Thank You, Dr. Amol Saxena
It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions but hard to get one single remedy.
Chinese proverb
The Red Headed Kid and Miss Gal Pal were visiting from Boston, and The Pretty Blonde and I joined them for a Friday full of San Francisco food and fun. At one point we found ourselves strolling through the tony Pacific Heights neighborhood near the Presidio, enjoying the stunning Bay Area views and the quiet solitude provided by the eight-figure mansions. As we approached the corner of Broadway and Baker, Ross peered down the hill to Vallejo Street and decided right then and there that he JUST HAD to run up the super-steep sidewalk.
“Run?” I thought to myself. The last time these tired eyes saw my 23 year-old son hurriedly put one foot in front of the other was in June 2009 at the California State Track and Field Championships, where he ran 1600m in 4:20 on a defective left foot.
As Ross walked gingerly down the tree-shrouded sidewalk, my mind drifted to a doctor’s office we visited in July 2013, where Amol Saxena of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation diagnosed The Red Headed Kid’s left foot as being “out of alignment.” Four days later, Dr. Saxena broke Ross’s foot in two places and inserted two titanium plates and eight screws, setting off a summer long chain reaction that could also be described as “out of alignment.” Long days filled with excruciating pain, nauseating medications, nightmarish thoughts of amputation and the all-to-real possibility of losing a dream job he’d spent four years of college preparing for. As parents, all we wanted was for Ross to walk again, but deep down we wondered what would happen if this surgery, his sixth, didn’t work. Would he ever be happy again?
I sat down on the pavement and turned on my iPhone’s video camera. Though Ross appeared as nothing more than a dark speck at the bottom of the hill, soon I could make out the familiar pumping of his arms and the high kicks of his legs. As he neared the top of the hill, the smooth running form I thought I’d never see again was accompanied by a smile as wide as the Golden Gate. After finishing his climb of Mount Baker Street, our tight little foursome happily disturbed the neighborhood peace with a resounding mix of cheers, hugs and high-fives.
On Sunday, Ross and his girlfriend returned to Boston, and on Monday he’ll be back to work at his dream job.
Thanks to Dr. Saxena, Ross Geiger’s life is back in alignment.
Watch video of Ross running up Baker Street