[nagdu] steppers first step again.

[Stepper]

    Greeting to listers.

I have news I never really new I would be able to give again.
Five years, five months, and seventeen days ago I was at GDB's Oregon campus getting ready to receive my second guide from GDB.
I had had two guides in my life time.
My first was from Pilot Dogs clear back in 81. He was a yellow lab named Hart and only fifteen months old.
This is the dog I walked across America with in 83, in behalf of the NFB, and Christian Record Braille Foundation.
 setting a world record of being the only blind person to walk across America. Plus meeting President Regen in the Oval Office on Oct. 25, 83.

318 days, 3615 miles, accompanied by my wife Lynda, and my three children living out of a small motor home.

 Because of a medical problem in late 83 I had to have Hart put down, while I held him in my arms on Thanksgiving day.

In 86 I went to GDB for my second dog, a yellow lab and her name was Kay-Bear.
I had bear for 13 years, and she was a pure joy the entire time she was with me.
 She worked for 11 years.

At the age of 54 I was found with no warning to have and started struggling with rectal Colon, Groin, both lungs cancers with life altering surgeries, Chemo, and radiation I have now been cancer free for seven years.
However, I have been home bound during this last nine years for the most part.

As I said at the beginning I thought I had become well enough to try for my third Guide dog at the Oregon campus.
But to my surprise after only being with one of there practice dogs for less than an hour I new I wasn't well enough to manage this bundle of energy.
With tears rolling down my face, shaking like a leaf, feeling awful I had to tell the GDB staff I couldn't do this.
To my surprise the GDB staff, meaning everyone of them was so kind and understanding when I told them I just didn't think I could do this. I thought I could, but was wrong.
While sitting there with that dog in front of me, I made myself a promise. That promise was very simple.
I promised that if GDB would let me come back some day, I would get well enough to try again.
Plus I also have back problems that include three crushed disks, two bulging disk, ten cracked facet joints, and Sciatica so bad in my left hip they had to burn the nerves out three times before the nerves would stop growing.
I was on the strongest Narco made at 10.5 milligrams of 12 a day for years after they stopped my cancer drugs.
This wasn't enough medication for my back pain, so was in pain non stop.
However, then the doctors said I would qualify for a Medtronic infusion pump, because of my pain levels, and so on.
I got my pump on June 10th 08. I have a drug they are using that is 30 times more powerful then Morphine, plus one other numbing drug as well.
It has taken them a year and a half to get to the point where I don't have to take other drugs with my pump meds any longer.
I started with a half a milligram, and am now up to 3 milligrams of medicine a day now.
This is what has made it possible to exercise now one hour a day, and walk an hour to an hour and a half every other day.
 So for the last five and a half years plus this has been my focus.
I tell you all this, to announce that tomorrow morning 9 A.M. Boise Idaho time I start my journey to the GDB California campus to try again.
My class is from March 29 through April 17-10.
Three weeks.
I ask that you on this list serve please send your positive thoughts toward me in the time of test and trial for me.
I promise, I will give it all I have.
Thank you, Stepper