It’s been a nerve wracking week. Will my surgery go ahead? Will I be strong enough to cope with the resulting post operative pain? Will I ever be able to apply for an artist residency in the bush or up a mountain again? Hard to imagine at this point in time.

I thought back to my big art adventures in Scotland, Iceland and Greenland. The excitement of planning followed by the reality of a trip to the dentist.

It was October 2021 and air travel restrictions were being eased. I had booked a ticket to London on route to Scotland and the Outer Hebrides. But before I travelled, I needed a dentist. As I sat in the dentist’s chair with my mouth wide open and my tooth being extracted, I kept thinking of the little Cessna plane that I was going to catch from Glasgow to Barra in the Outer Hebrides.

Barra is the only airport where the plane lands on a sandy beach at low tide. It was one of the big attractions for me, a beach landing. I kept wishing myself into that experience while staring at the ceiling in the dentist’s clinic. Just get through this teeth extraction and focus on my upcoming adventure.

Fast forward to this week when the doctor said to me; “keep your eyes on the prize”. She was referring to my upcoming knee operation and the resulting pain and hard work of rehabilitation that would be needed afterwards.

My prize? Being able to climb up stairs again, or even go for a hike without excruciating pain. When I wobble a bit in my resolve or feel anxious at the outcome of such major surgery as a total knee replacement, I think back to our trip to Guatemala in 2003.

Two months previous to the trip, I had a surgical arthroscopy on my knee (the other one). It was keyhole surgery and so not as drastic as a knee replacement. My prize then was being able to climb the steps of the 64 metre high pyramid in the jungle at Tikal.

I couldn’t imagine being able to walk up a slope before that arthroscopy, let alone climb a pyramid. When I got to the top and looked out over the jungle foliage, I felt like I was a star!

Our next destination after Guatemala was Cuba and then Los Angeles in USA. Of course we had to go to Hollywood where we walked along the terrazzo-and-brass stars on the Hollywood Boulevard. I felt like I earned my place there and met an all time childhood TV star favourite Zorro (not the real one).

So now as I undergo my knee surgery and rehabilitation, my eyes are firmly on the prize. Walking with no pain, maybe even climbing a mountain sometime in the future. It’s something to keep focussing on…