It’s been three months since my life changing injury.

By Don Lacey  ·  July 2026  ·  AZAtheist.com  ·  7 min read

A Significant Milestone

The hospital placed a band on my right wrist the day I was discharged from the trauma unit of St Joseph’s hospital. There were already a couple of bands there. One was an identity band and the other, I believe, had some information that meant something to the people that took the periodic blood samples during my stay. Since they were placing the band just before my release, I figured that perhaps it should stay there. They were a bit of an icebreaker. I started walking in the neighborhood. The bands told people I met on the sidewalk that I was recently in the hospital and that I was in recovery. It was easy to start my story from that point.

Nancy and I don’t really interact with the neighbors except during the month of October when passing neighbors see me in my front yard working on my “home haunt.” I walked every morning but mainly directly to the Huckleberry Loop that passes near our house. It’s a short walk from my front door to the loop. Each day, I would walk two miles before coming back. I wasn’t in the neighborhood long and I rarely met people. After the accident, I walked in the neighborhood exclusively. I met folks (and their dogs) and got the opportunity to chat.

Most people I met during my neighborhood recovery walks knew me from the Halloween display. Some offered to help this year, if needed, after hearing what happened. It was nice to know that they appreciated the effort and were willing to help me keep it going.

“I Never Met a Man I Didn’t Like”

Will Rogers

That’s a great quote from Will Rogers. However, I don’t think he ever met a Trump Supporter!

So Why Is Today Special?

Today is the 18^th of July. It is exactly three calendar months since the incident that kept me from walking on the Loop. Yesterday, I attended the Friday Night Sabino Stroll with the Tucson Hiking Meetup Group (The Friday Night Sabino Stroll!, Fri, Jul 17, 2026, 7:00 PM | Meetup )Today, I decided to put my toe back in the water on the Huckleberry Loop (The Chuck Huckelberry Loop | Pima County, AZ). I walked to the point on the loop where I am one half mile from my front door. Fortunately, the was a bit of rain drizzling down and there were no bicyclists to give concern. I reached the half mile point and went on to visit Safeway to pick up a few things.

The walk went well and totaled right at five thousand steps. I might do it again tomorrow. Then again, I might not. It might be an opportunity to visit with fellow Loop walkers that visited me in the hospital.

Time to Cut the Bands

KEY FACT: A FASHION ACCESSORY NO LONGER. Now, Simply a souvenir

A Long Way to Go

Today is a great milestone, but there are many more miles to go.

I can look back over the last three months. I can bemoan or distress over the time that I have lost, but I am choosing to keep working to get back to where I was before the accident. I’m looking forward to attacking my unfinished projects with new vigor while accepting the fact that there are things that I must let go.

“Today is a great milestone, but there are many more miles to go”

Conclusion

Some good came out of this tragedy. It knocked me out a rut that I wasn’t aware that I was in. For example, I got some pleasure from giving our unused BowFlex to the neighbors. It wasn’t doing us any good and now the neighbors can get some good use. It was great to pass on a PineWood Derby track to the next generation of Boy Scouts. Soon, I’ll be letting go of other things, at the same time opening up new opportunities to enjoy what is left of my time on Earth.

This is a great milestone. I’m going to pause for a minute and appreciate all of the people around me that keep me going and try and make sure their efforts are rewarded as well.