A day after daughter Amy flew back to Atlanta from visiting us the week before Easter (which I'll get to later), Astrid and I drove to Bad Rothenfelde in Germany to visit dear Philine, from our Shutterchance photoblog, who is in rehab following a right-knee replacement on March 1.
Actually, we made it a 3-day, 2-night trip (Tuesday-Thursday this week), spending 2 nights at a Fletcher Hotel in Denekamp, NL, close to the German border, making our trip to Philine on Wednesday easier--only a one-hour drive each way.
Bad Rothenfelde is a health resort in Lower Saxony, known for its wellness spas from salty water and air. Philine's medical clinic is smack-dab in the middle of all that goodness:
It's a huge complex of everything anyone needs for rehab after surgery.
And it's a stone's throw from the gradation towers that remove water
from the saline solution to produce salt for the salt baths:
we first walked around this largest of 2 towers...in the rain...
and got our education. This was totally new for me!
And it's all situated in the context of a lovely park
which residents from the clinic can enjoy while in rehab.
Exactly what the doctor ordered for a rainy day!
This is the collage I posted on Shutterchance the next day, for all our friends there
who have been very concerned about how she's doing.
In those 45 minutes, Philine met us at the reception desk, showed us her room,
walked the halls past all the important places (blood labs, exercise equipment, dining room, etc.),
and then back to her room for her to take a nap. We did her in!
Believe it or not, her knee replacement gives her no pain. THAT part is a huge success for her.
However, at age 82 (on April 10), the operation did a number on her blood hemoglobin,
making her dangerously anemic--tired, weak and short of breath.
In those 45 minutes, she had to take several sitting breaks.
And by the end, regardless of how tired she was (even though the exercise was important),
she became the Philine we all know at Shutterchance: our "professor" and mentor.
By the time we left her back in her room, she had her tell-tale smile and twinkle in her eye.
On the way back to our car, we passed the second, shorter gradation tower,
sans windmill and rain.
This was a very important trip for Astrid and me, to check up on our dear friend who is very special to our SC community. Many of us have met her in real life and were concerned about her need for rehab because of her severe anemia. It so happens that we were her first/only visitors thus far because of sickness among her German friends. So all the more we are glad we could make this trip. It was for US as much as it was for her.
Best wishes from all of us, dear Philine, as you continue your recovery....
Wat zal dit bezoek een geweldig goed gevoel geven. Heel erg liefvan jullie.
ReplyDeleteEn deze zoutwinning ken ik ook niet. Het waren weer succesvolle dagen met een goud randje.
Even though we didn't exactly plan for this visit to Philine to be so soon after Amy's visit, we thought of it as a wee vacation we needed, Marjolein, while also making good use of the time with our dear friend. It really WAS a "gold lining." Bedankt.
DeleteI am glad you were able to reassure yourselves your friend was doing ok. I hope she has a steady and complete recovery.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we really do need to see things with our eyes to be reassured, Marie, don't we! Thank you for knowing.
DeleteGoodness needs to be spread around, so thank you for doing that all the way to Philine. I imagine your visit did brought a great deal of pleasure and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Ruth. We did see Philine's spirits rise in those 45 minutes we were with her. But we also tired her out, doing her walking exercises. :) Our spirits, too, were raised!
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