I Beat the Baseball Trade Deadline

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Woo, was I lucky! I got in under the trade deadline. I sent two old crutches to the VA for a spiffy new Drive rollator. AND physical therapy exercises to be named later!!! Truthfully, I don’t know what possessed me to go to the VA yesterday. But I’m thankful I did, because God sure blessed me. I mentioned in a previous discussion how the physical therapy department had seen me then not seen me because the doctor had written my PT order for the wrong thing. Now, to be fair, they moved very quickly to get me x-rayed to see what was going on in my back and hips. The doctor subbing but not really subbing for my doctor who’s moved to another clinic (soap opera in itself) wrote a new physical therapy order for my back. Then the PT department decided to sit on it. Oh, and remember those crutches I photographed earlier this week? Not very visible was the fact that there was NO foam padding on those things anywhere. Now, the VA has a steadfast rule in Prosthetics: you need a doctor’s order to get something. Well, I certainly didn’t have anything for new crutches. In fact, the VA didn’t give me those crutches. (They were old hand-me-downs from my brother.) I figured I’d leave the VA muttering a few pages of The Big Book of Navy Cuss Words. NO. I went to the PT office to see if there was any word on when I’d get my referral read and assigned to a therapist. Oh, I said, and could I possibly get some padding for the crutches? “Go sit in the waiting room,” the clerk told me. “He’s running a little behind, but he’ll come out and see you.” “He” was a therapist. I had no idea I’d be SEEN yesterday. Heck, I was only hoping that they might tell me I’d get seen in 2021! “What do you need those crutches for?” he asked. I explained that one of my major back issues (and one very big reason that I don’t go to concerts anymore [covid notwithstanding]) is that, while I can walk without too much problem, standing absolutely DESTROYS my back. “Spodylolisthesis,” he said. I nodded. He watched me on the crutches for a second then said, “I don’t like you on those crutches.” “I don’t like me on these crutches, either,” I said. “That’s why I’d like some new ones that are a little more comfortable.” “Do you want these?” he asked. I shook my head (then quickly shot my brother a text to make sure he didn’t want them back). He took them from me and stuck them in a garbage can. He then pointed to a table and told me to have a seat. A few seconds later he came back with the above-pictured rollator. It’s perfect for me, because it provides what I need most: a place to sit down when I have to be in a “standing” environment (like a check-out line). AND I got my PT exercises for my back!! All that before the 4 PM baseball trading deadline yesterday! Now, if only the Cubs hadn’t sold off the backbone of the team….. Oh, well, Cubs fans are used to “wait ‘til next year.”