June 13, 2005

Tucson Visitations

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HealthSouth Rehabilitation Institute of Tucson

The assembled masses congregate together at Fort Lowell Park for a group picture before heading out to our first visit of the day.  Pictured here left to right are Joe, from HealthSouth, Ed, Tucson police officer, Ed Gray, Deandra and Amy Jo from HealthSouth, John and Bill.  In the front row are the fearless two, Gabriel and Asa. 

As our riders form the perfect "Ampu-V" formation, we swarm the facility but Officer Ed issues a warning to Bill for various violations such as spitting on the sidewalks, wolf calling women, hassling other riders and for just plain being from Kentucky!  Joe runs his streak to two visitations in a row without a serious crash, thanks to John's blocking of the intersections and calling out when other vehicles are "fixin' to pass".

As Officer Gray continues to issue Bill more warnings, Gabriel, who logged his 30th mile today pulls to the side and watches in amazement while the officer reads Bill his rights.  Gabriel promises to follow all ordinances and laws in order to keep from suffering the fate of the lone Kentuckian.

As the cuffs are slapped on Bill, he pleads with John and Joe to please provide Officer Gray with his "Get Out of Jail FREE" card which was apparently either left in Wikieup at the Trading Post or it was eaten by ANIMAL as Joe proclaims.  Bill promises to trade his pack of Redman chewing tobacco, his favorite set of Billy Bob teeth and his pink riding shorts to be provided as collateral.  

Marie Marchal welcomes the AAA crew and reads a proclamation from the mayor's office announcing that June 13, 2005 to be Amputees Across America day in the city of Tucson.  We were once again awed and humbled by the staff and support of HealthSouth for all the hard work and effort put into our visit.

John woos the crowd with his juggling act providing Bill with just enough time to weasel out of the handcuffs and slip away from Officer Gray. 

Joe explains to Bill and John how to spell their names and where to write on the posters without smearing the ink on his picture.  John is given the task of rolling the posters up and putting on the rubber bands.  The "One Armed Bandit" pulls through with flying colors.

Bill is being flanked by Officer Gray throughout the visitation making

Joe visits with Anne and continues to offer hope and encouragement.  We meet so many folks who inspire us along the way with their fortitude determination. 

With Officer Gray watching closely, Bill begins his community service. 

John and Bill share a brief moment with Joe Elefante.  Joe plans on getting back on the golf course by September.  Here, Joe gives John and Bill some brief pointers on how to get past the windmill.  We were so impressed with his attitude and his outlook on life as well as his future!  GO JOE!

Visitation Rehab Hospital of Southern Arizona

We pull into our second HealthSouth location with plenty of time to spare.  So Joe decides it's time to sneak down to the local bike shop in order to purchase a couple of spare tubes for his bike.  In reality, he is simply scoping out this side of town for an A&W Root beer stand to hit on the way back to the hotel.  As we pull back into the parking lot, still with 10 minutes to spare before we were supposed to be there, it is explained to our navigational leader that we are actually at the WRONG LOCATION!  There goes Joe's ATTABOY that he earned yesterday!  We pack it back up and head to our location via the scenic route and arrive at our destination just a few minutes late but still in time to receive a nice reception from HealthSouth.

Joe turns to John to ask, "Who in the world did we bring along with us this year?"  Bill tries in vain to coax help from a patient in freeing the cuffs from his hands. 

Bill offers money to another patient to provide a key to his cuffs.  "It's hard to eat with your hands tied together."

Asa and Gabriel offer spelling assistance to the AAA crew as they continue to personalize posters and greet patients.

Joe deals another hand of Texas Hold 'Em as he bluffs his way through another game of poker.  So far he's tied with another lady at 3 balloons apiece.

John  and Bill (not shown here) sneak off to the PT room and confiscate a pair of bolt cutters and finally snap off the cuffs.  Free at LAST!

Final thanks to both HealthSouth facilities for their generosity and hospitality.  Kudos to Marie Marchal for her efforts in organizing an outstanding event at the Rehab Institute of Tucson.  Special thanks to the Sheraton Hotel for everything they did to make us feel at home. 

Also thanks to Elena Roman, CEO of Rehab Hospital of Southern Arizona, Christine Kim for all her efforts, and Alek Makepeace for a delicious meal. 

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