Thankful Thursday - Miracle on Ice

I remember exactly where I was on February 22, 1980. I was glued to the television watching history being made. Herb Brooks and The US team made up of 20 young amatuer and collegiate hockey players from the United States dared an all professional team from the Soviet Union, which was considered the best hockey team in the world, in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history.  It wasn't the first time they had met.

The Soviet Bear

The Soviet professional team was a true bear to play. In various exhibition games played against American and Canadian professionals in the NHL, Soviet teams went 5 wins, 3 losses and a tie. When their Olympic Team played the NHL All-stars, the blanked the NHL players 6-0. Then, just 3 weeks before the historic match-up in Lake Placid, The two National Olympic Teams met for an exhibition match at Madison Square Gardens.

Pressure was built up higher than normal between the two superpowers. In December of 1979, the Soviet Army had invaded the country of Afganistan and the United States denounced the move publicly and then President Jimmy Carter was considering the US Boycotting the Summer Games in Moscow (which did end up happening).

The results of the matchup were devestating. The Soviets buried the American team, 10-3. The young team of amateurs just didn't seem up to the task of fighting off the physically bigger and more experienced Soviet team. After the February 9th exhibition game, many felt that the US might not even medal in the sport at the Olympics.

Raised Eyebrows

Herb Brooks and the American team didn't let their experience deter them. It was just an exhibition and gave them an opportunity to see the Soviet team's strengths and weaknesses. When Olympic play began, the American team brought a physical and cohesive game to the ice. In their first game, underdogs against Sweden, they earned a 2-2 draw in the last 27 seconds, by leaving the goal untended and pressing the attack with the goalie pushing in.

Moving forward in game play, Czechoslovakia was the next game. The Czechs were considered to be second only to the Soviet Union and so the two Warsaw Pact nations were considered to have the Gold and the Silver Medals already in the bag. Team USA responded to this by soundly and stunningly defeating the Czechs 7-3. The team had managed their first two games and then cruised by the next 3 games without a problem, beating Norway, Romania and West Germany to advance to the medal round with Sweden. The Soviets advanced with Finland and the stage was set.

"Do You Believe In Miracles?"

22 February 1980 - 5pm EST

A capacity home-team crowd filled the Field House with patriotic songs and US Flags everywhere. Like most of the rest of the country, I had to wait until the tape delay played later to find out the outcome of the game. But these were the days before instant news via the internet. It wouldn't matter, I'd have watched it again and again. The game was intense, the first period battling back and forth, the US answering for every shot the Soviets scored. It was like watching a whole different team from the Madison Square Gardens game.

The second period was dominated by the Soviet team, pounding shot after shot at the American goalie. 12 times, the Soviets shot and time after time Jim Craig deflected shots. But eventuality caught up and on a power play, one of the Soviet shots got through. The second period ended with the Soviets up 3-2.

The third period was probably the most explosive period in hockey. A penalty sent one Soviet player to the penalty box and Team USA used the opportunity, scoring twice. With just 10 minutes left in the game, the US had the lead. They would never relinquish it. The Soviets started going wild with an intense desire to recapture the lead. Wild shot after wild shot rang toward the US Goalie and Craig just kept defending his territory. Finally, Team USA regained control of the puck with seconds left. Al Michaels famously counting down the last seconds of the game, "11 seconds, you've got 10 seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. 5 seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles? YES!"

Contrary to what a lot of people thing, this was not the game for the Gold Medal. But even though it was not the Gold Medal game, it certainly overshadowed the later game against Finland in which Team USA overcame a late deficit to win 4-2. For all intents and purposes, the US-USSR game, the Miracle on Ice, was the difinitve game of the 1980 Olympics and even today reigns as the International Ice Hockey Federation's top story of the 20th century. It defined what can be done and defied all the odds. It is an inspirational story of what can be done when you challenge the word impossible.

Thank you, Team USA. You inspired me, you inspired us and you inspired yourselves to go beyond the word impossible.

Thankful Thursday - This Side of the Dirt

For today's Thankful Thursday post I am breaking with the current pattern. I had thought about not posting anything, but then being that today is Thursday and I am thankful about this, I am going to post about what happened to me this week and why I am thankful. This post will be short because of this.

After the Poker Run on Saturday, I developed a slight cough, which worsened over the remainder of the weekend. Because I had a VA doctor's appointment first thing Monday morning, I basically didn't worry about it too much.

Going in for my appointment, the Vamps had to stick me twice to get the right vein and extract the blood they needed for my usual panel. Then the wait began. Since it was a fasting lab, I then strolled down to the snack bar there at the VA and got some breakfast and I sat down to study some. Times like these seem to build inspiration and this was no different. I got a lot out of my study time and it passed the time quickly so that before I knew it, it was time for my doctor's appointment. The nurse called me in and checked my vitals. Blood pressure was a little high, but since my foot and elbow have been hurting me and my cough was getting worse, we decided it could be due to those things. At that point, she offered me a flu shot and a pneumonia vaccine.

Now, my cough had been getting worse and I was beginning to have a lot of chest congestion, so I was concerned about the possibility of contracting pneumonia. On top of that, it was just a bit over a year ago that my mom passed away due to complications with pneumonia. So I decided to err on the side of caution and consented to the pneumonia vaccine. So she gave it to me and then I waited briefly to see the doc.

The doc had good news for me. First and foremost, my A1C (Long-term blood sugar - what they use to diagnose diabetes) was lower. It had been as high as 6.3 which was just .1 away from a diagnosis of diabetes. But with a lot of work, I had brought it down below 6 by my last checkup, just a few short months ago. Well, Monday's reading was 5.7. Which is within the normal range! And this is even though I had not been taking my Metformin (Diabetic drug) for the past 6 weeks!!

To go along with that, I also had a better result on the cholesterol tests as well! I was really beginning to like that. Then he looked at my elbow and said that it was tennis elbow, so something that can be recovered from without too much difficulty. He ordered a strap for my arm from the VA's Prosthetics shop and said to try to take it easy on the arm and it should heal fine. Finally, he looked at my foot. He sent me to x-ray for the foot, but didn't think it was going to be anything major. He agreed that it did not sound like plantar faciitis. Again, more good news.


Imagine me sitting in my cubicle
at work typing away on my
computer dressed like this



Finally I am done with the VA and head to work, feeling pretty well with the world. Monday night, I notice a slight fever, but not too bad. The papers they gave me with the vaccine said I could expect that. By the time I woke up Tuesday, I have a full blown fever and chills. I also have a huge lump on my arm where they gave me the shot. It's about the size of a baseball!! I'm not feeling good, so I bundle up and head in to work, I've missed enough time from Monday. At work, I don't shed my sweater, I also wear my running cap and my running gloves, just trying to stay warm. The fever is really burning - But at least it helps keep my mind off of the fact that it is the 14th.

Can you see the baseball?

While at work, I call the nurse at the VA and advise them of how things are going, about my fever and chills and the baseball in my arm. She doesn't like it and suggests that I come in. I tell her that I'm at work in Claremore and it just isn't feasible for me to make it in, but should my symptoms worsen or continue to persist, I'd be in in the morning. I leave for the day, having only eaten some breakfast, and head straight home for the bed.

Tuesday night was the worst. My fever continued to rise. 101F when I left for work. a little over 102 by the time I got home. At about 11pm Tuesday night, my fever spiked at 103.9. I was just about to make my way to the ER. I decided to give it an hour and if it didn't get better, I'd go. I asked for prayer and I prayed the best I could under the feverish and nearly delusional conditions. Finally, at about a quarter til midnight, I started sweating. I continued to stay huddled under the covers for a while and let it sweat out. Finally, I check my temp. down to just over 100F. I didn't like that, but I could live with it. I started getting my faculties back and I also was able to eat a little for the first time since 8am.

Wednesday morning, I get up and head back the VA. When I check in with the nurse and told her what had happened, she said she didn't think it would get that bad. Then when I showed her my arm, she said she never expected that. I think she thought I was exaggerating, especially since I didn't want to come in the previous day. Finally, the doctor took a look at it and put me on a steroid regime for extreme allergic reaction. They also charted the vaccine as an allergy and he told me to stay home for a day. The nurse said that when the fever hit 103.9F, I should have headed to the ER. She said that it could have been much worse. Judging by the looks and her reactions, I think she was surprised I was even still breathing, but she didn't say so. By Wednesday evening, I was feeling good enough to get out of the house for a short time, so I went to church. I was a bit short tempered, but that is likely a symptom of the fever. The fever finally broke sometime overnight and I am finally down to my normal temp.

Yes, those are blisters

Oh... and one more thing before I go... the results from the x-rays - a small bone spur in the elbow, which could periodically cause some problems, but shouldn't normally.  and on my foot... a couple of small heel spurs, but not any change from the last time I had my foot x-rayed back a couple of years ago for my turf toe, which has not bothered me in almost a year now.  YAY!


So all this to say one thing. This Thankful Thursday, I am thankful to be on this side of the dirt!

A Very Honorable Man: Today's Thankful Thursday Post

From the time we are born, we, as human beings, are learning -- Often by trial and error. This is the way we learn to walk. We get up, take a step, fall down. Then we get back up and do it again. What happens when we fall a long way and get hurt in the process? It takes either a certain level of character or a certain level of stupidity to keep on trying when you painfully fail at something, especially when all the "experts" are telling you it can't be done. Character, Commitment, Honor and Strength... not just of muscle, but of mind, heart and soul. These are the things that bring us tales of the impossible. The stories that inspire us.

Everybody needs inspiration from time to time. Some of us need it on a daily basis. Sometimes in my life, I have had trouble coming to grips with such things. I've always tried to be self-sufficient, usually to my own detriment. Sometimes we have to look outside ourselves and find those men and women who inspire us. And when we find someone whose struggles and accomplishments have really inspired us, then we should share their stories for others who may be needing that inspiration in a tough spot. When the pain of running gets too tough, I am thankful for the inspiration of this next hero and Man of Honor.

　
Today, my Thankful Thursday post is about:

Master Chief Carl Brashear, USN 1931-2006

So much has been written about Carl Brashear that it is so easy to consider just copying and pasting the information in here. But people of his stature deserve so much more. Carl Brashear was the first African-American to attend and graduate from the US Navy's Diving and Salvage School and become the first African-American US Navy Diver. If that was all, he'd be a hero to a lot of people. But he went on to become the first African-American US Navy Master Diver, as well. But that was only after Navy Diver Carl Brashear became the first amputee diver to be re-certified by the US Navy as a diver.

Brashear joined the Navy at a time when racism was still heavily ensconced in the US Military. Despite the grand accomplishments of such groups as the Tuskegee Airmen and individuals like Navy Cross Awardee Dorie Miller, the US Navy had to be ordered to desegregate in 1948. But racism and prejudice continued to be prevalent for more than a decade after.

When he submitted his first request to attend diving school, the Navy that they did not have any "colored" divers. Brashears reply, "The Navy's about ready to have one!" After several repeat requests, Brashears reported to the US Navy Diving & Salvage School in Bayonne, NJ in 1954. Because of being born to a sharecropper in rural Kentucky, Brashears dropped out of school to help on the farm and only had a 7th grade education. The school showed Brashear that there was more than just the physical difficulties of diving, but there was also a heavy burden of science to working in the deep that he would have to master.

Many applicants washed out of the program without any extraordinary difficulties, but Brashear also had to fight the racial bigotry and hatred of not only the staff and instructors, but of many of his fellow students. Threats were almost a constant for him. But there was also support. It was enough to keep Brashear going and he graduated from the school and became a Navy Diver.

Things went well for Brashear for the next 10 years. In 1966, he was set to make the next big leap in his career when a B52 carrying live nuclear weapons collided with it's refueling aircraft off the coast of Spain, dropping its payload of 4 nuclear bombs out of the sky. Three of the devices landed in a farm field. The fourth was dropped into the ocean and required a deep sea salvage diver to locate. At that time, Brashear was serving aboard the USS Hoist and that ship was called in to locate and recover the final bomb.

During the recovery, a tow line snapped taking a piece of pipe with it. As the pipe whipped across the deck, it hit Brashear in the left leg just below the knee with such force that it nearly severed it. After being stabilized aboard ship, he was moved to a naval hospital where his leg was restored. However, there was a lot of damage and facing a long and painful recovery with no guarantee of regaining full function of his leg and a significant danger of gangrene, Brashear convinced doctors to amputate.

Brashear had done more than many men could hope to do and achieved more than most could hope to achieve, but he had not attained his goal of being a Master Diver. Refusing to go to a hearing that would have declared his physical state to be such that he would be medically retired, Carl Brashear worked hard to prove that he was medically fit to remain in service. It was an uphill battle the entire way, having to appeal to Navy brass in Washington in order to get a hearing that wasn't predisposed to putting him out of service and would actually give himself a change to prove he could do it.

Finally with a chance to prove himself once again, Brashear pushed himself. "Sometimes I would come back from a run, and my artificial leg would have a puddle of blood from my stump," Brashear said in 2002 when he was inducted into the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians. "I wouldn’t go to sick bay because they would have taken me out of the program." In April of 1968, Carl Brashear was finally recertified, becoming the first amputee to be certified as a diver by the US Navy. By 1970, he had achieved his dream of becoming the first African-American US Navy Master Diver. Retiring from the Navy in 1979 as a Master Chief Petty Officer and Master diver, Brashear went on to work for the Navy as a civilian, finally retiring from all government work in 1993.

Carl Brashear was the subject of and the technical advisor for the movie made about his life, Men of Honor, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as Brashear, Gooding would later say that Brashear was "the strongest man I have ever met." His story was selected for the US Naval Institute Oral History Program in 1989. Carl Maxie Brashear died of respiratory and hear failure on 25 July 2006.

　
"It's not a sin to be knocked down. It's a sin to stay down." ~ Carl M. Brashear
My thanks goes out to this Man of Honor. Carl Brashear, thank you for inspiring me!

Fighting Back: My Thankful Thursday

Heroes - A person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities. Heroes inspire us. They take us to places we never thought possible. Sometimes, they show us that the impossible is really possible. Heroes never seek to be heroes, but they also aren't willing to back down in the face of terrible odds.

Everyone has heroes, although some of us have trouble identifying ours. I was that way for a long time... trying so hard to figure out who really was a hero to me, not in a general sense. I mean I think that anyone who volunteers to put their life on the line for others is a hero. Police, Firefighters, Soldiers and Sailors all fit this bill. But there are an elite few that really inspire me by their example, their courage and commitment. There are only a handful of people out there whose heroism has touched me in a personal way. The stories of their triumphs help me to push forward, even when I feel like I have nothing left. That's what heroes do. That's who heroes are. And that's why I am thankful for each and every one of them.

My Thankful Thursday post is inpired by:

Rocky Bleier, Pittsburg Steelers Linebacker 1968, 1971-1980

In 1968, Robert "Rocky" Bleier was drafted into the Pittsburg Steelers football organization after a sterling performance in college with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. But that wouldn't be his only draft. After playing his rookie season, Bleier was drafted by the US Army and ended up with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade patrolling in Heip Duc. During a patrol, his company, moving to rescue another company that had been ambushed, was ambushed themselves. Bleier soon found himself shot in the leg. Before long, Rocky had even more to worry about, as a grenade, bouncing off another, landed nearby and went off. The blast sent shrapnel through his foot. In no time, every member of his company was either killed or wounded.

Bleier crawled through the rice paddies trying to get away. He was also carried for a distance on a poncho, but the extra weight was too much for men with other wounds and he was set down while some of his fellow soldiers went for a chopper.

In Rocky's own words: "A few minutes later, I saw a black hand reach down to pick me up. This man put me over his shoulder and carried me the rest of the way to the helicopter. Racism was never more turbulent than back in the 60s, but in those rice paddies, we were colorblind. We were Americans. I never found out his name. I thought for sure someone would come forward, but to this day no one ever did."

After 14 hours, Bleier's injuries were finally able to be treated. Bleier was evacuated to Tokyo where he underwent surgery to remove the shrapnel from his foot. Over 100 pieces of metal were removed and during recovery, Bleier's thoughts started drifting back to playing football. He asked his doctors when he'd be able to play again and the replies were heart-rending. One doctor told him that playing football on a professional level was going to be impossible, that he might be able to walk again with some degree of normalcy would be a struggle but possible. The other doctor told him to forget about playing football, there was just too much damage to his foot.

Not long after that difficult news, Rocky Bleier received a postcard from Steelers owner Art Rooney: "Rock - the team's not doing well. We need you. Art Rooney" Three weeks after his first surgery, he was transferred to Ft. Riley, Kansas to begin his recovery. In January of 1970, he underwent a second surgery to remove bone spurs and free ligament from scar tissue. After the surgery, Bleier was declared 40% disabled by the Veteran's Administration. This was unsatisfying to Bleier, Art Rooney had said the team needed him.

Not willing to give up, Bleier used shock therapy, stretched with large rubber bands, lifted weights and ran sprints every day. On the weekends, he would run stairs at K-State's stadium with weights on his ankles.

"I just wanted to play football more than anything else in the world," recalled Bleier. "I was a bachelor. Football was my life and my dream at the time. Nothing else mattered. I loved the game so much. I didn't want to look back later in life and regret not giving the game every ounce I had."

Less than 6 months after his second surgery, he reported to the Steelers training camp. After some discussion between Head Coach Chuck Noll and owner Art Rooney, Bleier was accepted back and placed on the Injured Reserve list, where he continued to concentrate on his rehabilitation. Rooney paid for a 3rd operation, where the Steelers Team Doctor instead of Army doctors removed even more shrapnel and ripped apart scar tissue to give the halfback more flexibility. He kept up with a rigorous workout, continuing to punish himself and push himself as the painful road to recovery continued. Bleier worked hard, but ended up pulling a hamstring in training camp for the next season. Bleier was put on waivers, but didn't let it stop him from trying, even as he moved from the team's playing field to the office, working with the team's scouting department and on the taxi squad.

Bleier came back to camp in 1972 and his performance dropped jaws. His benchmark 40 yard dash had IMPROVED from before his injury. The hard work was paying off. He made the regular squad and became a Special Teams spectacular. In the offseason, he hit the weight room and bulked up, being able to bench press 440 pounds. In 1974, he started in the backfield with Franco Harris and became an indelible part of a dynasty. In Superbowl XIII in 1979, Bleier and the Steelers went head to head with the Dallas Cowboys and his efforts were legendary.  On a team with other football greats, Rocky Bleier holds his own. Mean Joe Green, Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw... and Rocky Bleier, who was their teammate and inspiration.

In 1969, Rocky Bleier was awarded the Purple Heart for being wounded in action and the Bronze Star for heroism in the face of the enemy. When he retired in 1980 after Superbowl XIV, he was awarded his 4th Superbowl Champion's Ring. Through all the pain and injuries, he never stopped, never quit.



And today, I am thankful to Rocky Bleier for being one of my inspirations.

Thankful Thursday

I've been asked who my heros are, who inspires me. For a long time, I didn't have an answer. I was just out there kinda floating lazily in the milk, so to speak, without any real direction. But when I started getting serious about doing real distance, I began to really think about the fact that I needed to remind myself that God created human beings with a capacity to go beyond what we ever thought was possible. To do things that are truly amazing. So I think it is fitting to take a little bit of space to showcase some of those public figures who really inspire me.

To be sure, I have personal friends and family who also inspire me, but for privacy's sake, I will simply say thank you to those. You know who you are. I wouldn't have gotten here without you and your support. You have believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself and helped me believe in the right things, inside and outside myself. These inspirations I am going to write about in the coming weeks cannot take that away. Ever.

With that having been said, each Thursday, I plan to post up someone whose story and triumph has inspired me. So, today's inspiration is:

Dana Bowman, US Army, RET

In 1994, Dana Bowman was Army Special Forces and a member of The Golden Knights parachute team. In February of that year, he and his team were making practice jumps. Bowman and his teammate were performing a maneuver known as the Diamond Track, where the divers speed apart to a designated distance, then reverse their tracks and head toward each other at a closing speed of about 300 miles per hour. The approach did not go as planned and the two men collided, instantly killing his teammate, Sgt Jose Aguillon and rendering Bowman unconscious. The impact was so severe that it also completely severed both of Bowman's legs, one below the knee and one above the knee. Bowman's parachute was activated by the impact and he landed unconscious in a nearby parking lot.

Rather than giving up, Dana Bowman chose to fight his way back to a normal and active life. Over the course of the next 6 weeks, he wore out 4 pairs of prostheses. Rather than sit back and wait or let the doctors dictate when and how and what he could do, he helped them to design prosthetics. 5 months after his accident, he left the hospital to go skydiving as part of a Golden Knights wedding ceremony. Four months later, he became the first double amputee to reenlist in the Army. After he retired, he went on to get a bachleor's degree in commercial aviation and is presently the only double amputee to hold a commercial helicopter instructor pilot certification in the world.

Dana Bowman has worked through his pain and became an overcomer. He inspires me any time I think I have the market cornered on pain and suffering.

Thank you, SFC Dana Bowman, for being one of my inspirations.