Just One More Run!

My friend Eric left a note about a crazy ironwood happening a number of years back. Eric is a US Marine and on this day he learned to endure true pain.

It was winter and with a couple days off of high school school Eric and I made the trek to the cabin. In the winter the trip is truly a trek because a car can only take you so far down the cabin road and then you snow shoe in with supplies on sleds. The lake was beautiful and the tranquility was calming, but soon we were off to ski the big Mt. Zion.

After a few trips down the "mountain," I noticed a man made jump and thought it would be fun to get some air. Eric went first and fell on the ice. I followed and like any good friend I spead up to him and hockey stopped to spray him with snow. When we reached the bottom of the hill Eric turned and with a grimace he told me that he hurt his arm. I totally blew it off and suggested we start for the lift. Not amused, Eric started to wimper (I swear it was a whimper), he said, "I think it's broken." My empathy showed in my reply, "Come on, just one more run." Eric demanded we leave and soon we were at the hospital (after a quick trip to Granny's where we unexpectedly found my brother Jim's friends who had stopped in and aunt Ann who sweetly came to the hospital).

The emergency room doctor got an x-ray and Eric's arm was of course broken AND displaced (bones not lined up correctly). The doc first tried to reset the bones by manipulating the index and middle fingers (OUCH!! - you really need to be unconscious or nearly so for this procedure). Eric took the pain like a true Marine, but required an operation in the end. I guess one more run was out of the question?

Mike