Coming Back After Being on the Bench for a Bit

Today is a big day for me and the rest of the team for MilitaryAvenue! I am able to return from a short time away due to medical issues.  I seriously missed my communication with you our friends on MilitaryAvenue, whether on the site, Facebook or twitter! After being in top health for so many years of flying I never considered the possibility and impact of multiple surgeries, long hospital stays and pain medications. Although, the pain meds have created some great moments of humor for the family, friends and me! Always trying to find a bright spot from a bad thing can be a challenge and I use humor best to help me.  This time I think the "crowd" laughed at me as hard as I laughed at myself while sitting on the bench. The fact that they thought I should avoid writing on the scoreboard said a lot! :) Click on the image of a chat we had one morning to see why I was banned from writing "live" on the site for a while!

But more seriously, I want to say thank you to three groups of folks! I am blessed with a deep faith and despite facing a serious illness I knew I was in God's Hands and I had friends praying for me around the world! From familiar combat zones to South America to all four corners of the US they were there praying for me and wishing me the best. They also held up my bride of 38 years who had to watch through all of this and change bandages, dressings, keep me on schedule for meds, appointments, driving long distances to see specialists, answering the phone a million times, etc, etc. It is not easy to be a caregiver and she excelled (and continues to excel) and kept me smiling too!

The next group I want to say thank you to is the medical staffs that saw me and cared for me! They were there when I needed something and they explained a lot to this guy with a pilot mind set who always wanted to know the status of the "781" (aircraft maintenance records). They took the time to respond to our questions (we always had a list and my care giver kept a small notebook for that very purpose) and explained in terms we could understand the steps we were going to be going through. Yep, we met some folks along the way who might consider a career change but 99% were there for us! I think of specifics such as Dr Green, who announced to me and my bride, that she was a "brat" when we were in a small crisis and she leaned over the table to tell me everything was ok and that I was in good hands! I felt an angel's presence and just relaxed in a way that was not humanly possible.

Two nurses, Joanne and Nancee who worked on the floor where I stayed and made me smile with their kindness! My dietary needs were met but I was having some issues.  One night I asked for a yogurt or a pudding to help me feel better. They brought me one of each and every night after that I knew they had saved me one for a late snack when I needed them! Nurse Becky from one the surgeon's offices was always available to answer the phone and help schedule appointments. She knew we had a long drive and tried to facilitate multiple appointments, labs, xrays, etc. to make it as convenient as possible; knowing that a two plus hour car ride with a post op foot and leg were not easy. Then we met PA Donna who started the whole recovery period by removing staples, drains, etc and gave us an hour of her time to explain everything, in detail what Deb had to do when we got home. These folks are the exact reason why the University of Michigan hospital is ranked so high in the country! They show it every day with their care!

The last group is the team at MilitaryAvenue that kept up with my "duties" while I was on the bench! When you are a small military family company and one member of the team takes a break the rest really have to cover for you! They did and with not a complaint from anyone! In fact, they just pushed ahead harder knowing I was on the disabled list for a bit. One of the other team-members also took some time off to have a baby! Our timing was not exactly the best but what a beautiful grandson we have added during all of this too.

Thank you to our fans and friends! Hope you are having a great start of the fall season and many blessings to all of our service members and their families!