Fairly Well
Fallen leaves and sunshine
hike with me, up hills and down,
along bluffs with a broad view
of a narrow river, past turkeys
with no interest in fair weather
or health, mine, much improved
over last year’s near collapse
on this very same trail.
This poem is my response to Quadrille #140: Let’s Go to the Fair!, the prompt from Linda Lee Lyberg at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word fair in a 44-word poem (excluding title), with no required meter or rhyme.
Contrary to my thoughts last year, stamina is no longer an issue for me. In October 2020, I hiked a 6.1 mile trail in The Mark Twain National Forest. The hike should have taken 3 hours or less, but took 5 hours for me to complete. I was so winded that I needed to stop every 100 feet or so each time I climbed a hill – and there are a lot of hills and inclines on this trail. It turned out I had iron deficiency anemia. Two iron infusions in March of this year corrected that. I hiked the same trail this afternoon – in fact I hiked nearly 9 miles in 3 ½ hours — with no difficulty. It was a beautiful day for a hike, but most of the leaves have already fallen. Here’s a link to a blog about last years hike, with some colorful fall photos.
Image: Smith Creek in the Mark Twain National Forest, Missouri
~~ click image for larger view in new tab ~~
Wow, I am glad you were able to get back on your feet. It must have been exhausting with an iron deficiency.
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That it was. Thank you. 🙂
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Hurrah – a happy “progress report”!
I like the sunshine and leaves as hiking companions.
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🙂 Thank you, I was pleased with that line.
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A great poem Ken. So glad you are back in hiking condition once again. That must have been quite a scary ordeal for you.
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Thank you, Dwight. At first I thought it might be due to my PFO (the hole in my heart). It was blood flow, just not that. I’ve been told to continue normal activities, so I’m happy with that.
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That is great!
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I laughed at the part about the turkeys. Such a wonderful improvement, Ken. I remember you talking about the infusions, but I didn’t remember how winded you had been on the previous hike. I’m so glad you’re feeling better! Will you need to get more infusions?
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Thank you, Merril. Those turkeys took flight as soon as they saw me.
I had a three-month check with the hematologist, will have one in December, then a year after that. Initially he said that some people can go a year, others five years, before needing another infusion. So far, so good. 🙂
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Good news then, Ken! 😀
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Very glad to hear of your health‘s improvement.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Dug the poem, Ken, and did the joydance for your improvement. Write on, Bro.
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Thanks, Ron..
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So glad you are back in “better than fairly well” hiking form
(your link to last year’s post needs help)
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Thank you so much for the heads-up, Ron. 🙂 It’s now corrected.
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hooray! I’m glad you’re doing well/better, Ken 🙂
❤
David
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😀 Thank you, David.
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Glad you are past that unpleasant surprise Ken.
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Thanks, Rob.
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A wonderful rendering of illness and recovery, glad you made it.
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Thank you, sir. 🙂
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Pleasure (good grief – sir) Ken 🙂
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Good news! (K)
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Thanks!
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You are still a young man. Kudos and smiles for gut-punching the IDA. Enjoy your regained strength, and consider it a blessing every day it remains.
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That I plan to do! 🙂 Thank you, Glenn.
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Hurrah for regained stamina. Hike on!!
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Thank you!
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I liked this, particularly the imaged of the turkeys not caring
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Thank you.
I’m pretty sure that self-preservation was right there in the front of their minds.
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So glad you are feeling better. Don’t let the indifferent turkeys get you down.
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They can fly when they want to. They didn’t wait around for me to reach them on the trail. 🙂 Thank you.
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A wonderful hike Ken, and so glad you’re back to 100%!
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Thank you! 🙂
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This is incredibly potent, Ken! I am so glad to hear that stamina is no longer an issue 🙂 and send you warm wishes for days ahead! 💝💝
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Thank you, Sanaa. 😀 It’s nice to be able to enjoy this sort of activity again.
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that’s good to hear. my stamina hasn’t really been the same since radiation, but I still try to get in my 5 miles 4 or 5 times a week. ~
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Thanks, Michael.
I sit (at the computer) too long, but when I’m not up to being outdoors (which I hate to say is more often these days) I do exercise on a rower and an elliptical 4 to 5 times a week.
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Lovely poem. Glad to hear your health is doing better.
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Thank you.
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So glad you are on the mend… being able to walk a familiar walk is really important and has been what made me sane during the pandemic
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Thanks.
I saw my doctor shortly after that “killer” hiked, and he ordered a blood test right away. Even though my anemia was detected then, it took another three months of exams and multiple colonoscopies & endoscopies to determine the source of my blood loss (very minor bleeding in my small intestine over the years) – I even swallowed a capsule camera – before it was decided an iron infusion (2, actually) was the answer. I noticed a difference within 2 weeks, and after a month or so I was back to normal. It definitely was scary.
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