Denny's Status

[Denny]

Hi everyone. Just a shorter post this time than some of my previous posts. A few things that helped me out tremendously while I was sick last year in the hospital and at Rehab. Watching and viewing the live webcams. I also enjoyed listening to music quite often and watching videos on You Tube. There were times that I’d watch music videos on You Tube. Even watched the famous “Barker Bark Salute often from the JRB and hearing my favorite the PRT salute as well with their horns!” In Physical Therapy, I would often listen to and play my music on my tune stuff as that helped to motivate me and inspire me more as far as whenever I would ride the exercise bike. They often say “Music is good for the soul!” Definitely helped in my recovery process. One of my favorite You Tube Videos I would often watch was “Great Lakes Freighters The Seasons and the Seas!” That is a must see and watch video for anyone who’s never seen or watched it!” The running time on that is just under an hour. There’s no narration just beautiful scenes and music captivating all of the 4 seasons during the Shipping season shot in 1995-96 I believe it was? The original Mackinaw is in it breaking up Straits ice and many lakers no longer with us is in the video. I never get tired of watching that video as I can watch it over and over again forever then!

[Denny]

Hello Dawn and great to see your posts again here on boatnerd along with my dear friend Howard as well. Glad to see both of you back posting again. Thanks to both Dawn and to Howard for your comments and concerns regarding my health as they are appreciated by me very much. Yes, I’m getting better each and every day with my health and I’m a lot healthier now thank goodness than I was back in the Fall of 2023! The road has been as you all may expect, very long filled with holes and bumps in the road. They often say and it’s been said many times “God never gives us more than we can handle and endure in our lives!” While I truly believe that statement and saying, I also believe that God also sees just how strong we are and how much strength we have within ourselves. A better example would be take all that I went through in 2023 with my illness. In some ways, I think God may have been testing me to see how strong I really was and how much I could endure and handle. It is amazing to see me now and the changes that have taken place with me in the past several months! I’ve lost a lot of weight which has helped throughout all of this and I feel much better now and have more energy than I did before. Those are all important steps and things to better health. Yes, as Dawn says I know someday I will be returning to the St. Clair River again to see all of my favorites! I believe this time though, things will be much different. I’ll have a better appreciation of the River, the ships that sail and also the hobby and enjoyment of it. I will also learn to acknowledge and embrace it more and to not take it as serious as I’ve done before. I’ll learn to live life to the fullest and to enjoy each moment and passing day and to take any opportunities that are presented to me.
I’ve had tons of support from family, friends, neighbors and here on boatnerd and I would not be where I am now without that support and encouragement. I know that I’ve made many people proud and I may be what you might call “A Role Model and an example for some!” I was well liked in Rehab and they enjoyed hearing me talk and share stories with them. They all hated to see me leave but, we’re all very happy that I would be going home again. I made many friends while in Rehab and I’ll always remember that forever then!

[Bookworm]

Oh my, Denny! I've not been checking the Message Board on a regular basis and only discovered your posts this morning. Yes, you have definitely had a year to forget, yet we learn from our experiences and gain wisdom and inner strength in the process. I know that will be true for you. Saying good-bye to a companion pet can be heart-breaking. That definitely leaves a hole in your life.I thank the medical and rehab teams who assisted you in overcoming all the challenges you faced during your series of medical events and those who reached out in compassion and care to encourage you. Trips to the river? I've learned to truly appreciate webcam placement for my up close and personal encounters with the boats. Not having a car (gave up driving in 2021) and having to walk (1\2 mile trip on an unpaved road but a cement walkway the other half) and weather conditions affect my ability to get to the river and enjoy the sight and sounds of passing boats. I pray your health continues to improve. Glasses are great and clarify your sight in ways you've surely experienced by now. You will get to the river in 2024, hopefully on days when you can see your favorites pass by.

[Guest]

Glad your back Denny Your posts are very Informative and your knowledge very appreciated Hope your health Improves!

[Denny]

Thanks Statmk for your kind thoughts and encouraging words and comments as they are very much appreciated by me. The recovery process is slow going and as one might expect and imagine, with my illness in 2023 I’ve been very busy with medical stuff along with constant appointments also. My illness has also in ways effected my sight some to the point to where I need new glasses just to see things up close better. Distance I’m fine on with that it’s the near sightedness that’s really the issue for me now. I think that 2024 will be another rough year and go for me as it will be an adjustment year to all the changes that have taken place from my illness in 2023! I’m hoping that by the time either 2025 or 2026 gets here, I should hopefully by then have things better adjusted and managed at that point. We’ll have to wait and see though. Thanks to everyone for your support and your thoughts, prayers and comments as they are appreciated. I’ll get through and over this with trust, faith, hope, patience, confidence, prayers and plenty of support as well.

[Howard Sprague]

Oh dear Denny…I’m so sorry to hear all of this. I wondered what had happened to you last year as we didn’t see you at all last season and we usually cross paths at least once or twice. Hope to see you out there this year as we attempt to get out to the river at least three times a week all season!

[Statmk]

I am glad to see you posting again. Yes it must be frustrating. You have the passion that many of us have. Let that passion keep you going and know that we 'connect" with you here. Here is to a better 2024. New season, new life!

[Denny]

Thanks Guest for your kind words and thoughts as they are very much appreciated by me. Indeed I’m doing my best as far as my long and slow recovery from being sick then in 2023. This just to me anyway seems like a bad dream and horrible and terrible nightmare that just don’t seem to want to end or go away anytime soon. Everyone has told me to try and be patient as my health and issues will continue to get better. Sometimes I wonder about that and what they’re really telling me. I have faith and trust in the doctors and medical stuff and people but still, at times I often wonder on things. Will sure be glad when I can get back to driving again and returning to the river again to enjoy seeing the ships again! I’m sure you and others that read and follow my posts realize how very frustrating it is for me to NOT be able to drive yet and also not being able to get to the river to see the ships again. I’m sure and know that things will get better for me at some point for sure then. Like everyone says and tells me, “Just try to hang in there, be patient and have faith!”

[Guest]

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your cat and health struggles Denny. I hope you continue the path of healing, As you said in one of your posts, your personal health and well being is most important. Take the time you need to get well, and hope you continue to hear more from you in the months ahead as the shipping season gets underway!

[Denny]

Thanks Guest as I appreciate that very much. After all that has happened to me in 2023 though, it hard to try now on focus on the upcoming 2024 season and the arrival of Spring and the release of Roger’s 2024 KYS book. Unfortunately for me, the pneumonia along with the infection from that, the high Sugar reading from that and the Seizures all did one heck of a number on me in the past few months. I know someday that I’ll recover and while in rehab, I met a lot of very nice, friendly and helpful people and made lots of new friends as well. I had lots of good times and fun in rehab like playing Bingo and during my Physical Therapy sessions, riding the exercise bike for over 2 miles at 40-45 minutes! The staff was very amazed and impressed with me and that! They were also amazed and impressed with how I was able to walk around the rehab facility for awhile with a walker and not needing much help, support or assistance once I got the hang of it. They all hated to see me go once I was discharged but, I made them a promise that I would return to visit someday!

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for comments, thoughts and concerns for me. I too missed all of you last year and this year too. Now, here’s a very long and lengthy breakdown of what happened to me last year in 2023 as it was a year to forget that’s for certain! First, I had to put my pet cat to sleep in late September as she was very sick for at least a year or so and that took a lot of air if you will and wind out of my sails as you might expect. The cat I had for 14 years and after my Mom died in 2017, I took on the responsibility of trying to take care of her as best I could. It gets worse from here folks believe me! I only made 13 trips out to the St. Clair River in 2023 and did not see many ships that I would’ve liked to have seen. About mid-October I became very sick and ill and eventually ended up in the hospital with a very bad case of pneumonia. Unfortunately it lead into an infection so much that it got into my lungs to where I needed surgery to remove drainage if I’m making any sense to help the infection? I spent most of October in the hospital from the pneumonia and from the infection it caused. Then, later on I spent the entire month of November in rehab trying to recover and regain my strength and mobility and stuff again. It’s been a real battle as you might expect and imagine with many challenges along the way to deal with. Right now, I consider myself very lucky and fortunate to be alive and to tell you all of this. The night I was admitted on Emergency at the Hospital, I had a very high Sugar reading so much so that it was dangerous and life threading to say the least. You can imagine how I felt and how scary things were and difficult for me in 2023. Since then, I’ve been so busy with medical stuff that I still haven’t even had time to look at the 2023 KYS book much less even look forward to the 2024 book and shipping season! I can’t say at this point when I’ll be returning to the St. Clair River in 2024? All depends on my road to recovery now! This though has taught me many lessons in life to NOT take things per granted and to enjoy life and each and every day and the many blessings as well. Thanks all for your kind words.

It's nice to see you back, Denny. You've always been one of the kindest and most gracious of people on this forum.

[Denny]

Hi everyone and all boatnerds. Thanks again for all of your concerns for me along with my health and well-being and everything else as well. Also, thanks as well to everyone who have taken the time to read my post. I was hoping to see and hear more comments and feedback from you all after I told you what happened to me in the fall of 2023. Well you can add this to the list. Besides getting sick with pneumonia, infection from that to which spread into one of my lungs and having surgery and then recovering and eventually in rehab for a month there’s more and it gets even worse than that believe it or not for me! The year 2023 definitely wasn’t a very good year for me! So what else then happened to me then? I ended up suffering a seizure while I was in rehab and several more small ones while in the hospital for treatment from the Seizures. Luckily and fortunately they did not do any severe or serious damage to me that I’m aware of and YES it was the first time in my life that I ever had a seizure. It was caused by medicine at the time that they were giving me. Luckily and fortunately my health has gotten better since I’ve returned home from rehab but, it’s still an uphill battle with many challenges and obstacles yet to face. As mentioned earlier, the medical stuff has kept me more busy than usual in 2024 and I’ve found that my health and well-being are far more important than anything else for sure! This all basically was a wake-up call for me and to take better care of myself and health. It’s a learning experience one to NEVER take per granted as far as your health goes as that is a very important thing and issue with everyone. I hope you all stay healthy too in 2024!

[Denny]

Thanks everyone for comments, thoughts and concerns for me. I too missed all of you last year and this year too. Now, here’s a very long and lengthy breakdown of what happened to me last year in 2023 as it was a year to forget that’s for certain! First, I had to put my pet cat to sleep in late September as she was very sick for at least a year or so and that took a lot of air if you will and wind out of my sails as you might expect. The cat I had for 14 years and after my Mom died in 2017, I took on the responsibility of trying to take care of her as best I could. It gets worse from here folks believe me! I only made 13 trips out to the St. Clair River in 2023 and did not see many ships that I would’ve liked to have seen. About mid-October I became very sick and ill and eventually ended up in the hospital with a very bad case of pneumonia. Unfortunately it lead into an infection so much that it got into my lungs to where I needed surgery to remove drainage if I’m making any sense to help the infection? I spent most of October in the hospital from the pneumonia and from the infection it caused. Then, later on I spent the entire month of November in rehab trying to recover and regain my strength and mobility and stuff again. It’s been a real battle as you might expect and imagine with many challenges along the way to deal with. Right now, I consider myself very lucky and fortunate to be alive and to tell you all of this. The night I was admitted on Emergency at the Hospital, I had a very high Sugar reading so much so that it was dangerous and life threading to say the least. You can imagine how I felt and how scary things were and difficult for me in 2023. Since then, I’ve been so busy with medical stuff that I still haven’t even had time to look at the 2023 KYS book much less even look forward to the 2024 book and shipping season! I can’t say at this point when I’ll be returning to the St. Clair River in 2024? All depends on my road to recovery now! This though has taught me many lessons in life to NOT take things per granted and to enjoy life and each and every day and the many blessings as well. Thanks all for your kind words.

[Guest]

Well we've missed you Denny, glad to hear you back. Hope you get well real soon!

[Denny]

As of 1:45 p.m. on March 13 the Alpena is upbound near or at Marine City per AIS maps on boatnerd. Would love to be out there today but, can’t due to important health issues and I’m NOT allowed to drive as well for a while at least until maybe in May? I’ll explain all of this someday in another thread. All you boatnerds won’t believe what happen to me in late 2023.