Yes, We Can!

By Pina Katz and Robert Katz

At age 11 being diagnosed with terminal cancer I was not expected to live to the age of 12. Forty-two years later living with quadriplegia, I am alive today and ready to tell my story. Happiness and a successful career did not come easy. Many disappointments and failed relationships, but my persistence not to give up on life was my best tool in achieving both. Facing near death experiences I miraculously survived. I now work for the number one global telecommunication company.
This book hopefully will bring awareness with understanding the challenges people with physical disabilities encounter each day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462833450

Pina Katz

Pina and Robert Katz have been married since 1998 and are currently living in their ranch-style home with Pina's brother and their miniature poodle. Pina spends most of her time taking care of the household but also freelances on a part time basis as a manicurist in a nursing home. Robert works as a business application administrator for a large telecommunication company. They both enjoy music, theater and dining out.

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Yes, We Can!

Pina and Robert Katz

Copyright © 2011 by Pina and Robert Katz.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

64730

Contents

FORWARD

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

END NOTES

There are many people whom we would like to thank, beginning with the doctors, medical staff and healthcare workers that did and continue to assist us along with all the adapted transport drivers for they have always treated us with their outmost respect, and professionalism. We would also like to express our profound gratitude to our respective families and dear friends, whom we can always count on to be there for us and particularly to both my parents, Harvey Katz and Edna Katz-Silver, who never gave up on me and were determined to make sure that I would have a fruitful and rewarding life. We also need to include all of my work colleagues, for they play a big part in my day to day life. Lastly, but most importantly to my dear wife Pina who has shown me the meaning of love and devotion and has never left my side even during the most challenging of times for without her constant persistence and collaboration this book would not have been possible.

FORWARD

The reason we decided to tell our story was mainly to bring awareness along with a sense of understanding to the general public about the challenges people with physical disabilities encounter and deal with each day.

Let this book enlighten you and be a heartwarming tale as we take you on a journey of our life experiences. If our story can touch at least one person’s life, to strive for your goals and not let adversity stand in your way, that is our mission.

There are all kinds of situations we encounter, and although it seems that we have all the tools to make our lives easier, sometimes, it is just not that simple.

My wife Pina never once imagined that she would go from owning a nursing placement agency whereby she would supply caregivers to individuals needing care in their homes or healthcare facilities to the role as a wife and primary caregiver to her quadriplegic husband.

This book is all about courage, determination, and perseverance, which are all essential ingredients as we resume our path in life.

We hope these stories will inspire you as much as they have inspired us to practice random acts of kindness each day and to be truly appreciative of our families, friends, and anyone else we come in contact with, for they are the ones who enrich our lives.

On May 12, 1989, I wrote the following in my diary in the hope that I would live long enough to be able to one day publish these stories:

It has been a privilege to know a great many people who have guided me through my career. Although the fight has been mostly uphill, I know that society and I together will make valuable contributions.

The future is what we all strive for, and not knowing what the world will offer, we hope to create the best situation we can. Dedication and perseverance have been my goal post to run for in this game we call life.

If I can contribute by helping in the business world, then the business world has contributed by allowing me to give back to society. This taking and giving from oneself to society and thus our creator, is there no greater contribution to be made?

CHAPTER 1

Early Years

It was in the summer of ‘65 that the changes in my health were becoming noticeable. I was at Twin Lake Camp in Vermont and running hard until my sides hurt, which is what gave me the rush, I needed to escape my pain. I was a very active nine year old boy at the time and immensely enjoyed sports. Soccer and long distance running were my passions.

Those long summer days where I ran through the countryside were great, and I still hold onto those memories today.

As I ran and looked at the dusty dirt road ahead of me, the pain at the base of my neck was getting intense, so I stopped running and straightened up. Twisting my hips, I noticed my leg was stiff as well.

So I headed back at a slow walk and arrived just in time to see that Harold had Sam in a headlock. Harold was the biggest kid in our bunk. We were eight in total, and because I was almost the same size as Harold, he often wanted my help to pick on the others. I never agreed with Harold and always refused to help him.

Robbie, help me hold him down.

I said, No, let him go. What did he do?

He’s bugging me with that stupid look on his face.

What look? Let him go. So Harold let him go but never relied on me again.

I would never regret doing the right thing. I somehow felt he would get back at me one day.

As the days wore on, I noticed my left leg was starting to stiffen up more often, and my neck pain would come and go.

Every morning at camp, all the guys in our cabin would go into the bathroom to brush their teeth and wash up. As I looked down to spit out my toothpaste, I did not see this one kid which came up from behind me and slapped me on the neck. As he did, my whole left side went numb.

I was now becoming the weaker victim of the cruelty of my fellow campers as one by one this became their new game. How they knew my weak spot, I’ll never know. I think they must have overheard me talking to Steve, our camp counselor. Steve is the tall person on the left side in the picture below, and I am standing next to him.

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Pina and Robert Katz

Children can be mean, and my fellow campers probably thought I was faking my symptoms. You know the way kids can be.

Recovering from this assault, I immediately spoke with the camp counselor about getting on the soccer team so that I would be up and out of the cabin early every morning, thus avoiding the others.

The coach put me on right wing center as I was still pretty fast on my feet then. Running down with the ball and scoring goals was a real boost and focused me on winning.

The rest of the summer went by slowly, and I enjoyed playing on the team. I continued running through the countryside every chance I had.

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Pina and Robert Kat z

Back home now, I was happy to see my friends from the street I grew up on. More than that, I was glad to be away from the kids at Twin Lake Camp.

The summer was winding down, and we tried to squeeze out as much fun as we could before heading back to school.

As we played hide-and-seek on that sunny afternoon in August, I was knocked to the ground as I attempted to surprise my friend by jumping out from behind the large hedge that I had been hiding in.

As I hit the ground, my entire body became completely paralyzed, and I could not move at all. Not really frightened but more stunned, I watched as my friends ran off to get my mother as I lay on my back, looking up at the blue sky. I must have blacked out because I don’t remember anything after that.

At the start of fall, I could barely turn my head and was now slowly losing the use of my left arm and leg. I continued dragging my left leg around the house, experiencing difficulty walking. I remember my mother taking me to see doctor after doctor, trying to figure out what was going on. No one knew what to do about the constantly throbbing dull pain at the base of my neck. This problem had been plaguing me now for sometime.

My brother Andy, who is six years older than me, had his own friends, and we did not see much of each other except at the dinner table. My mother always insisted that we sit down as a family at suppertime. He is a good brother. Growing up, he always watched my back, and his sense of humor would make me laugh so hard that some form of liquid would ultimately shoot out of my nose at some point during the meal. Today, he is the same. He will always look for an opportunity to make me laugh.

Walking around the house one afternoon I noticed an object on my brother’s desk that I just had to have. As I ran into the room to retrieve the object my weak leg got caught on the threshold of the doorframe and I fell to the floor face first onto the corner of the steel footing of his desk chair.

As my mother saw me fall, she came running with a knife in her hand and immediately pressed the flat part against the rising bump on my forehead.

The effect must have helped because the pressure of the knife being pushed against the bump stopped the swelling and reversed the effects of the contusion. The next day I was perfectly fine thanks to my mother’s quick action and there was no need for any medical attention.

Growing up, we had a French poodle named Ginger. She gave birth to eight puppies under my parents’ bed, on their plush white carpet. From the litter, we kept three. As I became weaker, I spent a lot of time in bed. I loved these dogs as much as a boy of nine could love anything.

Ginger’s second puppy, Mimi, never left my side day and night; she stayed in bed with me, curled up at my feet.

Dogs have a sixth sense; it is as if they can feel when something or someone is sick or dying. I stayed in bed for months and in doing so all I wanted to do was watch television.

The highlight of my day would be the next episode of The Andy Griffith Show with Mimi tucked in close to me. Unable to support my neck with a pillow, my only option was to use parabolic eyeglasses. By angling the mirrors in just the right way I could see the TV clearly. Unfortunately from constantly being in bed, my lungs started filling with mucus. I was lulled into a comfortable place until one morning, my sister Karin gave me the wake-up call I needed.

My sister has always been known to speak her mind. Karin has always been there to show me the way out. That morning, she was literally sitting on my bed, raising her voice in an attempt at shaking the fog from my brain. What are you doing with your life? Snap out of it, she said.

Within the next few days, the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) was treating my double pneumonia. Since I was too weak to bring up the phlegm, drastic intervention was called for. A nasal tube was slid into my nose and down the back of my throat into my lungs.

Each time this procedure was performed, I would start gagging terribly. The nurse proceeded quite quickly so as not to prolong this unpleasantness. The machine pumped out the brown muck, filling the twin glass cylinders being held on either side of the machine. The VON came to the house frequently the next few months. At a young age, this was very difficult on me. I endured each visit from the nurse as best as I could. I knew I had no choice if I wanted to get well, so I tried not to think about what was being done to me.

My strength was slowly returning, and I now started to get out of bed. My ritual was to get myself up very early and make my way into my parent’s bedroom. Sitting up on a straight-back upholstered chair, I would wait for the right moment to say good morning. After that, I would go to the kitchen and anxiously await my breakfast.

This went on for weeks until one morning when I could not get out of the chair. All my lower limbs were paralyzed, and in a very calm voice, I said, Mom, I can’t get up. At that moment, I was rushed in to see my neurologist, Dr. Irving Heller. He gave me a complete physical.

I knew what was ahead of me. My only concern was that Halloween was a few days away, and my plea to my parents was to let me go out for trick or treat. After that, I would go into the hospital willingly without resistance.

Panic and fear grew inside me, for in my heart, I knew that the moment I would enter the hospital, my childhood would be over. This panic and fear remains with me today, and I fight to control it.

The morning after Halloween, November 1, 1965, Dr. Heller admitted me into the hospital and immediately ordered a full battery of tests. He did not want to waste any time. The technology then was not nearly as precise as it is today. The only method available was x-ray, and I underwent quite a few solely to conclude normal results.

I then had to undergo a very painful test called a spinal tap, and that is when the tumor was discovered.

As I sat at the edge of the gurney, I was told to bend forward while a very large needle was inserted into the base of my spine.

I bit my lip as the pain hit me hard; the fluid traveled up and became blocked at the C7 level, and this was how the doctor found what he was looking for.

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Source: http://www.jasper-sci.com/images/fg093_1.gif

The next step was exploratory surgery, which was scheduled for November 15, 1965.

They needed to get a good look at what they were dealing with. Dr. Heller quickly arranged for one of the top neurosurgeons in Canada named Dr. G. Bertrand to perform the procedure.

After opening the back of my neck, they discovered a lot more than they had anticipated. The findings were that