For those who are following Larry's Journey this article appeared in the Harwich Oracle A great news paper and a great article..... Thanks to Pamela for sending it me More than just Cape Codders can read yet another reason why I call my brother , My Hero....
Love from Minnesota
Ra
On the mend
By Douglas Karlson/ dkarlson@cnc.comWednesday, March 29, 2006
Some people would have given up. Not Larry Chandler.
His life changed in a flash on a rainy night last October, when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Route 28 while bicycling home. Chandler, a popular town employee who works in the harbormaster’s department, suffered three broken vertebrae, a broken jaw, broken cheek bone, broken hand, two broken hips, a broken pelvis, as well as internal injuries.
Chandler returned to Harwich about five weeks ago after three and a half months in a Boston hospital, and six weeks at a rehab center in Sandwich. Everyday, he practices using a walker. He sits on the edge of his bed and picks up his shoes with a special long-handled grip. He straps on his back brace, and his Velcro shoes, and lifts himself up.
What began as a fight to survive has now advanced to daily struggle to get stronger, and to one day return to the work he loves. According to his sister, Pamela Marsh, the key to his recovery has been his "amazing attitude."
That determination and upbeat outlook is inspiring people all around him. He received a standing ovation at Dino’s, the Harwich Port coffee shop that used to be his regular breakfast place, when he stopped by recently for a visit. He said he’s looking forward to being able to go there regularly again.
"I’m recovering quite well, according to most people," he told The Cape Codder earlier this week. Though he admitted it "seems like a long time to me."
Asked how he feels, he replied, "in general, for the most part, good." He said he feels some pain, but that it’s annoying more than anything else. He’s lost a lot of weight, and his beard, which was shaved while he was in the hospital, has grown back, though the color is whiter than it used to be.
Chandler doesn’t remember the accident, and can’t recall much from his three and a half month stay at the hospital. He has no recollection at all of any injuries from the chest up.
Chandler’s happy demeanor faltered only once during the interview. When asked what he misses most since his accident, he choked back tears, and said he misses his co-workers. He also misses the spring ritual of cleaning up the Herring River, a job he used to do with the help of AmeriCorps volunteers.
Larry Chandler is finally back in Harwich after an accident kept him hospitalized for more than three months. He’s in temporary accommodations while his West Harwich apartment is renovated.
Marsh said her brother is considering a medical retirement. "I think I would enjoy being retired, or semi-retired," he said, but he said he hopes he can work part time for the harbormaster.
He won’t be able to lift heavy buoys anymore, and office work isn’t for him, but he thinks he could still contribute, perhaps in the summers.
To keep busy, Chandler works on plastic models of cars. He also likes to watch Star Trek re-runs and the country music channel, and is learning to use a computer. He’s also doing marlinspike ropework on his walker.
For the time being, Chandler is in a temporary apartment in the West Harwich building where he used to live while his old apartment is renovated to suit his needs.
In the room there’s a trunk filled with hundreds of letters, get well cards and e-mails. Chandler has a message for all the people who have wished him well: "I’m getting better all the time," he said, "and before long I’ll be back."
(Staff photo by Merrily Lunsford)
