Yup, I came THIS close...

It was Monday, June 14, and we kept our appointment with Dr. Carl Bruce, my neurosurgeon.

He normally schedules follow-up visits with his patients two weeks and six weeks after release from the hospital, and I'd been released on May 28, so this was my two-week visit.

His office was located in the Mona Institute of Medical Sciences, which was co-located with the University Hospital

As usual, he was in a good mood, plying me with questions about the last two weeks: "How has your vision been? Is your balance improving?" and so on.

He made me do all kinds of weird things (which, of course, were valid medical tests) like stretching my hands out and then closing my eyes.

He checked whether either hand began to sink. They didn't.

He also told me I was ahead of most of his patients in my recovery.

In this photo, he's running another test, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

How doctors remember all the details they have to recall is mind-boggling.

Just to remember the names of the drugs available for the different ailments of the people they treat is remarkable.

Dr. Bruce leaned back in his chair and advised us (Erlinda was there, too) of the longer-term implications of recuperation from such a surgery as I'd had.

He pointed out that the vision in the left eye was affected by the fact that he'd disturbed nerves, muscles and tendons on which the eye depended.

He also pointed out that the surgery had displaced fat around the eye, which could be causing it to see at a new angle, not corresponding with the right eye. He advised patience, saying that it could be months before the left and the right saw eye-to-eye again (my words, not his).

All in all, it was a pleasant doctor's visit, and I almost hated for it to end, but he had other patients to see, so we trudged off to visit the hospital.

Since it was the first time I was seeing much of the hospital from a vertical position, I took advantage of the opportunity to roam the corridors and view the greens outside.

I also lost no opportunity to photograph my favorite subject. Heh, heh, heh....

Naturally, I had to revisit the Tony Thwaites wing, which had been my home for 14 days.

I hadn't noticed it before, but they had strict rules regarding visits to the patients.

Hmmm... I'm not sure that they enforced all the rules regarding the hours for visiting, nor the number of visitors per patient. You may recall that I'd had groups of four or more while I was there.

Was I just lucky? Maybe.

I had a chance to visit the Intensive Care Unit, where I thanked Sister Sharon Owen.

I'd spent three days under her wing, and I told her I appreciated the good care.

Erlinda got to pose with Sister Yvonne Grey, supervisor for the Tony Thwaites wing, where I spent the rest of my stay.

She's a fine lady, who was always solicitous of patients' needs and concerns.

And I got a chance to sit in a special chair in room 5. This was the room where I'd spent my first two nights in the hospital. The bed closest to the window was mine.

(After the surgery, I used room 17, a private room, and you've seen pix of that one already.)

On the first night, Dr. Ken Richards arranged accommodations for Erlinda, but on the second night, she was determined to stay with me. So she sat in that chair all night. All night. She claims she got a few winks now and then, but that was a very uncomfortable place to try to sleep. What a gal! I love her.

We visited with other nurses and medical personnel, then headed up to Physiotherapy to see Mrs. Bennett.

I had to go thank her for the help she'd given me while I was in her care.

Strange, she seemed a little shy in this picture. Maybe it was my arm around her while Erlinda was watching. I dunno.

And I had to show her that I'd conquered the stairs!

Remember the last time you saw me on these stairs? Mrs. Bennett and an orderly were practically carrying me up and down the steps.

But now, after two weeks of home, exercise and lovely Mandeville weather, I could do it!

She was pleased.

After we took care of some other business, we decided that we owed ourselves a trip to Hope Gardens, which was just a few miles away.

I'd visited Hope Gardens many times as a child and youth, so this was very nostalgic for me, especially after not having visited it for over twenty years.

And I was determined that Erlinda wouldn't be the only one to have visited the great vegetarian restaurant located in the gardens.

You'll remember that she had visited it while I was "languishing" in ICU after surgery.

(All right, relax. I'm just kidding. She deserved any break she could get to calm her frazzled nerves.)

We enjoyed our meal and the great ambience. It was almost like dining outside.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the food or even of us at the table. I think by this time in the day, I was losing my energy, so the pictures were fewer.

Can you wait till next time?

We posed at the entrance for a souvenir shot before leaving. There was no telling when we'd get back there, so we had to have a memory.

(Actually, I was secretly planning to take Erlinda there when we made our final visit to Doctor Bruce on Monday, July 12.)

And I'll get you some pictures of the gardens themselves, so you can see some of the beauty of Jamaican flora.

We'd had the pleasure of being chauffeur-driven for this entire trip by Mr. Vincent Simmons.

He's a faithful friend of many years, who's always willing to help us with transportation needs, whether it's the airport or otherwise.

It almost seemed unreal, that just two weeks after leaving the hospital, I'd be relatively strong, and able to enjoy a day out with my wife, my right arm.

But it was real. God was working a miracle in my recuperation, bringing my 6'4" frame back to what it had been before (maybe even better?).

Do you think maybe He has a plan for me? I'm guessing that He does. Maybe I should focus on finding out what it is, don't you think?