At Last Santa Fe

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Fortunately it cooled off into the upper 70's and we were able to get a few hours of sleep. On the road the next day proved to be much cooler, we began our long drive on I-40 with todays overnight stop in Holbrook, AZ. The drive was low on interest and excitement although Needles, CA was 95 at 11:30 AM.

Sometime during the drive or at our campsite in Holbrook Emily's trick knee tricked out and she was unable to trick it back in. Normally it would last a few moments, but today it never slipped back to normal. She was in serious pain and it showed on the drive to Santa Fe, especially climbing in and out of the truck. BTW- her MO is very much macho - I am tough and I don't need any help “my knee will trick back in”.

I decided our first stop in Santa Fe would be St. Vincent ER unit. This a known facility as Paul Bollea (brother-in-law) paid it a visit in the late 90's after having a piece of fried tortilla lodge in his throat. At the ER they did their normal song and dance - check vitals, check insurance and get an ER doc to do a diagnosis. I left at the insurance phase and drove to our campground (more on this later).Did a check-in, disconnected the trailer, unloaded the truck bed, picked up stuff in the trailer that became airborne during the drive, hooked up the electrical and water, and made sure everything was functional. Although it was in the low 80's, I was sweaty and my hands were covered with grease and dirt. I was a sight to behold and raised a few eyebrows when I returned to the ER to pick-up the patient.

With no orthopedic doc on duty what would you suspect the outcome of her visit would be? Take 2 Advil and call us in the morning. Almost, but not quite. When you think about a knee injury, what low level medical option would be given? Yes, of course crutches that allows a patient to be able to almost walk, almost climb stairs, almost get in to a Tundra, and ward off muggers while experiencing severe pain. However instead of Advil, Emily got a prescription for an MRI with instructions to call in the AM to schedule an appointment.

Emily was not doing well when I picked her up at the ER. She had be poked, pulled and twisted until her knee was hurting more than when we first arrived. We headed out to the trailer park to get ready for the first of three nights at the Santa Fe Opera. Driving into the trailer park I could tell Emily was a bit disappointed, so let me take a few minutes to describe it. Visualize a super market or mall parking lot covered in gravel with several rows of parking spaces, with each space 4 wide and 3 deep. Light poles are strategically placed and not a single tree, picnic table, fire-pit or restroom facilities to be seen. The epitome of a parking lot campground.

I know you are probably wondering why outdoors person Dennis (Emily also) would choose such a place - think reason for being in Santa Fe - Opera and now remember the last time you went to an event being attend by close to 2,000 people and now tap in to the most frustrating part of the evening - traffic. Yes this trailer park was chosen because it was 10 minutes to the opera and would not encounter Santa Fe traffic.

Now back to our painful saga. I am not sure Emily really want to go to the opera, but by utilizing the power of Dennis, he used that “hang-dog” look for the rest of the drive back to RV lot. Emily changed clothes and we were off to the our first night.

I was able to drop Emily at the entrance and requested a wheel-chair. Not only did she get a wheel chair, but an opera staff person to make sure it was readily available to meet her needs - she was in good hands. Tonight it was “Madam Butterfly” and it did not disappoint. Unlike the Met which relies on garish sets and costuming, Santa Fe goes for simple and understated. The northwestern NM skies at sunset were the back drop for the beginning of the opera. Santa Fe emphasizes the performance and in this case Butterfly appeared to be 15 matching the age of the character. She was small weighting no more than 110 at just over 5 feet possessing the power and sensitivity to bring the audience to their feet several times. As usual it was amazing.

Back to the trailer about 11:30 and finally an extended rest for the knee.

Emily did not edit.

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