He's B-A-C-K...

To begin with, I want to thank all of you for the numerous e-mails and cards that were waiting for us when we returned home here late Saturday night. It was a tough week in Fargo in the Hospital, and Robyn decided not to take the laptop up to the room as the Hospital doesn't have a secured wireless connection just yet.

So, to fill you in on what maybe some of you didn't know and to make a long story short, I have been fighting a very bad right knee situation after a scope last August which totally escalated and kinda got out of control this past March; the meds that were prescribed for me by multiple doctors led to multiple problems and also a mild heart condition that took me down pretty quick one afternoon right after lunch...and that put me in the Intensive Care Unit in the Hospital near Minot AFB for about three days.

After that, only one (right) thing left to do...and that's get the knee fixed right (this time) and quick...and also get off all the fun meds...which were not being much fun any more...

Result? A total right knee replacement this past week in Fargo. Surgery went well but I fell in my room about three hours after surgery...and, as fate would have it, right on the knee that had just been replaced. I will tell you now that I have never done as much praying in my life during the time it took them to race me into X-Ray and see just what I did...either tear out the surgery, hairline crack(s), femur fracture, etc. But God was good (when isn't He?) and there was no permanent damage except for a few 'stretched' staples running the length of the incision. The only thing I couldn't understand was someone kept yelling out as we were rolling, "CALL SECURITY...CALL SECURITY...". Yea, right...what are they going to do...shoot me?

So...

Home for a few weeks to work on some special projects
for my company, and also to give Robyn the 'rest' of her life back...at least, for a while. And how she puts up with me and cares for me is another blessing that maybe one day I'll learn how and why we got together in the first place, as I'm sure I got the better end of that deal...

So, folks, THANKS AGAIN, as while I couldn't be with you all on the Board while I was in the Hospital, it was GREAT to come home to all of you and get back with it...as you guys have got to be one of the FINEST groups of people I've ever been associated with in all of my lifetime...

Sure, we've all had our differences from time to time, but that's what this Board is (or should be) all about...but...when the chips are down, I wouldn't trade the people on this Board for anyone or any other Board in the world...and don't you EVER, EVER forget that!

And, it's also very, very nice to be back and home...

Just for the record, I will be taking calls on both my Home (701) 252-4770 & Office (701) 251-9112 phone lines for at least the next two weeks (the Office line is now patched into my home); if I'm not here when you call, I'm probably at the Hospital for my additional Therapy sessions, and I can hardly wait for those to begin!

A very special THANK YOU, also, to Don & Carol Feipel for making the trip all the way from Chicago to Jamestown, North Dakota to be with Robyn and me right up to and including the time before we left for Fargo for the surgery. I'll be buying Powerball tickets each week now to see if I can win and help you pay for your gas...

Thanks also to Dick Logan and Jimmy Dahlman for their help in assisting with the ND Firefighter's Association Convention Parade here in Jamestown on the Friday before we left for Fargo.

And I hope that I haven't left anyone out, either...

With My Very Best To All Of You,

Larry Phillips
TOY TRUCKER Magazine

Location: North Dakota

Larry,
Glad your back home and on the mend. Take care and don't try to rush your recovery. We need your knowledge and expertise, and above all your writing skills, to keep us informed on that is happening in the world of diecast. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Larry, good to see you back on the board again. Take it easy on the knee. I know from experience what you are going through. Hope the thearpy goes well.

Location: Hickory, N. C.

I've had stents installed (twice) due to a fractured sturnam as a result of wrecking my State CV some time ago. The meds have me on light duty for a year so far (no bang bang, and limited driving). I have stomach trouble due to all the asprin, and a migraine once or twice a week because of the pain killers. Can't have more than two drinks a week, and no French Fries. So Larry, welcome to the ranks of the Old and Feable.

Glad you are on the Recovery Highway!!!!

To those of you who have called, it's been great to talk with you...especially those I've spoken with for the very first time. You can keep the calls coming, but I'll be taking them on a limited basis for the time being. When you call, Robyn will probably answer, and you'll probably end up wanting to talk with her anyway...

But...NO French Fries?????

YIKES!

Larry Phillips
TOY TRUCKER Magazine



Larry

Location: North Dakota

Glad you're back, Larry! Hope the recovery is speedy and complete. The Lord is great and his mercy is everlasting!! Looking forward to Baltimore. Will be taking in the Yankees/Orioles game on Friday nite but will be there with my Red Sox hat on!

Larry we have never met and don't know each other personally, but I have read and enjoyed a lot of your posts. Glad to hear your doing well post surgery and are "back on line". Hope your recovery continues well.

Location: Boston

Good to see you are on the mend Larry, you must have been a good patient as they let you have the fries. Play up in hospital and they take away your fries.. ......something you are not telling us Chuck, either that or the hospital staff have relatives at Code 3.....ROTFLMAO

Progress Report...

Had my 'staples' out yesterday, which makes it a bit easier to do the required 'therapy' excercises, like bending, bending, and bending. One of these days I'll get it right!

I hope to be at the LaMoure, ND Toy Show this coming Saturday, 06-23-07, as Robyn has rented a wheel chair as 'required' for me by my surgeon to get around in this early after surgery...or, it's no go at all.

At my last therapy session I met a fellow that had basically the same procedure I did (only he didn't fall in his room right after surgery) and he was still using his own walker some five weeks after surgery. My own goal is to get 'rid' of this four-legged metal companion of mine ASAP that now is a regular part of my life, but that's only if I complete the required bending, bending and bending and my occupational therapist signs off on it.

It's a totally different way to live at present; we get to park (at least for a while now) in the 'blue' painted spaces around town, and that has given me the upmost respect for those that still (and will) have to park there on a permanent basis; unfortunately, they have no hope of ever getting rid of their 'blue' permits...of which I would give up mine in a heart beat.

The old saying, 'You don't know what you've got until you loose it' all of a sudden makes sense once again, and all I can say is thank God for my faith and thank God for the people on this Board. Robyn still can't get over the e-mails and phone calls from people we've never met before, and she has promised me a huge ATEV get-together for all of you in our backyard (and all expenses paid, at that) just as soon as she wins Powerball. I told her that with my connections in this hobby, I could probably get the renowned Woodland Hills Dymanic Duo Cooking Team of 'Arnie and Scott' to handle the grill, all the whilst getting 'grilled' themselves to handle the many questions we've been all been asking lately...

I also told her that now if she ever does connect, it's already been posted and there are at least 538 witnesses to that post. And while I wouldn't be making reservations just yet, it would be kinda neat, wouldn't it? Like I previously posted, ATEV'ers Don and Carol Feipel (AKA the 'Commish' on the Firepics Board) made the trip all the way out here from Chicago just before I went into the Hospital, so if you want to know anything about this crazy place that the TOY TRUCKER calls home (including the two Goodyear blimps that hang in the Family Room and the American Flag from Ground Zero that hangs in our living room), both of these great people can vouch for those and a few other zany things that presently make up our current 'home sweet home' (and that also includes our four cats, Sparky, Smokey, Siren and Cinders). Needless to say, we'd be lost without them.

So, it's bend, bend, bend until I can't bend any more, and then do five 'extra' bends just in case. And I'll keep you posted and up to date on the rest...

Thanks again, guys, for all the continued encouragement now and along the way; it's really, really been appreciated...

Larry Phillips
TOY TRUCKER Magazine

Location: North Dakota

been away from toy trucker for about two years. Just renewed for two years. Looking forward to reading your column again. Moneys been tight lately.

Location: CA

It is good to hear that you are doing well after total knee replacement. I had my left knee replaced on the 12th of February and was back to work at the hospital in Syracuse where I work in 10 weeks. An excellent orthopedic surgeon and a very good rehab program made all the difference. I will have to have the right one done in the next couple of years.

I am hoping that your recovery and rehab will go as well and that you will soon be running marathons!!! Good luck.

Location: Oswego, NY