dialysis/renal disease program - stories (1)

I'm gathering stories from the years of experiences we've had since the advent of our dialysis unit/renal disease program back in 1975. Dave Bieler was the first to respond and here's what he wants to say:

As gosh knows how many FVers know, Eric is a model of fortitude and determination. I was always kind of stunned by how much energy and enthusiasm he was able generate, seemingly at will, despite being tethered to a machine for four hours every other day having his blood cleaned out for him...however, it was one night, in 1986, on an absolute nightmare of an overnight with Forest/Susky kids, that he completely and totally outdid himself. We were caught in a storm, the kids were miserable, and we had to make a call on what to do -- spend the night out in the storm, struggling to keep both ourselves and the kids dry and safe, or attempt to hike through the rain (and over a rope bridge) back to camp. The storm just kept getting worse, the kids were scared, cold, and tired -- so we made the call to go back.

Myself, I was feeling extremely miserable at this point -- which was only compounded by the driving rain. And well, after he and I and our Susky counselor compatriots guided all the kids over the rope bridge through the dark by flashlight, I basically collapsed. Eric saw me, leapfrogged across the river, and essentially hauled me/propped me up for the walk back to camp. After a few nights in the nurse's office, I was back in business, but were it not for Eric -- who knows how things would've turned out? He was absolutely, positively, indubitably - awesome.