Time Travel: What a Difference a Year Makes

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

A sad birthday? Well, it’s sure a heck of a lot different than my 90^th.

Last year I had considered a parachute jump. However, I couldn’t convince my son that I would come down to the ground in one piece. Fred made me an offer. “You want to fly a Cub once more so find one and I’ll pay for it.” I did and he paid for a day that took me back seventy years. At the time I thought, “It can’t get any better than this.” I hate to tell you that I was right.

I write this in physical pain – lots of it. On July 3^rd, Dr. Jackson sliced a four inch opening in my back and performed: “Laminectomy with facetectomy-lumbar spine surgery.” He cut away ‘lamina’ (bony stuff) pressing against the nerves. Then he placed a four piece cage around the area to stabilize the spine.

This had been put off for quite a few months. Other procedures – epidurals and acupuncture -- had been tried and didn’t work. Opiates are a dirty word nowadays so we won’t talk about any trials there. When the hurt reached the point that walking became agony, a more drastic action had to be taken.

Dr. Jackson told me that this is one of the worst surgeries for having pain afterwards. But I didn’t listen. I told him, “Quit talking about my age. A month after surgery I’m going to be out walking five miles a day.” He said, “You won’t be out of the house by then.” Well . . . the month has come and gone with practice walks up and down the hall. And today – finally – I opened the front door and made a fifteen minute walker-push around the block.

So, it’s going to take a little time to conquer a hole in my back. Wait and see – by the 92^nd birthday, I’ll be back to five miles.

If only it were as easy to put a cage around a hole in the heart. I try to stabilize the hurt that lives there with actions that remember Fred. When the fall session of Glendale College opens, there will be two scholarships awarded to students Fred would have been teaching. His biography, up to the time of his diving accident, still needs editing and finishing the cover.

My goal: “Worries Won’t Happen – Fred’s Story” will be available on Amazon and Kindle before September 22^nd, a year from the date Fred left us. The second book, “There’s Nothing I Can’t do,” begins with the day Fred took a dive into a pool and came out to a new life as a quadriplegic.

Will this book be finished by my 92^nd birthday? Sure – like my kid said – I can do anything. I am looking forward to talking to many of you for help about this part of his life. The publication on August 11^th, 2019 will be my birthday present to me.

The holes in my back and the holes in my heart remain a part of my life. As do the speckles of sunshine that have given help throughout the last year. Magaly is my special “Summer Star” as well as all the other months of the year. When needed – even when I didn’t realize the need – brightness with names like Nancy and Alice appeared to get me over the rough spots. Willing names like Dorothy and Ursula and Amanda came through the door to provide constant encouragement. Stand-by names like Chris and Sybil were only a whisper away. And names that meant back-up and support could fill up a page.

From Fred - Happy 91^st Birthday, madre