RETIRING RETIREMENT: This senior is still standing … and so is his confidence

By ROBERT LACOSTA

PART II

Our Harley man wishes to remain anonymous …

With barely a step between him and the outbreak of COVID-19, a 76-year-old Delmar man with a fractured pelvis, ribs, punctured bladder and a brain bleed from a motorcycle accident somehow made it from the Bahamas to Tampa General Hospital after a nightmarish five days, some without painkillers.

In Part I of this tale, we examined how something so chilling could contribute to confidence. Perhaps the biggest answer was his renewed sense of confidence he had in his fellow man. In the middle of his misery, his motorcycle buddies stayed with him through thick and thin, a passing pickup truck brought him to safety, an island doctor with limited resources was able to wrestle with insurance companies to get him an airlift, an older couple offered him money at the airport thinking he needed it, as did a kind cabby who filled in for a missing ambulance at the airport.

“As fraught with trouble as this world is, there were good people all around,” he said. “The medical personnel were knowledgeable, caring and competent. The Emergency Room did a first-rate job. The lead doc was a graduate of Colgate, and they had me up and walking in a couple of days. The rehab was great, as was my son and his family when I went to stay there.

And although it wasn’t a “positive experience,” he said, referring to the pain, “many things could have been worse. For example, the orthopedist said I had broken my pelvis in just the right spot. Furthermore, I was just ahead of COVID-19, so I didn’t have to be quarantined.”

His confidence may not be as shattered as some of his bones, but he has decided to modify his mojo a bit and get “training wheels” for his Harley back in Delmar that will paradoxically allow a little safety in the daring. Harleys don’t need a lot a spin, but the conclusion of this story on confidence has some metaphorical  poetry:

“Harley’s are stalwart,” he said.

And so are their riders.

Robert J. LaCosta writes a daily blog. Write him at [email protected] or call (518) 435-1250. The author is a Hearing Instrument Specialist and has worked with seniors through four decades.