Thanks Sarge
The year was 1963, the base Schilling AFB in Salina, Kansas. I had just
played one heck of a basketball game when I got my legs cut out from under me on
a lay up. I hit the floor hard and immediately went into a gran mal seizure, the
first of my life. As I was on the base team, it was considered an on duty
injury.
I suffered amnesia. I had totally forgotten everything I learned in tech school.
At work, I was getting criticized for not doing my job as well as I used to.
Fact is, I had forgotten what I was supposed to do. My sarge talked to my doctor
who told him I had a major head trauma with unknown neurological consequences
and that my whole body was adjusting to the tremendous amounts of phenobarbital
and Dilantin being given as a precaution.
After learning of my situation, my sarge pulled me into his office and had a
chat with me. This was an old school, no nonsense sarge. Grease and dirt was his
kind of work. What he told me that day has stayed with me all my life. "Give all
you got and if that is not enough for them then the heck with them." I knew I
had an ally. I thought I might get discharged for my poor work. He took a huge
load off my mind and back. I got back to my books and re-learned(on my own) my
job. It took a while. I lost out on one promotion, but later I had regained all
my ability. The only problem was the re-occurring seizures. I learned to live
with my disability, I learned to build upon it. Thanks Sarge.
B. J. Cassady BJ.Cassady@af-group.com