Happy birthday to a loyal friend
Middletown, N.J.: I wanted to take a moment and wish a happy birthday to a buddy who turned 91 on Labor Day. He is a special friend who I met 13 years ago (long story). Somehow we hit it off, as did the rest of my family. In the last 10 years, I have had five surgeries, and Reilly always showed up at my home to greet me and wish me well. I could tell that he was sincere and happy to see out of the hospital.
My last operation was for a colon resection on Halloween in 2019. Turned out to be cancer but luckily they caught it early, so no chemo or radiation, thank God. After I got both Moderna shots in early 2021, I asked my doctor to check my antibodies, just in case. It turned out that my antibodies were super high and that somehow I had COVID-19 at one point. My doctor told me it was probably from the hospital stay after the surgery. The first case of COVID was not detected until January 2020 so lucky me — I was probably one of the first cases in the States!
But I digress, for this story is about Reilly. Even though my wife, kids and grandkids were there for me, it was nice to see this true friend! For his age, he is in good shape, except for arthritis in his back and legs and a skin condition, but hey, at that age it is almost expected. So I want to raise my glass and wish him a happy and healthy 91st!
P.S. I forgot to mention that Reilly is our dog (a male Cocker Spaniel), who in real time turned 13 on Labor Day — 91 in human years. But that does not change anything in this story.
Herb Hanrahan