RAF444

The last of the backblips.

I don't post many portraits, but thought I'd make an exception for this one. My Dad will be sat in hospital at this moment, surfing the web on his iPad, and he will be surprised to see this come up on Facebook.

This is the dashing young pilot in the RAF, pipe firmly clenched between his teeth.

Here is a bit of a mini-tribute to his determination to get on with his life whatever fate throws at him. In the last ten years, he has had a number of major operations and health issues, and each time he has bounced straight back. I was amazed some years ago after driving down to see him after he had had major surgery to remove a tumour in his abdomen. I arrived the day after and was expecting to find him pained and subdued - he was far from it. The only painkillers he needed were a couple of paracetamols, and he was chatting away as if nothing had happened.

When he had a hip replacement, he watched the whole procedure fascinated on CCTV while the surgeon worked away with hammers, chisels and saws. At one point he saw an unfamiliar object waving above the screen - it was his leg, disarticulated and stained with iodine and in a position that even Sharon couldn't reach in one of her yoga routines.

About three years ago, I took him in for surgery on his eye. The procedure lasted about an hour longer than the surgeon expected, and involved some pretty uncomfortable and intrusive work. He came out smiling and immediately resumed the conversation he had been having two hours previously with one of the other day patients.

What a man.

Before I went to see him this afternoon, I had lunch with my nephew Edward and his fiancee Anna. Edward lives not too far away, and as a young GP, he will be able to keep an eye on his grandfather's progress. I headed home and arrived back in Cumbria in the late evening. I shall probably be back in about 10 days time.

ps I didn't inherit his good looks, but hopefully I may have some of the genes for longevity and determination.

pps Guess who was in the garden, lying down, when I got home.