I haven't been able to do much in the shop for several months. Last week I rolled out there and spent a couple hours getting re-acquainted with my tools and toys. It was GREAT. The surprising thing was how LAME AND HALT my first activities seemed to be--I thought this stuff was second-nature after so many years of doing it. Au contraire, mon amis. It didn't take long for the deftness to return, but it wasn't "automatic", either. Memo to self, for when I get back behind the wheel after an eight-month lay-off.
The prosthetic was supposed to be ready ~01/03/19. They told me if I didn't hear back from them by mid-January to call and inquire. On 1/14 I did call, and the technician was "Out of the office all week". The tone of the receptionist's conversation was strained and stilted, which REALLY got my "radar" lit up. I wondered what THAT was all about.
A few days later I was chatting with our youngest daughter in Anchorage on Facebook about family stuff and such like, and she mentioned in passing that "Running an orthopedic/prosthetic practice during this government shutdown has been a PITA! I'm glad we saw this coming and sandbagged some money for staff salaries. No lay-offs yet, I would hate to do that."
OK, NOW the lights are on. Hannah manages a practice much like the one that is building my fake foot. Per Hannah, offices like hers depend HEAVILY upon VA and Medicare payments to remain in business. These businesses are built around VA and Medicare referrals. That cash flow is cut off when the shutdowns happen. It isn't just Halliburton and military-industrial-complex oxen being gored during the current dust-up, in other words. Gotta say--I am proud of our girl making sure that her people and her patients are taken care of.
