In late July, I had a mishap on the staircase of the Brennan’s home in Quincy, IL. Somehow, I fell over the open side of the staircase onto the carpeted concrete floor 4-5 feet below. Although there was significant bruising on my hip and near my ribcage, it was my mangled-looking finger that caused the most concern.
Even after the urgent care PA had put my dislocated right index finger back into place, it didn’t look like I would be playing golf anytime soon. The unanswered question was whether I would be ready to play in my early September Legends Tour event and even more importantly, on our Scotland trip where nine rounds of golf had been scheduled.
No doctor or therapist was willing to commit to a date-certain return to golf from my injury, but at least they didn’t rule out the possibility. I faithfully did my physical therapy exercises over the next 5 ½ weeks.
On September 5th, Val and I drove from Quincy, IL to Plymouth, MA and I teed it up in the BJ’s Charity Championship Pro-Am. Yay! The finger felt good, I played well, and I knew I would be okay for Scotland!
The next morning, we drove from Plymouth through western Massachusetts on our way to Canada, where our trip would begin. Our friend Lynn Festa, who happens to be a hand therapist, just so happened to work very close to our route. We stopped to see her and she inspected my finger and released me from the splint. Yay again!
Val and I were happy to finally arrive at Erika’s home in Ontario, Canada after driving 1885 miles over the past four days. We appreciated Erika and her chocolate lab Milo hosting us overnight for the final pre-trip prep. Milo also was preparing for HIS extended stay with his “second family who loves him” during Erika’s long trip to come.
The next day before our evening flight, we were thrilled to have time to tour the Headwaters Health Care Clinic grounds in Orangeville so we can now appreciate the fruits of Erika’s volunteer career: beautiful gardens, plantings, intricate stone walls and statuaries encircling the expansive hospital grounds!
Back at Erika’s home, we feasted on a bountiful leafy greens and vegetable salad as we watched Canadian tennis phenom Bianca Andreescu win her first Grand Slam title: the US Women’s Open. We finished packing our golf equipment and clothes, with keen thought of taking as little as we needed yet keeping in mind the possible weather options in September.
