Doing the grateful thing- and right now, I have a whole new appreciation for HEALTH.

If you don't have health, you really don't have anything.

New titanium shoulder. The doc was excited because he got to put in the largest sized joint he's ever used--Mike's a big-boned guy.

My husband of 25 years, Mike Neal,  is an amazing man with an amazing body. I've been accused (and not unfairly so) of marrying him for that body. Over the years he worked hard, and played hard–and old injuries turned to arthritis and wrecked mobility in his shoulder. He couldn't even surf anymore.

I know. Totally unacceptable, right?

The last five years of pain, suffering and stress finally led us to Straub Clinic on Oahu where he underwent some cutting-edge (ha!) surgery and got a new shoulder, a titanium pin stuck down inside his arm bone that is now rubbing against the “old” cup of bone and rebuilding it through constant, daily physical therapy. Fun times.

This is not an operation for the faint of heart. Yes, we were warned it would be painful, but what can you really understand when you sign all those forms?

“It's like buying a house,” Mike said. “You decide you want it and just start signing.” True, that.

We stayed in a condo in Waikiki and it went about as well as it possibly could considering the magnitude of things. I did setting research for my books, Broken Ferns and Stolen in Paradise, both set on Oahu. Stolen is almost exclusively set in downtown Honolulu and is my current Work In Progress, so I did writerly stuff like sniff the Ala Wai Canal and take note of street names, local highlights and food spots, and generally absorb atmosphere.

We got home and I promptly got sick. I was supposed to be nursing and supporting but ended up in bed myself. So as we go into the holiday, the gimp assists the gassy. Isn't that what marriage is all about?

Health is truly our greatest gift. To get up in the morning, healthy and pain free, is just awesome. If that's you today, be thankful. Deeply and truly thankful, and don't take it for granted.

Whatever your state of health today, do some small thing to make it better. There is no greater wealth. We came into the world naked, and we'll leave it naked–only the lucky ones will have extra titanium parts.

Join My Email Book List

Receive not one but two welcome gift ebooks! For crime thriller and mystery lovers, you can download book 2 in the award winning Lei Crime series FREE.
If you love romance, join my romance list and receive book one in the Somewhere Series, Somewhere on St. Thomas. Join now and stay up to date on sales, new releases, freebies, and giveaways!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Sign up for my romance newsletter and I'll send you a link to download Somewhere on St. Thomas as a FREE welcome gift!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Sign up for my newsletter and I'll send you a link to download Torch Ginger as a FREE welcome gift

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Author Coaching

Join Toby's author coaching newsletter for tips and news for your writing journey!

You have Successfully Subscribed!