A Rough Start...

My roots are in a small N.E. Montana town called Redstone, which is probably not even on the map, as are several small places within that area of the state. In the beginning, my life had many ups and downs...until I was one year old, I cried most of the time, and was often sick. At the age of 1, when I was taking a bath, Auntie Joan was visiting us and noticed something odd about my back and spine...which was severely curved. It was at that time that my parents brought me to Billings to see Dr Walton, an orthopedic Doc. He diagnosed my scoliosis, triple curveture, along with a missing rib(right rib cage), as well as a missing vertebrae. Soon after the diagnosis that changed my life, a lifelong friend and Shriner from up home, Jim Jensen, sponsored me so I could go to the Shriners Hospital and Clinic in Spokane Washington for care. For the next 12 years, they did everything they could for me, including a 2 month stay from 12/69-2/70; at which time I was bedridden in traction to try and straighten my spine as much as possible to minimize the need for surgery(which was to be done only after I was finished growing). When I was 13 years of age, the Shrine Docs realized my back situation was to severe for them to take care of surgically, so they called around the country/world until they found a Specialist in Boise, Idaho who could do the much needed operations for what will be forever labed the "Granddaddy of them all" as far as this type of surgery was concerned...so I feel really blessed to this day to be walking upright(or to be walking at all)...This story is only the beginning of why I consider myself to be...THE LATE BLOOMER! More to come...