.”

“Okay, no problem. Let’s get started.”

Allene and I have medical insurance coverage here in Panama and fortunately our provider has an office in the Chiriqui Hospital. That was a big factor in making the discharge process go fairly quickly.

Dr. Barria took Allene and Jacy, along with all the hospital invoices, to the insurance office and found out exactly what all was covered. That took about 20 minutes and then it was deducted from the invoices.

While they were waiting on the paperwork, Jacy called a taxi company to find a 4-door pickup to take us from the hospital to the hotel. Dr. Barria recommended that we use one of these because the truck cabs were high and roomy and would make it easier for me to get in and out.

After finishing with the insurance, Dr. Barria led them to the cashier’s office where Allene paid the balance of our bill. After giving them all our cash, a bank check, maxing out two credit cards and handing over our first born child, the cashier gave Allene a receipt that said, “Paid In Full.”

They all came back to the room and Dr. Barria told me we were free to go. He then handed over a bag containing the medications I would need to take for a few more days, with all the instructions included.

Allene and Jacy gathered up all our things and I stood up and took hold of the walker.

“Wait, Clay,” Dr. Barria said. “They are bringing you a wheelchair. Sorry, but it is hospital policy.”

An orderly came with the chair and as he wheeled me into the hall, several nurses and a couple of orderlies walked down from the nurse’s station to tell me goodbye and wish me well. We thanked them all profusely and waved our own goodbyes as I was wheeled down the hall.

The taxi was in front of the hospital when we exited and I had no problem transitioning from the wheelchair to the front passenger seat. Dr. Barria told us goodbye and said he would see us tomorrow at the therapy center.

Jacy called the hotel to let them know we were on the way. The taxi pulled into the circular drive and parked directly in front of the hotel lobby entrance. An attendant came out carrying a small wooden ramp and placed it over the curb, pulled a wheelchair out from behind the lobby door and wheeled it down to the taxi’s passenger door. I was able to slide right out of the seat and into the wheelchair. The attendant rolled me up the ramp into the lobby and then down the hall to our room. Jacy paid the driver and made arrangements for him to pick me up at 7:45 the next morning to take me to the therapy center.

She and Allene followed us to the room with my walker and our other gear. Then Jacy said she wanted to go to her room and rest for a while.

I loved the spaciousness of the room but in looking around I saw a way to move some things to make it easier for me to maneuver the walker and to make it more accommodating for both of us. Allene went to the front desk and asked them if this could be arranged and a desk person said, “Sure, no problem.” They sent a houseman and a maid to our room immediately.

The two were friendly and nice as could be. They moved the bed and two end tables to a different configuration and it made a big difference. Then they brought us more pillows and said if we needed anything else to just let them know. Allene and I thanked them and of course tipped them well. Throughout our stay there, all the hotel personnel were super amiable and went out of their way to see that we had everything we needed or wanted.

In spite of the wonderful care I received at the hospital, it was a nice change to be at Gran Hotel Nacional. It’s one of the finer hotels in David and also one of the oldest, built in a neo-colonial style. As I mentioned before, it has a great restaurant and in the center of the property is a large courtyard with a good-sized pool. The courtyard is surrounded by tropical foliage and flowers and a huge old mango tree providing shade. There are picnic tables and chairs under the shade and lawn chairs around the pool. For the next week, after returning from therapy, Allene and I would walk out to the pool area and hang out for a while. She would get in the pool to swim and exercise and I would lie back in a lawn chair and soak up some rays. I wanted to maintain as much of my surfer tan as possible so I wouldn’t get fried whenever I was able to get back out in the waves. I was trying to be as optimistic as possible.

We had a menu from the restaurant in our room so we would order all our meals and have them delivered. COVID was still very much alive and well in Panama so we were practicing all the safety protocols. But before we ordered dinner that evening I told Allene I desperately wanted to take a shower.

The sponge baths with the nurses had been fun but I was ready for a real shower. In the bathroom I discovered that the mirror over the sink hung low enough that I could sit on the shower chair in front of the sink and shave properly. I had started shaving in the hospital after my third day there. I asked Allene to buy a hand mirror, small can of shaving cream, a disposable razor and a plastic bowl when she and Jacy went shopping. While shaving, I would have to raise the head of the bed to the most vertical position, move the tray table over the bed, then Allene would get a bowl of hot water from the bathroom sink and set it on the tray table. She would hold the hand mirror for me while I shaved. It wasn’t ideal but it was doable and more importantly, any return to normal activity was a big boost to my morale.

So, after a proper shave in the hotel, Allene moved the high shower seat into the shower stall and I sat down under the running water. It was glorious. I sat there for at least 20 minutes, reveling in the warm water cascading over my body before finally reaching for the bottle of shampoo. Oh man, I can’t explain how great that shower felt, and another morale boost for sure!

That night for dinner we each ordered a different Italian entrée, a large mixed salad and garlic bread. We all three shared the food and of course the ladies had wine. I drank milk. Gotta have that calcium.

After we finished the wonderful meal, Jacy told us that she needed to get back to Bocas the next day and get caught up on all the work she had missed and to see her two sons who had been alternately staying with their dad or Grandmom (Lynn) the whole week. Allene and I were sad to hear this news but all of us knew it was the right decision. It had been a long day and we had to get up early to get ready for my first session at the therapy center, so we all hugged, said our good nights and Jacy went to her room.

We woke at 6:00 and began our morning rituals. At 7:00, the restaurant opened so Allene ordered our breakfast. We both kept it simple so we would get it quickly. Each of us ordered yogurt and a mixed fruit plate but I added two boiled eggs and a glass of milk to mine. By the time we finished eating and brushed our teeth, Jacy called and said the taxi would be there in five minutes. We met in the hallway and walked to the lobby to find one of the housemen waiting with a wheelchair by the entrance, with the ramp already in place. I sat in the wheelchair, was rolled down the ramp to the taxi’s front passenger door, stood up and sat in the truck seat as Jacy put my walker into the truck bed. We made it to the therapy center about five minutes before 8:00 and sat down in some chairs in the reception area. A door opened to our left and Tomas came out and greeted us. He asked me to come on back to the workout area, telling Allene and Jacy we would be finished in about an hour. Upon entering the large modern facility I was impressed at all the exercise machines and other equipment that was on hand. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Tamara was there.

“Good morning, Randall,” she said. “Nice to see you again.”

“Well, the pleasure is all mine, Tamara. How are you?”

“Fine, thank you. How has Tomas been doing with your therapy?”

“Not nearly as good as you,” I said, with a straight face. Then we all burst out laughing.

“Okay,” Tomas said. “Enough of this. Let’s get down to business, Randall.”

He took me over to a therapy bed and asked me to lie down. He wheeled a space-aged looking machine over and told me it was the Pro version of the small battery operated electric stimulator that he had used on me in my hospital room. He said I needed to take my shorts off. I had anticipated this happening so I’d told Allene when she and Jacy were going shopping a couple of days ago to buy me a few pair of underwear. What she bought were not boxers, nor were they briefs. They were tight but had legs that went down to mid-thigh. Jacy said they were the modern style and I took her word for it. So for the first time in 53 years I was wearing underwear and had no problem whatsoever dropping my shorts in front of God and everybody. Tomas did have to push the leg of them up to my hip in order to attach the electrodes to bare skin but all of my vital parts remained covered.

After the electroshock therapy, Tomas put a heat pack on the area and after that an ice pack. Then he had me sit on a chair and pedal a small stationary bike. It was extremely painful at first but after a while it felt good. I had to pedal in reverse for a while also. Then he had me hold a parallel bar that was waist-high and do several sets of leg lifts to the front, back and side. Tomas said we were done for the day.

This workout doesn’t sound like much as I’m describing it here, but I can tell you for sure that it kicked my ass. I loved every minute of it though, and was happy that Tomas was pushing me. We walked back out to the waiting room and the receptionist gave us the invoice. Tomas said, “Your appointment tomorrow is at 9 a.m. Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s better for me.”

“Okay, good, see you tomorrow,” and Tomas walked back through the therapy door. Jacy called the taxi while Allene paid the bill. Our driver arrived promptly and we went back to the hotel.

Jacy had packed most of her things that morning so she didn’t have much more to do before hitting the road. After getting everything together and leaving her room, she came to ours and said she had plenty of room in her suitcase for anything we needed taken back to Bocas. She packed in the blankets that our neighbor Roger had given us, which had been very much needed on the many ambulance rides and at the Changuinola hospital.

She had called a taxi and arranged a driver to take her back over the mountains to Chiriqui Grande, the first town you come to when you get to the Caribbean. One of the water taxi companies in Bocas town has a direct service now between Bocas town and Chiriqui Grande. It saves a lot of time, not having to go on to Almirante sitting in a vehicle going up and down the hills, with high vehicular traffic and the entire passage only being two-lane. Plus, in my opinion, it’s always nicer being on the water. Her phone beeped to announce her taxi’s arrival so she gave me a hug and kissed me goodbye. Allene walked her to the hotel foyer to see her off.

Jacy was indispensable throughout the first week of my ordeal and there is no contemplating how things could or would have turned out had she not had been there with us. Our debt to her is far-reaching and our gratitude can’t be measured. Thank you, Jacy! We love you so much.

Allene returned to the room and we decided to go to the pool where she swam and I soaked in the warmth of the sun. Getting back to the room, we ordered lunch and rested a bit before Allene helped me with a session of therapy exercises. She also had to keep me straight on all the medications I had to take at all three mealtimes. I still had to take antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, anti-blood clot and pain meds, but now everything was in the form of pills.

For dinner that night, I ordered grilled filet of beef, sautéed mix vegetables and a salad, and Allene got lasagna. This would pretty much be our daily routine until Dr. Barria gave us the okay to return to our home in Bocas del Toro.

The next day at the therapy center I asked Tomas to lay out a plan for me to follow while we were staying at the hotel and also for when I got back home. So, after we finished that day’s session we sat down and he explained what I needed to do. He said I should do a minimum of two sessions of exercises a day, the one at the therapy center and at least one more in the hotel. He said if I felt like doing 3 or 4 sessions a day, that would be even better. He also said to take rest periods between sessions, emphasizing that the rest periods were equally as important as the exercise sessions. Also, he said to stay mobile, walk with the walker as much as I could, try to stick to a healthy diet and drink lots and lots of water. I thanked him and he walked me out to the receptionist and set up my appointment for 10:00 the next morning.

The following days seemed to fly by, with mornings at the therapy center, and my afternoon routine sessions at the hotel, with Allene helping me with all the exercises.

There were three therapists working at the therapy center when I was there: Tomas, Tamara, and another guy whom I met but whose name I can’t recall. Tomas and Tamara seemed to be close friends and several times she would come and talk to Tomas and me if she wasn’t with a patient. I found out that she did speak a little English when Tomas coaxed it out of her one day. She said she was learning the language but was shy because she thought she spoke it so poorly. Tomas and I both encouraged her and told her she should practice whenever she had the chance. After that, I mostly spoke to her in English but she mostly answered in Spanish while smiling or laughing at her shyness.

Dr. Barria would make an appearance now and then to check on my progress. He said that when he and Tomas could affirm I had gotten strong enough, he would recommend that I go home. I was working hard and was hopeful it would be soon.

After my fifth day at the center, Tomas, Tamara and I were talking about my progress after the session was over. They both thought I was doing very well. Then Tomas told us that he would be busy the next morning and could Tamara do my session with me tomorrow. She said she would be glad to and Tomas said there was one requirement. We had to speak only English the whole time.

“No problem,” I said. “Is that okay with you, Tamara?”

“Si,” she answered, and Tomas and I both laughed and shook our heads.

The next day, when she came to greet me in the reception area, she told me to come on back but she said it in Spanish. As we entered the therapy room I said to her, “We are supposed to be speaking in English, Tamara.”

“I know, Randall,” she said in Spanish. “But I am so embarrassed at making mistakes.”

After saying this demurely with those big brown eyes I quickly acquiesced. “Okay, we can speak Spanish.”

She was a good therapist regardless of her English skills and pushed me as hard as, or harder than, Tomas did. It was a fun session and passed very quickly while we talked about music, surfing, her family (she was married and had one child), and my family. When Allene and I got back to the hotel we headed for the pool. That evening we had a savory Italian meal. Another good day.

The next day was my seventh in the therapy center. At one point during the workout, Tomas pulled out his phone and asked me to lift my leg up as high as I could so he could take a photo. I was able to get it up almost three feet off of the bed. He sent the photo to Dr. Barria and in a few minutes the good doctor came to the therapy center. He and Tomas conferred for a few minutes and then Dr. Barria said, “Clay, we both agree that you have progressed far enough with your therapy that you are able to go home. You can continue with your therapy there and when I need to see new X-rays of the healing process, you can get those done at the Bocas hospital and send me the X-rays.”

“That sounds great to me. However, I have a lot of trepidation about how to get back to Bocas. I sure don’t want to ride in a bus or taxi for four hours to Almirante and there’s no way I can get in and out of the water taxis to Bocas. And of course there is no direct flight to Bocas from here either.”

Dr. Barria said, “That’s no problem, Clay. I can fly you back to Bocas tomorrow in my private plane, I’ll message you later and tell you when we will pick you up at your hotel in the morning.”

“Well, thank you, Dr. Barria! I think that definitely solves the problem,” and we laughed. That evening at the hotel I received a message from Dr. Barria saying that something had come up and he would not be able to come with us tomorrow. He said his pilot, Captain Aparicio would pick us up at the hotel at 8:45 in the morning in a black Jeep SUV. I thanked him and told Allene the plan.

We awoke early the next morning, ordered and ate breakfast in our room and then Allene went to the front desk to pay our bill. She earlier had contacted our beautiful friend Lola Braxton, the sister of Toby Braxton, of Servicios Toby, the two of whom are the excellent personal shoppers who manage somehow to make all things possible with their delivery service to Bocas. Allene met Lola at the hotel entrance and gave her a large bag of things that would not fit on the small plane and yet needed to get back to Bocas.  Thank you, Lola and Toby for always being there!

Allene returned to the room with the hotel bellman who got all our gear together (we had been told to limit our gear to about 50 pounds for the private plane and we kept it to closer to 25). When we got to the hotel entrance, the pilot was waiting for us. We could tell it must be him because he was young and wearing a dark-blue uniform. I thought the uniform was a good sign that he was serious about being a pilot.

After introductions and loading our gear, we made the short drive to the airport and a guard unlocked the gate which led us into the area of private hangars. We had to wait just inside the entrance until an official aviation vehicle arrived a few minutes later. A uniformed woman stepped out of the vehicle and our driver/pilot stepped out of his own car, greeted the officer by name, stood with his arms out to his sides and his legs spread while she waved an instrument over him, front and back. She then asked him to take his carry-on out of the vehicle and she checked it over with the wand and passed us on through. We were impressed with the security.

We parked in front of Dr. Barria’s personal hangar and Captain Aparicio told us to wait while he unlocked the door and turned off the security system. When he returned to his car, Allene had my walker ready and the two of them assisted me into the building where he had placed a comfortable office chair near the plane that I could sit in while waiting to board.

I was alarmed when I saw the small size of the single-engine plane. I looked over at Allene and said, “How in hell am I going to get in that plane? There’s no possible way!”

Captain Aparicio heard me and calmly walked back to my chair and said, “Clay, we do this all the time. When I tell you how to get in the plane you will be able to do it easily. Don’t worry.”

His easy-going manner and self-assuredness made me believe him and I relaxed and went with the flow.

He removed the chocks from the wheels and attached a yoke to the front of the plane. He asked Allene if she could help push the plane out of the hangar while he pulled from the front. She got behind the right wing and when he gave the word, she started pushing and the two of them got the plane out of the hangar and onto the dirt driveway that led to the runway.

For some reason this struck me as being funny and I started laughing my head off. And then I frowned as I realized what an idiot I was to not get a photo of that. It would’ve been classic.

The captain removed the yoke and set it in the hangar, then opened the doors to the plane.

“Okay, Clay, come over here and let me show you how to get inside.”

I walked over with my walker to the left side of the plane and he told me to turn around and sit on the back of the left wing. He pointed out a strut and said that was a step.

“Put your arms behind you on the wing, put your good leg on the step and push your way up onto the wing. Then keep pushing backwards until your butt is even with the door.”

I did as he said and when I was sitting beside the pilot’s door, he told me to rotate my body, put my arms on the seat and lift my body through the door and into the back seat. I got that part done and as he was telling me to slide my legs in and lower them to the floor I was already doing it. It actually turned out to be a piece of cake.

I thought the plane was very impressive. It was sleek and modern-looking, the exterior having a metallic oceanic blue color with a metallic gray racing stipe down the side. The interior was basic black with four very comfortable upholstered seats and the console was totally digitalized and state-of-the-art.

Captain Aparicio went through his preflight checks, then started the engine and did more checks. He gave a headset with a mic on it to Allene who was in the copilot seat, and passed one back to me. He said we would be able to listen to him talking to the air traffic controllers in the David tower and later in the Bocas tower. We could also converse amongst ourselves once we were airborne.

David airport is an international airport with flights to and from the U.S. and other countries. While we were taxiing out on the dirt driveway to the tarmac, a large COPA Airlines jet landed and we had to hold while it taxied to the terminal. I must say we looked mighty small as the big airliner passed by.

Within minutes we were given clearance for take-off and we taxied to the head of the runway where Captain Aparicio gave it full throttle. The little plane responded like a thoroughbred race-horse to an opened gate and it seemed like we were airborne in less than 200 yards. It was really cool listening to Captain Aparicio and the controller talking.

The takeoff took us out over the Pacific and then we made a big loop around the city of David. As we got on the heading to Bocas we could see the summit of Volcan Baru peeking through the clouds. It is a dormant volcano and at 11,398 feet, it is the tallest mountain in Panama. Even though we are only ten degrees north of the equator, the summit is high enough for there to be light freezes and frosts and occasional dustings of snow.

Captain Aparicio didn’t hesitate to alter course so we could get a bird’s eye view of the breathtaking summit. From there we could also already see the Caribbean and the archipelago of Bocas del Toro. As we got closer and could see more detail I was once again awestruck by how stunningly beautiful the archipelago is from the air. That view will never ever get old.

Aparicio was now talking with the Bocas control tower and they gave us clearance to land. Coming in low over the ocean I could tell there was very little wind by the glassy surface of the water and our pilot made a silky smooth landing. We taxied to the terminal where a marshaller signaled where we should park. Captain Aparicio opened his door and stepped out first and went around to open Allene’s door. He got my walker out and brought it around to the lower edge of the left wing. He told me to come out backwards like I went in, turn around on the wing so my legs were facing towards the tail of the plane, slide down and step off the same way I had stepped up. Again, it was very easy. I grabbed my walker and the three of us walked toward the terminal.

Jacy had been waiting inside but was allowed to come out to greet us and help us with our bags. We introduced her to Captain Aparicio, told him how grateful we were for all he’d done and said our goodbyes.

Jacy escorted us to the parking area where a friend of ours named Rolando was waiting for us with his pickup truck taxi. We all climbed in and set and off on the long drive across the island to our home in Boca del Drago. Rolando did a superb job of driving slowly, dodging potholes, and making the trip as easy as possible for me. His truck had good suspension as well, which was why Jacy had asked for him in the first place.

The whole way to our house I was wracking my brain as to how I was going to get from the driveway down the grassy slope to our house and then up the stairs to the veranda. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried.

When Rolando drove up our driveway and approached our house, I was immediately surprised when I noticed a new wooden ramp that hugged the house on the side closest to the driveway and led up to the veranda. I could see that the length of it negated the amount of the rise and made it navigable with my walker. Rolando stopped on a level spot where it appeared I could exit the taxi and walk down to the ramp entrance. Our worker Pepito and my friend Ariel Vergara, who had been co-owner of our construction company he and I started shortly after we moved here, were walking towards the taxi from the tool shed. Then our two dogs Whitey and Junior came bounding down the ramp closely followed by Traci. After greetings and hugs all around, including the dogs, I asked Ariel to get on one side of me and Pepito on the other for the walk down to the ramp. Our yard slopes downhill from the driveway so I knew it would be difficult with the walker. Sure enough, on my second step the walker tipped to the right and I started to fall but Ariel and Pepito grabbed me at the same time and held on for the rest of the walk to the ramp. The ramp was perfect.

Unbeknownst to me, after Jacy returned to Bocas, she, Allene, Traci and Ariel conspired to make things much easier and safer for me, knowing I would be confined to the house for a good while. Besides the ramp, Ariel had built an extension to the veranda on the opposite side from the ramp to make an outdoor shower. When building our house many years ago, I had installed a large bathtub for Allene in our bathroom because she likes soaking in the warm water. I have always liked showers so I made an outdoor open-air shower beside the house for me where only God and the monkeys can see you. It’s also convenient when we or visitors come back up from the beach after surfing or diving. Because of the slope I mentioned earlier, the back-side of the house is ten feet off the ground on 6’ X 6’ hardwood posts. From the veranda it’s a double stairway down to the shower and right now, I can’t do stairs.

Allene and Traci led me into the house to show me another surprise. Our old tropical-style rattan furniture was gone, replaced by a double recliner couch, two mahogany end tables with new lamps and two large soft matching end chairs. Allene had bought the furniture in David when she and Jacy were shopping and she had our friends Toby and Lola Braxton, of Servicios Toby, pick up the furniture and deliver it to Bocas. Our neighbor Christophe, who has a big Ford Raptor truck, volunteered to pick up our furniture in town and bring it out to our house. Thanks, Chris! You’re a great friend and neighbor.

I was also told that the day after that, our neighbor Roger, whom I mentioned earlier in this story, came over with his truck and he and Traci loaded up our old furniture which was still in good shape and delivered it to Pepito’s house near the Drago village on the road to Bocas town. Pepito has worked for us on our property since we moved here. He’s from the Ngöbe (Guaymi) indigenous tribe and like family to us so we always pass everything down to him. He said he loves the furniture. Thank you, Traci and Roger!

After checking out the furniture we all sat down on the veranda and Allene opened a bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass. Well, everyone but me. She brought me a glass of ice water. We clinked glasses and Allene made a toast to our homecoming. The dogs were lying at my feet and the view of the blue Caribbean and Isla de Los Pajaros offshore put a lump in my throat while my eyes misted up. Coming home had never felt so good. I was glad to be alive.

Rolando and Jacy left to get back to town and we thanked them both again for their time and trouble. When the rest of us sat back down, Ariel explained that he and Pepito were going to start working on a sidewalk for me that would go from the end of the ramp up to the driveway where we park the truck. That way I could safely walk on a level surface with the walker up to the truck if I needed to be taken to town for something. So, after finishing the wine they got started on the excavation with picks and shovels. Ariel said that he also had ordered many bags of cement and several yards of sand and gravel and it was stacked by the tool shed covered with a tarp. Jacy had also arranged for Rolando to bring Ariel out from town every morning and pick him up at 5 p.m. for the trip back to town.

They finished the excavation that day and the next morning they started laying the forms. Before noon they started mixing and pouring concrete. By the end of the following day, the sidewalk was completely poured. They waited a couple of days to let it cure a little and then Ariel came back out with Rolando and removed the forms. The sidewalk was done. Thank you, Ariel and Pepito for the good construction work. Thank you Allene, Jacy and Traci for making my life easier and safer during this difficult time.

That evening, Traci went online booked and her flight back to Texas. The next morning, after hugs and goodbyes, Allene took her to the airport. Allene and I and Junior and Whitey can’t thank you enough, Traci.

When Allene returned from town it was time for me to once again get serious about my rehabilitation.  My plan was to do four or five exercise sessions a day, depending on my energy level and pain. Because I still needed to be assisted by Allene, it was time-consuming for her as well. My immediate goal was to get to the point where I could do the exercises by myself in order to free up time for her. Right now, besides caring for me, she had to take over my share of the household duties and tasks that are necessary on a daily basis. I came to realize that breaking my leg had changed Allene’s life almost as much as it had mine. So, the faster I could get well meant things would get back to normal for the both of us.

Two items we brought with us on Dr. Barria’s plane were a raised toilet seat with handles, which doubled as a shower seat; and a small stationary bicycle like the one I had used in the therapy center. I think these two items are self-explanatory as to their value in my recuperation. When Allene and I started the home therapy, I told her I would try to do the first few reps on my own. Each day I got a little stronger and could do more and more reps without assistance. After one week, my leg was strong enough for me to want to try something new. I walked with the walker to my chinning bar and held on with both hands. Sure enough, I could lift my bad leg high enough and hold it up long enough to do five pullups. I was ecstatic.

That success gave me another idea. I asked Allene to move one of the dining room chairs out to the middle of the living room floor. I was able to sit comfortably and then I asked her to bring me our dumbbells. I had no problem doing several sets of different exercises while sitting in the chair. Being able to add the upper body workout meant a lot. The more areas you can work is good for your overall physiology. Not to mention what it does for your mental state.

After another week I hit two more milestones. The first was that my balance had returned enough that I could stand with most of my weight on my good leg to do stretches to warm up and cool down at exercise times. The second was that I was finally able to do 100% of the leg exercises without assistance. Allene was free. Well, free from the exercises. She still had to help me with everything else, bless her heart.

So now, with the pullups, dumbbells, stretching, leg exercises, walking laps on the ramp and veranda with the walker and riding the stationary bike, the sessions were so long and tiring I had to reduce it to two sessions a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The rest of the day was filled with eating healthy meals, getting plenty of rest and also writing this story. Plus a good night’s sleep.

As things progressed, I was definitely improving little by little, however there were a few setbacks. There were days when I woke up with leg pain that was stronger than usual and I also had no energy. I was in constant touch with Tomas. I sent him videos of my workouts and he would continue to give advice. On the bad days he told me to take a day off and just rest. It always helped and I would be fresh and able to start back up the next day. Thank you, Tomas!

Dr. Barria asked me to get my leg X-rayed the last week of November. Rolando drove his taxi out to pick me up and took me to the hospital where Jacy met us to help me get it done. I got the X-rays taken and the radiologist put them up on a big monitor so Jacy could photograph them with her phone and then sent them to Dr. Barria in David. With me being the most technologically challenged person on the planet, this modern technology never ceases to amaze me. Dr. Barria wrote back within five minutes and said, “The pictures came through perfectly and I will look them over in the next hour.”

Jacy and I walked to the cashier’s office where I paid the bill and then Jacy said she would drive me back home so she could hang out with Allene and me for a while. We exited the hospital, thanked Rolando and paid him for the drive and for waiting. Then Jacy drove us back to the house in her SUV.

When we got home, Allene and Jacy hung out on the veranda while I went inside and texted Dr. Barria asking him to elaborate a little about the X-rays. He replied, “The healing process has gone as expected and there is a good callus formation at the site of the break. I’d like for you to start walking with one crutch on the side opposite of your broken leg. Then in the last week of December, I want you to get X-rayed again and if all goes well, I think you can then start walking unassisted.”

I went outside and told Allene and Jacy the good news and they were as happy as I was to know that maybe in a month I might start to walk on my own again.

I kept working hard for the next few weeks anticipating getting the new X-rays but the Omicron variant had something to say about that. Man plans, God laughs.

The town of Bocas was packed with people starting around December 8, which is Mother’s Day in Panama, and the biggest holiday of the year. It is a national holiday, with banks and government businesses shut down. As had happened the previous year, the spike in COVID infections went vertically upward over the next few days after Mother’s Day. And then Christmas sent the spike even higher. At the end of December, Omicron had crept into just about every New Year’s Eve gathering and our archipelago had the highest number of active cases recorded since COVID first arrived here almost two years previously. Many sick people were swamping the hospital and a lot of the hospital staff were out sick as well. I conferred with Dr. Barria and he agreed that it would be a wise move to wait until this wave passed before getting the X-rays. So, another setback … but no worries. I will keep on doing what I’m doing and try to be patient. So for now, that is where things stand.

I have to admit that this has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to face. When I think back about all the foolish and dangerous things I’ve done, the ridiculous chances I’ve taken, the bad situations I put myself in, it’s truly a miracle that I’m still alive. I’ve surfed almost my whole life and have ridden many big waves in various parts of the world. I can recall so many times in heavy conditions when I took off on waves that were hopeless, getting slammed on the reef, drug across the bottom and held down for what seemed like an eternity and survived it all with only reef rash and a few stitches. And even as I’ve gotten older and realized that discretion is the better part of valor, to this day I still sometimes go on waves that I know I should let pass me by. Then of all things, I fell and broke my femur walking on my neighbor’s beach. In the whole scope of everything I’ve been through, this seems almost comical and so ironic. But such is life. Right now I’m not even thinking about surfing. I’ll surf again even if I have to do it lying down. At the moment, I just want to concentrate on being able to walk normally.

But on a positive note, this has been a big lesson in humility for me. No matter how much you think you’ve got life dialed in, it can all come crashing down in a New York minute.

Being raised and taught by my Dad to be self-sufficient has been invaluable throughout my life and especially so after moving to Panama and carving out a niche out here, living off the grid in the jungle. But now it’s so humbling for me to be totally helpless and have to depend on others for everything. I certainly won’t take anything for granted ever again. And I don’t have words to adequately convey the gratitude I feel for all those who helped me after my accident. I’ve tried to thank everyone who was involved as I wrote this story but I want to do it again here at the end. Sincere gratitude to all of the following.

Those who were there at the beginning: Whitney, Inga, Dustin and Mulget … who witnessed my fall, notified my wife and brought her to the scene, then notified our neighbor. The four of them also took care of our dogs and secured our house until our housesitter/dear friend/upcoming neighbor arrived two days later.

Our neighbors: Roger Durbin, Courtney and Rosemary Parks, Tom Brewer, Christophe Ronne, who each played a part (or many parts) in getting me through this ordeal.

First responders: Denis, Miguel, Joana, the ambulance driver and others who were there to assist.

My sister-in-law: Lynn Hefner, the first person Allene contacted personally to explain the situation, and she came through in so many ways.

Hospital personnel: Dr. Ben Morales and the staff of Bocas Hospital; the doctors and staff at Changuinola Hospital; Dr. Heraclio Barria and the staff of Hospital Chiriqui; my two morning nurses; my physical therapists, Tomas and Tamara.

Lifesavers: Wade, Margaux and Louie for bringing essentials to David; Toby and Lola Braxton of Servicios Toby; the entire staff at Gran Hotel Nacional; Eddie, our taxi driver in David; Captain Aparicio, who flew us home; and Rolando, our dependable Bocas taxi driver.

Construction crew: Ariel Vergara and Pepito Martinez. Thanks for the good work, boys.

Homies: Our good friend Traci Orr, who came down from Texas on a moment’s notice to watch our house and dogs. Our incredible niece, Jacy Hefner, whose help was immeasurable. We couldn’t have survived this without ya, Jace. And last, but certainly not least, my beautiful wife Allene who has stayed right by my side throughout this whole ordeal as she has throughout our life together. She has been my caregiver, therapy assistant, comforter, cook, waitress, masseuse, editor, psychologist and numerous other roles I can’t even remember. You are my everything, Allene, and my love for you is endless.

After my accident I decided it would be best if we kept all this quiet. I know it has leaked out to a few people but for the most part we’ve been able to keep a loose lid on it. The main reason was I knew if we posted the news on social media I would get bombarded with messages and well-wishes from family, friends and my music fans. I always try to respond to everyone who contacts me regarding my music or whatever else is going on in my life and that by staying focused on my rehabilitation I would not be able to have the time or energy to do that.

This recovery has been a hard, intense experience, very painful and exhausting, and still is, but not nearly to the degree it was in the beginning. To give you an analogy, the day after my surgery, when Dr. Barria asked me to raise my bad leg and I couldn’t lift it even a quarter of an inch, my leg felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. At the time I added my pull-ups and dumbbells to my routine, my bad leg felt like it weighed maybe seventy pounds. When I went to get the X-rays in November, that leg felt like it had gone down to around forty pounds. Right now it feels like it weighs only fifteen or twenty pounds. I’ll know I’ve reached the sweet spot when my bad leg feels weightless like my good leg. I feel like I’m getting closer every day.

So right now, I’d like to apologize for keeping everyone in the dark and ask for your forgiveness and understanding of my reasons for doing so. However, since I have finished with this damn story and my recovery has progressed well enough, please feel free to bombard me now. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and more than ready to rejoin the world.