Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
you just never know what ís gonna come in your life in the next
24 hours we have today
we're in it and you just never know
that's important to understand I'm a grand rapidian
I was born and raised here all my life I left to go play football at Central Michigan
graduated from Eastern in 74 and I was cut
a little disappointment but I was sent on a journey
I never really thought about where I was going
or what I was going to do but things just kept turning up for me
I ended up on a ranch in Montana and learned to rope and ride
I was on switchback trails in Yellowstone country
with grizzlies and mountain lions at every turn
It was amazing then I became a merchant
*** and an officer in merchant marines and I never knew what was over the crest of
the next wave I know this may sound a little melodramatic
but the point of this is it was always over that next wave
or around that next switchback that I would discover whatever was next
and it was adventurous I had a lot of good times
enjoying it and a lot of thrill
I guess you could call it being a mild adrenaline junkie
and that went on until I started raising a family
I moved into Seattle and took a job with um Seattle city marine
division and became a lineman after that
high voltage nationwide on the grid systems most of you are familiar with
and that job entailed a lot of experiences in back country
the type of voltages that I worked with were the steel tower systems into the grid
The super high voltage they go from power generating facility
to power generating facility city to city
and I had a lot of good opportunities with that
and moved up the ladder and moved into a very lucrative six figure
income I was very adapt
and very successful and very content
And then one day in January of 2010 I was sitting on a couch
In the evening and all of a sudden my hearing went away
and then they I went and I was diagnosed with an ear infection
inner ear infection I went to the ENT
and that's ear nose and throat specialists and the ENT said I'd lost all the hearing
on my left side and they attributed it to
what they called at the time a vestibular nerve malfunction
as they looked into that further to find the cause of that
they found that I had a brain tumor non related
so as this all progressed I went from
living a life on the edge all the time and exposing myself
or enjoying life to the most capable extremes I could
to I have what?
I know I have no hearing but tell me why
and to this day I still have nothing to the left side
I have disequilibrium vertigo and I'm nauseas all the time
and there's nothing they can do about it short of another major surgery
but stroke is eminent with that so I'm gonna avoid that one
they discovered the tumor They went in
a Excellent staff at great lakes neurological
Dr. F took it out and Iím walking and talking
breathing in and out on my own today
and I am very grateful and I've learned to be grateful for not proud
of my life
I complain and I moan
cause I can't do what I used to do all the time
I can't anyways I could go on a whole list here..
but the point being that I'm grateful because Iím walking and taking
and breathing in and out that's
a close friend of mine introduced me to Disability Advocates of Grand Rapids of Kent
County I had no idea they even existed
because when you go from one day being in you're A game
to the next day being now what it's about like coming around that trail
and now there ís a grizzly standing in front of you
whatís your next move? short panicking
which was my um MO I ah I sought help
and I was directed to the Disability advocacy group of Kent County
and one thing that I wanna leave with on this note
is that what I learned from them was hope
that I have an opportunity to continue to do whatever I am capable of
and not go into self pity and mourning
and um go in my corner life is gonna continue to go on
and it gives me opportunities to share this experience
and strength in all of you here today and I just can't emphasize enough
that you folks understand you never know what tomorrow brings
so while you have the opportunity today work with it
and um that's about all I got to say about that