‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’, jan hart 2006

The title for the painting sale came to me through a good friend who simply put a twist on the phrase, between a rock and a hard place. I certainly felt stuck. Health issues, timing and tropical storms were obscuring my vision and sense of hope. Challenging my view of life as ‘Pura Vida!’  I remembered back to 2006 when I completed a painting in New Mexico that I called ‘Between a Rock and a Hard Place’. I was there then. And here I was again….

I thought back to how it all started.

Some History    About a year and a half earlier, my Achilles tendonitis developed after a simple fall in my yard. At the time I brushed it aside believing there had been no damage. But the pain increased to the point where it affected my walks with my dogs and ordinary moving about. I saw my local doctor, Dr. Allen who ordered X-rays and ultrasound therapy. The pain was alleviated briefly – but slowly came back. I cut my dog walks down and applied various ointments…

Billy, driving….

Then a cough began that just didn’t go away.  Even though I felt fine, I went in to see Dr. Allen who ordered an. X-ray that led him to believe I had pneumonia and I was treated with antibiotics. After two rounds that did not clear it up, he recommended that I see a Pulmonologist, only available in San Jose – 3+ hours north. My close friend and like a son, Billy – would be my driver – over the Mountain of Death, (Cerro del Muerte so named for early foot travelers who succumbed to the cold treachery of the 11,000 ft. elevation.)  The Pulmonologist, Dr. Rojas saw me several times – ordering an array of lab tests, an echo cardiogram, a lung function test and eventually at CT scan that prompted him to diagnose ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease). It was a new wrinkle for sure. I learned that ILD can be treated, but only if diagnosed specifically via a minimally invasive thoracoscopy and he recommended Dr. Guido.  There were no thoracic surgeons in San Isidro where I lived. Though I could qualify for free care through the national health care system in Costa Rica, my family (sons Mike, Tim and Jonathan) agreed with Dr. Solano that I should not wait for treatment. The thoracoscopic surgery was scheduled for July 25 – and would coincide with Tim and Mike’s visit. Tim would loan the money.

I breathed a sigh of relief for a day or so and began thinking about how i would pay Tim back. The idea of an online painting sale came to mind.  Years before I had managed to sell paintings through my website in order to pay off some medical bills in the US. Jonathan agreed that he could build a page for me and get it onto my website. All I would need to do is get about 50 to 80 paintings ready to sell….

Waiting to see Dr. Mario

While pondering my next steps toward the painting sale, I didn’t watch my own physical steps and accidentally tripped over Seurat on my way out the door. Searing pain in my Achilles let me know I’d done more damage. I called Billy and he .arranged an appointment  with Dr. Mario Hernandez – a local orthopedic and trauma surgeon, trained in Cuba with 20 years of experience and highly esteemed. In two days I was in his office and scheduled for emergency surgery to repair my ruptured Achilles tendon just three days after that. My mind could hardly keep up with what was happening with my body. The painting sale became even more relevant as more medical costs were added in.

Me on the knee scooter! Woo hoo!

The surgery to repair my Achilles tendon was completed in just a few hours on May 28 to the tune of just over $3000. The bright green fiberglass cast would come off in four weeks and that would leave me four weeks to learn how to walk again before the Pulmonary surgery.  It looked like it would work out.

And it could have if it wasn’t for an infection that suddenly took center stage when the cast came off.  Definitely a game changer. I knew that I needed to be walking (whatever that meant) by the time for the lung surgery. So with one eye on the calendar and the other hanging on the words of Dr. Mario, I was seen 3 – 5 times a week for wound cleaning, packing, dressing and bandaging.

Anita helping me onto the scooter…and beyond

Anita, my friend and house keeper became my caretaker for most of the time. We (Tim and I) hired her to sleep in Frank’s house and to prepare meals, help me get to the shower in Frank’s house, care for the animals as well as her usual housecleaning activities. Friends filled in to give her some needed time off. I helped with the care of the animals (dogs Frida and Seurat and parrot, Sage) as as much as I could do from a knee scooter or chair. The days inched along while the surgical wound slowly, so slowly moved through its healing process –  from the tendon to the skin surface. Each time I saw the doctor, I crawled up on the exam table and braced myself while waiting for Billy to translate his words and to help ask my questions. Because the wound was out of view for me, I could never see the progress. But Billy could – and at one point the doctor had to leave me alone while he tended to Billy, who was about to faint.  Most to the time Billy simply held my hand and was reassuringly present.  Thank you, Billy.

I managed to send out some emails to care takers and a few friends – as well as post on Facebook which prompted several to offer healing energy. I know that it worked and smiled each time Dr. Mario remarked about how surprised he was that I was healing so well. My son, Jonathan was also instrumental in sending healing energy – so much so that when he did – from Washington state, Frida always sensed it – sometimes barking and other times just making some dog vocalizations…

Amazing to me that I could get my foot up there and still paint….

Now, with two surgeries and additional home care to help pay for – the paintings came into clear focus.

In my indoor studio was a cabinet full of unfinished paintings. As a watercolor teacher I did demos for students but rarely had the opportunity to actually finish a painting. There were likely two hundred plus paintings that could be finished.  I decided I would select 80 to finish, sign and have professionally photographed before the Pulmonary surgery date and two of my sons arrived.

July 24.  Billy again drove me over the ‘Mountain of Death’ the day before my Pulmonary biopsy.and we stayed in an inexpensive hotel near Hospital Biblica, where the surgery would happen. At 9 a.m. I was wheeled into the surgery area – and returned to my room a couple of hours later and pleased  to see a smile on Dr. Guido’s young face.  And a few hours after that my sons Mike and Tim were in the room with me watching the video of my lungs!  Everything went very smoothly and I was released the next day. We were asked to stay in town just to be safe but were on our way home on July 27th.

All I had to do now was heal – from top to bottom:  from my Achilles heel to my between rib thoracoscopic site.  I would see Dr. Mario every other day for the next month and send daily WhatsAp photos via my iphone to Dr. Guido for a few weeks.  Ah, modern medicine.

The finishing of the 80 paintings definitely helped me deal with the seemingly endless days of heel healing, which mostly meant keeping my foot off the floor.  I learned how to paint as well as write with my casted foot resting up on the table with me.

When is the Painting Sale?

Jan’s Medical Expense Painting Sale, ‘Between a Rock and a Heart Place’ is coming up before on October 1. It will be announced via email, Jan’s HartNews letter, on Jan’s website ‘janhart.com’ and on Facebook.The 80 paintings and  plein aire watercolor sketches offered for sale include a wide variety of subjects from her time in New Mexico as well as Costa Rica. Prices range from $200 – $800 and all will be shipped from the U.S. Any purchased from folks living in Costa Rica will be brought back at Christmas time when Tim comes and distributed more easily within country.

Here are a few of the paintings that will be offered for sale in order to pay back the medical expenses.

(l) Sloth on a Vine; (c) Ghost Ranch Splendor,  (r) Gentle Spirit

(l) Exuberance, (c) Blue Leaves and Jungle, (r) Angel Orchid

The story continues with Part 2, which you can read here.

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