(SB) - Dale and I had an exciting adventure last week. It began with a trip to Omaha for my Botox treatment for migraines. Incidentally, My Botox treatments (every 84 days for over five years) are provided by Dr. Pamela Santamaria of Neurological Consultants of Nebraska who specializes in headache control. The treatment takes about 15 minutes and can be somewhat painful, but a few minutes of pain is a small price to pay for nearly three months without significant headaches. Unfortunately, Dr. Santamaria must have hit a nerve during one injection on the left side of my scalp and I have struggled with a headache since that time. Dr. Santamaria prescribed prednisone which I assume will gradually take my headache away, but as I write this column, I am still having pain in my head. This headache pain after Botox has only happened once before and is a small risk for the treatment. Botox is injected 42 times into my head and one small needle apparently hit a nerve.
Our second car trip that same day was to the Mayo Clinic for a consultation with the surgeon who will perform my second surgery, this time on the lumbar section of my spine on May 12th. It was a beautiful day and so Dale and I decided to take Hwy 30 E from Missouri Valley to Ames, a drive not only picturesque, but replete with small towns, each with its own history and attractions. When I lived in Storm Lake, Hwy 30 was the route that my kids and I used when we drove to the airport in Omaha or during one of our many jaunts that we took in the early 1990s in an effort to get to know the area of the country that we now called “home.” My kids loved to spot drive-ins in the many small towns and we consumed everything from pork tenderloin sandwiches to ice cream (a LOT of ice cream!) as we travelled. During our time on Hwy 30E, Dale and I passed through the towns of what were, in the late 18th and early 19th century, stops on the Union Pacific Railway, beginning in Missouri Valley. Hwy 30 also follows (or is a part of ) the Lincoln Highway in Iowa. The towns are about seven miles apart, as, according to Dale, seven miles is the distance that a steam engine could travel before requiring additional water. We were pleased to see in Denison that the famous Cronk’s restaurant has reopened, albeit now as a Mexican restaurant, although the owners say that over half of the menu is comprised of traditional “Cronk’s” fare. We wondered aloud what would happen to the town when the pork plant closes this summer. Many of the towns that we passed through were struggling to keep population and attractive main streets intact. Carroll seems to be booming and we expect to spend more time there in the future as Dale’s brother Steve and his wife Linda are planning to leave their home in Florida and to return to Carroll, Iowa where they lived previously. We think the traffic in Fort Myer and the distance from their children and grandchildren encouraged their return. When we passed through Boone, I reminded Dale that we have not yet taken a ride on the railroad there, something we talk about every year. Iowa PBS is currently running a series, “Road Trip Iowa” which explores various roads and towns in our state. There was an interesting program on the Lincoln Highway recently. I encourage you to tune into the series when you have a chance. In Ames, we picked up I 35 N and headed north to Minnesota and to the Mayo Clinic.
We arrived, road-weary, in Rochester in early evening and after checking into our hotel, we headed to our favorite restaurant, the “Canadian Honker”, for dinner. The restaurant is directly across from St. Mary’s Hospital, our destination early the next morning. We enjoyed a hearty dinner, but were too full for their famous dessert, the “Bunny Cake” but were able to enjoy with our eyes the dessert served at our adjoining table. We returned to our hotel, “The Holiday Inn Express,” less than two blocks from St. Mary’s Hospital and a quick five minute drive from the clinic itself. We like this hotel very much as it is reasonable (our room was “comped” that night because we have stayed there many times!) is clean (the sheets are changed every day, not a practice at many hotels today) and the personnel are used to accommodating Mayo patients. At 7:30 the next morning, we were at St. Mary’s Hospital where we met with the surgeon who performed my first and will perform my second spinal surgery. We were encouraged by his words, and although I do not relish a second surgery, I am desperate to be able to walk again after two years of relative immobility.
Tuesday, late morning, after listening to the dire weather reports, we headed south and west towards Sergeant Bluff. We endured massive rain, sometimes crawling along in order to see the road. When we passed through Le Mars towards Merrill, we were unaware that we were under a tornado warning (there were no sirens or reports on Dale’s phone) and were shocked to see a metal building in shreds, resting in the median. We were able to return home without incident, but we were grateful that our two-day adventure was over. Next month, I’ll fill you in on our next adventure into Minnesota.
