Spring and summer guests will soon fill our streets, scurrying in and out of stores and shops.
Winter has passed and a new season is about to burst into our little town of Pagosa. We will soon be dodging orange cones and more traffic than our streets can hold.
We are putting behind another winter — an odd winter with little snow. For me it meant weekly visits to doctors and hospitals. Behind the activity was the real core of our community working — our people who showed up every day with love and good hearts who took care of our community.
My gratitude goes out to the staff of the emergency rooms, doctor offices and clinics. Even compounded with seven months of physical therapy, pushing my body beyond itself — to return to normal.
One doctor went beyond what was expected of her. I have great gratitude and thankfulness toward my primary doctor, Emilie McIntyre, MD, and her team. She has walked along side me since she came to the Pagosa Springs Medical Center in July 2024 — evening phone calls, reading data, adjusting medicine, staying closely involved with me and the string of viruses, stomach flu and a gallbladder scare.
When data came over her desk, she was quick to reach out by phone or text. She has spent hours monitoring and adjusting my medicine.
This winter was about emergency rooms in three different hospitals. I wondered if life would become normal again. I knew I was in a dark hole when I started planning my funeral, dispersing everything to family members.
This last bout put me over the edge. Three nights of groaning, moaning and fussing. I told my son, “Take me to the hospital. Something is really wrong.”
The journey began. Nine hours in the Pagosa emergency room, a plane trip landing me in Colorado Springs in the same hospital I had been in seven months earlier. I said then, “I’m not coming back. I’m passing this way only once.”
I was wrong. Once again, I lay flat on my back for two days, on a liquid diet, waiting for the surgeon to take out my infected gallbladder. Only the hand of God stopped the operation. The doctor understood what was happening and I came home with my gallbladder and a story to tell.
I have one more ditch to jump over. An appointment scheduled with a heart doctor in Durango, then I should be back to normal.
In my younger days, it was easy to throw all caution to the wind, take a chance, go out on a limb, even saw off the limb if necessary. This time in life is all about knowing we need to take care of important things, such as relationships and my health.
We live in a community whose core is love for each other. So many people stepped up, cared and helped me become healthy again. I will not forget their kindness. So many prayers have gone out for my family and me.
I am different today than I was before the accident last August. I received so much compassion and mercy. An odd winter has put things in perspective and shown me the importance of relationships, a healthy body and the brevity of years on this earth.
Several readers ask if I would still be writing articles for “Artist’s Lane” . Yes, of course. I plan to show up and hopefully have something that will encourage, inform and even make you smile. Thank you for walking alongside me.
Final brushstroke: When you’re dodging orange cones and excited and or rude visitors come to our little town, remember it’s not the real core of Pagosa’s community. It’s just the season we are in. Our people remain the same. They show up every day ready to help.
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Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of The SUN.
