By the time I was born, my family had built a small modest home, and lived in a very rural area. My mother and father had survived the depression, managed to buy some land, and start a business. My family was not rich by any definition of the term, but during my childhood and considering the time when I grew up, we were comfortable. When I was about four-years-old, I traversed my first personal rocky road of illness. There are some memories that are vague about the experience, and some remain very vivid in my mind. I remember that I was very ill, and because we lived in a fairly remote rural area, the medical facilities were limited. Our family doctor’s diagnosis was polio.
There is more about this journey in the book, and how faith and determination made a difference. Coming in 2012. 
I remember that he told my mother that I needed to go to a hospital where I would receive the care I needed. He said he would try to find one, but it may be difficult because there were so many children with polio. It was during the time there was a polio epidemic around the country, there was no vaccine, and hospital beds for children were hard to find because the beds were full with so many children who had this disease. The doctor finally found Saint Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis that had a bed in the children’s ward open. During those days, it was a very long trip to travel to St. Louis by car or by train. My father took us to St. Louis where I was admitted into the hospital. 
I had a phone call from Charlie again this year to update me on what was going on in his life. He is still doing well, happy and successful at what he does. Whether you teach or not, you never know the influence you can have on someone's life. I am proud of you, Charlie. You had the guts to hang in there when all oddds were against you. It just proves that a little faith can go a long way.
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