Monday, May 4, 2009

Happy Bionic Birthday To Me

I was doped on morphine and Valium at the time, but this is how I like to imagine the conversation among my doctors exactly two years ago today:

Jason Nunemaker. Bicyclist. A man barely alive.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.

We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man.

Jason Nunemaker will be that man.

We can make him better than he was before.

Better.

Stronger.

Faster.


(Cue iconic trumpet theme here.)


Okay, so I'm not stronger or faster... but when I ride, it does sound like this.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the birthday, of sorts. Glad that things are getting better, and maybe the memory of that day is fading somewhat.

by the way, when you got that big chunk of ti in your leg, did you also get a certificate to give to the TSA folks at the airport? I can just imagine getting wanded over and over while they try to figure out how you've hidden a big knife in your pants...

congrats!

Steve K.

Steve Fuller said...

Happy birthday to your parts!! Er...let me reword that. Happy birthday to your new leg!! I can't imagine the pain you dealt with going through that ordeal, but I'm impressed that you made it through and are riding again. :)

Jason T. Nunemaker said...

I asked my surgeon about that "TSA note" at the final appointment where he turned me loose as "healed". He said he'd do one, but it wasn't worth the bother -- note or no note, I'm going to get pulled off to the side and patted down (nothing more "intimate" than that, thank goodness). So, I don't have one.

Funny thing is, I've flown quite a few times in the last couple years, and that hunk of titanium has only set off a metal detector once. Not sure what that says about our post-9/11 airport security...