50 Years Ago

As I gazed out the seventh floor window at UCSF Children's Hospital I saw a ship coming into San Francisco Bay. Riley was doing better and I had stepped out of his room. I gradually realized that I had been where that cargo ship was - fifty years ago!

We sailed from Manila, through Hong Kong, Nagoya and Yokohama with a rail trip to Tokyo. We visited friends in Tokyo and saw the big Buddha in Kyoto. This time it was a larger cargo vessel of the Pacific Far East Line, the Golden Bear of the Mariner Class. The ship carried Copra, Mahogany and frozen Tuna. A bigger ship was a dream to a teenager who had made the voyage to Manila on the much smaller Liberty ship the California Bear. Sailing the Pacific on a freighter was great. You got to know many of the crew and most of the officers. Regular access to the radio room and bridge and freedom to walk the deck in all but the most severe weather kept us busy while on the open sea. We bought binoculars in Hong Kong so I spent a lot of time scanning the sea and Dad and I often observed constellations in the clear dark night sky.

There were five of us; Mom, Dad, Len my younger brother and Paul who was an infant born in Manila. The meals on the ship were like daily banquets. We were often on a very tight budget during the four years we spent in the Philippines. Steak twice a week and turkey on Thursdays seemed like heaven. There were lemons and pears in our stateroom.

I clearly remember the building excitement in the hours before we saw land that day in March of 1956. We were up early scanning the eastern horizon. The harbor pilot arrived in a beautiful sailboat, teak decks gleaming. Soon we could make out the bridge.

I will never forget sailing under the Golden Gate. I looked up at those giant golden cables. I was home.

Welcome Home Riley

After Fontan surgery, three days of ECMO bypass therapy, maybe 25 chest X-Rays, two heart catherizations, a couple of echograms and being waked for vitals too many times to count, Riley Mackenzie Norton came home from the hospital. He was discharged from the University of California at San Francisco on April 27, 2006, after 37 days.

As I write he has been home 10 days. He is making steady progress regaining his strength. He is walking without stiffness, standing up by himself and eating better. At medicine time he struggles because some taste horrible and they upset his stomach. His medicines seem to affect his eating as does the lowfat diet he needs to be on until Thursday. Still, he continues to be brave and take his medicine.

Best of all he is increasingly himself with that beautiful smile, neat sense of humor and great personality. He plays with his cars and trains, spots every Prius on the road (his Grammy has one) and knows numbers and letters enough to startle people on elevators. In many ways he is a typical smart little 3 year old.

Fortunately he has little memory of when he was really sick.

We do, and I am so grateful to have him home and getting better. I am also incredibly grateful to friends, family and people I do not know for the prayers, gifts, meals and other support during a sometimes terrifying time. Thank you all.

A shout out and thank you to the heroes at the hospital who cared for Riley, intervened when he had a crisis, gave him one-on-one care in the Pediatric Cardiatric Intensive Care Unit and helped him regain the strength and health he needed to go home. I won't try to list the heroes because the names I might forget are the ones who were there during the most intense times.

Welcome home little man. You teach us so much each day. You make me a very rich Grampy.