My Profile

Gary

Age: 50

Quote:
"Bad spellers of the world - untie!"

Location:
Midlothian, VA

Your Disability Amputation

How long have you been an amputee? 0-1 year

How did you become disabled? BKA left leg

What type(s) of prosthesis do you use? Hanger

About Me I'm a 50-year-old disabled veteran; I was discharged in '85 for diabetes. I developed a diabetic ulcer on the bottom of my left foot in 2001. In March, my foot became infected and I had a below-the-knee amputation on my left leg on 30 March. I was in the hospital for about a month, and then spent about a month at home before returning to work. I'm a civilian Producer/Project Officer for the Naval Media Center in Washington, DC. I am very happily married to a wonderful Texas gal, and I live with her, her two sons from a previous marriage, and three cats in a nice neighborhood called "Brandermill". I try to keep a good sense of humor about my situation, and thanks to my Hanger "Robo-Leg" (as I call it), I am pretty much able to do everything I was able to do back when I had two legs.

Music The Eagles, Joe Walsh, The Police, J. Geils Band, Def Leppard, Pink Floyd

Movies The Shawshank Redemption, The Illusionist, Young Frankenstein, Top Secret, Casablanca.

TV CSI (All), ER, My Name Is Earl, The Closer, Saving Grace, Red Dwarf

Books Tolkien, R. A. Heinlein, , SF, Techno-Thrillers, Stephen King

Likes Travel, cruises, dining out, concerts

Dislikes Rudeness, bigotry

Hobbies Playing guitar, singing, flying RC airplane, shooting

Vices M & M's

Virtues Honest, dependable, funny.

Heroes My Dad and my Mom - a war hero, and a coal miner's daughter.

Here For Friendships

Relationship Status Married

Orientation Straight

Children Proud Parent

Number of Children 2

Body Type More to love

Height 6'1"

Religion Protestant

Ethnicity White / Caucasian

Smoke No

Drink No

My Blog

RIP Goldie (7/1993 - 7/2008)

Monday, July 21, 2008, 05:51 PM EST [General]

Our beloved cat, Goldie, passed away Saturday night. She had had an inoperable cancerous tumor on her right hind leg for several months, and we knew it was only a matter of time, but her loss has devastated my wife and me.

It is amazing to me - the huge, gaping hole left in my heart by the loss of such a tiny being.

0 (0 Ratings)

Tags:

[ 2 comments ] Leave a Comment

Back from the road...

Monday, May 12, 2008, 03:46 PM EST [General]

So I survived my experience in North Carolina working the commissioning of the USS North Carolina (SSN 777), the Navy's newest attack submarine.

My one major worry - getting up and down the ladder into the sub, was no big deal. It wasn't exactly easy, but it was do-able. I have to say, my hat is off to the men on the North Carolina! I was only aboard for less than two hours, and the claustraphobia was starting to kick in. How they can manage months at sea in such a cramped environment is beyond me.

By the end of the trip, I was physically exhausted. While I am OK standing for an hour or so at a time, being on my feet for several consecutive 10 - 12 hour "shoot" days wore me out. I was so bushed by the end of the trip that I had to pull over in a rest area and take a nap before I could finish the drive home.

Lessons learned - mainly, buy a foldable, portable chair for when I'm on the road. There is nowhere to sit in the control room of a sub (unless you're in the crew) - and besides, I didn't want to accidentally hit the wrong button and start WWIII, so I need to be able to get off the old dawgs when they (or, actually "it") starts barking.

I'm off to Norfolk Nval Base next week, and I have two weeks in San Diego at the Naval School of Health Science coming up next month...