Every experience, no matter how bad it seems,
holds within it a blessing of some kind, The goal is to find it!
~ Buddha
I’ve been reluctant to update you all, fantasising my situation will magically change. Nope! Two weeks ago I posted on Facebook:
I’ve been fortunate, globe-trotting with the man of my life, Gordon, for 272 days; exploring new towns to mountains tops, walking in dinosaur footprints to golden sand, and feeding giant elephants to eating beachside ceviche.
But, I’ve had a bit of a mishap and will be coming home sooner than planned!
“NO, my year is not over yet!” was my first thought when I realized I’d fractured my left ankle and needed surgical repair.
There’s no great tale to go with this misadventure! Just a little bad luck. Exploring Southeast Asia will have to wait for another time.
For now, I will be focusing on getting back on my feet starting with the excellent care I’m receiving in a fine hospital, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
On the bright side, I get to recover with family and friends and enjoy my hometown, Brockville in the summer.
While I still get pangs of disappointment at the unexpected situation and having had to cut our trip short, I realize how rich I really am — having a comfortable and loving home base and universal health care to return to.
No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel
until he comes home & rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
~Lin Yutang
Instead, with gratitude, I’ll reminisce through the thousands of pics from the last few months, and pen more stories and postcards.
So please, stay tune as my journey continues, unfolding on crutches from Eastern Canada.
Live and love every day!
Ginette
White Postcards 
tu t’es bien exprimé
Oh Ginette, that’s too bad. I wish you a speedy recovery. And yes, aren’t we lucky to live in a peaceful country with universal healthcare.
Alison
Thank Alison, it’s nice to be back in Canada!
Ah, Ginette, I’m sorry. But you have already had one heck of an adventure, more so than most of the rest of humanity! And I am jealous about the universal health care, even more so sad I watch Trump and the Republicans trying to destroy what forward movement we have had, all so the wealthy can become a little wealthier. –Curt
You’re right Curt, I’ve had one heck of an adventure so far…and this little mishap only adds to our story! – Ginette
Could a strong leader nationalise the US health care system? The style of Medicare is flawed and the profit-driven corporations will be reluctant to move into a public-funded program, and your taxation favours the wealthy. Maybe, the addition of a universal VAT tax could fund education and health care in the US. – Gord
America’s medical system is close to broken, Gord. I think it needs to be fixed from the bottom up and there are all sorts of powerful, profit-driven interests involved that don’t want it fixed. There are certainly people within the system who want to deliver good care and do. But the bottom line for the majority of the industry is maximizing profit, i.e. greed, not providing care. And these companies spend hundreds of millions in Washington. A strong leader could make change but not without tremendous pressure from the public on Congress. There has to be some type of consensus that change needs to be made. –Curt
I agree. It is going to be hard to fix. President Obama gave it a good try but that was only the start. Will be interesting to see how it plays out in the Trump era.
Hi, stunned to read of your ankle injury. Quite a tragedy in the light of what you had still planned to do on your RTW trip. Trust the rehab goes well and that you are up and walking/hiking/trekking again soon. Have had my own health hurdle this year but aiming to travel later in the year. Also aiming to read more of your posts now I am home recovering from surgery. All the best. Cheers, Mark
Gosh, sorry Mark, I’ve neglected the blog lately. I’ve been self-absorbed and it only reminded me of where I wanted to be other than home:) Six weeks in now, and I’m feeling more positive — and in reality, a broken ankle is far from a tragedy. I hope you are recovering fully yourself. Cheers, to planning and future travels! – Ginette