Fred Noble's Blog

There is a fine line between death and survival. During my 75 years on Earth, I have managed to walk that razors edge with a cavalier attitude—an attitude of “If you are not living on the edge you are taking up too much space.”

It was a warm Saturday evening in late September, a promise of another epic Sunday adventure, bungee jumping, zip line and rock climbing. I don’t do these things to prove something to myself or anyone else. I do it because I truly derive peace and tranquility from these adrenaline packed activities.

Although the use of my legs are non existent I can still use my upper body and the help of friends to get me into position to jump, fly, or climb. I don’t know how much more time I have but as long as there is a beating heart I will journey on.

Back to Saturday night…my choking and coughing becomes violent. I am thinking “I can get through this.” By 2:00 a.m., I make the decision to cancel Sunday’s activities. The coughing gets worse and it feels like I am going to die, and I don’t care. “Screw it,” I think, “I have suffered enough these past few months.” After indulging this irrational thinking for a few minutes, I gather my thoughts and decide I need to get to Emergency.

(Crap! Four things I hate: the DMV, post office, expensive ambulance rides and hospital emergency wards.)

I cannot phone anyone because my voice is gone. I didn’t want to alarm anyone and I figured I can hang on until Julie and Gary wake up. I decide to email them and tell them to come over and take me to the hospital. I just wanted to avoid trying to get admitted when I was unable to communicate. This all works to my satisfaction and admittance is a breeze.

At the emergency ward, I was admonished for not calling 911, as my vital signs were very weak. I wanted to tell them that I did not know the number for 911 but did not think they would be amused. Luckily my voice was gone anyway.

The Gods of Old Fools and Senility had my back on this one. In the future I will need to remember to call 911. I have already entered it on my speed dial.

I am home recuperating and getting plenty of rest while planning on paragliding and a glider flight as my next adventure. I have been there and done that, and will continue to be there and do that.

Stay tuned,
The Fredinator

Canadian Mountain Holidays, CMH, heli-skiing, Canada

Fred Noble's 75th birthday celebration, Canadian Mountain Holidays, CMH, heli-skiing, Canada

This entry was posted on Monday, October 15th, 2012 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Fred's Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.