My Buddy, Barry...

I was reading Secretia's blog about secret health issues and it made me think of Barry.

Barry was my best friend... We shared a great deal of common interests, one of them being white-water canoeing... We would travel to Western North Carolina and paddle on the Nantahala, the Ocoee, and even paddled Section III of the Chattooga a couple of times.

On one of our trips, we were canoeing a river that was new to both of us. We approached a rapid that we decided to scout before attempting to run it. Upon further review, we decided that portaging around this rapid was in our best interests... I made the comment that I would hate to drown... Barry was a doctor, and he told me that in Med School, they were taught that drowning is supposed to be one of the easier ways to die... that one actually passes out from lack of oxygen before the lungs start to fill with water....

I can't imagine...

We continued to talk a bit about this the rest of the day as we continued down the river... we even talked about how to get out of trouble if ever caught in an undertow... that one is supposed to move parallel to the shoreline and eventually, you will get out of the pull of the water and can come in to safety...

In late July, 2000, Barry took his family with him to a medical convention that was being held in Destin, Fla... after checking into their accomodations, Barry and his daughters went out into the surf to play while his wife sat on the beach and read...

At some point, his youngest daughter came in from the water and asked her Mom if she knew where her Dad was... and Mom replied, "he's out there with you..." At that instant, a woman down the beach started screaming for a doctor... They figured that Barry must be down there helping...

Well... Barry was down there... Barry got caught in an undertow and drowned... I don't know what else there is to say about that... kind of like Forrest Gump... 'that's all I've got to say about that...'

Not long after Barry drowned, I had a dream about Barry... in the dream, I know Barry is gone, but I am so glad to see him... I run to him and give him this great big hug... there.. you know that Im a guy and I hug my male friends... so shoot me... I asked Barry, "What happened?"... meaning, what happened as in how weren't you able to save yourself...???

He turned and walked away, waving his hands, saying, "... I don't want to talk about it.."

My interpretation is that drowning wasn't as easy as Barry thought it would be.

Now.. what does this have to do with "medical secrets?" I tried to think of something I could do to honor my friend... my friend who was all about saving lives and helping others...

I teach at a small university in Mississippi, and on the way to the Union one day to get a cup of coffee, I saw the BloodMobile parked in front of the Union...and I thought... that's it! I will donate blood in Barry's memory...

I don't know how much I have donated over the years since Barry's been gone... and it really doesn't matter because its not about me...

I miss you, my friend... and who knows, maybe one of these days, we will cross paths again...

For any of you that are able, donate blood... its one of the most useful things you can ever do...