FRED & EDITH: EXTRAORDINARY STORY
By Gail K. Kachnycz 31 August 2024
“One moment your
life is normal, and the next, it’s not.” That is how my friend Edith describes
December 6, 2010. On that day, her husband Fred was found unconscious on the
floor in the vestibule of the Malta Boat Club. He was alone in the building, stringing
Christmas lights, so no one knows exactly what happened. He was discovered by a
fellow member of the boat club who had returned to the boathouse to retrieve
his jacket. This is just the first of many demonstrations of God’s grace and
mercy. Because the foyer was not heated, Fred was exposed to the December chill
and his body temperature had plummeted to 86 degrees F. He had sustained
multiple facial fractures, but most significant were the injuries to his spine.
He was paralyzed below the shoulders and had little movement of his arms and
hands.
After 45 years of marriage, Edith was looking forward to retirement with Fred. She had cared for her elderly mother until her passing. Perhaps now they could travel. Fred had spent many years in the sport of rowing and had participated in many international events. In 1977 and 1978, he was on the podium, placing 3rd in the 2-man event at the World Championships in Amsterdam and Copenhagen. He earned first place in other events in Canada and the US from 1975 to 2009. He began coaching rowers in 1980 and continued in various coaching capacities through the 2000’s.
On Thanksgiving 2010, he completed a 5-K run as he had done for decades. Less than two weeks later, he was on the brink of death. Immediately, Fred and Edith were surrounded and supported by family, the rowing community, and their church fellowship. The road to recovery was arduous, but Fred met the challenge. On October 25, 2014, he was back on the Schuylkill River, rowing in a specially adapted 2-man shell. Fred’s supporters created the website, www.pullforfred.org
which includes Fred’s story of athletic achievement. It also explains the nature of his injury. The website notes, “In order to master life after a spinal cord injury, you need courage, commitment, and a sense of challenge. I think we all know that Fred possesses those qualities.”
Edith was
immediately thrust into the caregiver role again. Not only did she provide
Fred’s physical care, but she arranged for adapted equipment such as a
motorized wheelchair and wheelchair-accessible van. She became his advocate for
individualized medical treatments, since due to his impaired nerve function he
often had atypical reactions to medications or subtle symptoms that worsened
rapidly.
When my husband
Mike went on long-term disability in 2012, and hospice was recommended in 2018,
Edith helped me navigate the caregiver role. She provided a listening ear and
shared her experiences. As caregivers, we spoke the same language. When I was
just starting to write blog posts for the website A Map Through the Valley,
Edith encouraged me, saying, “You put my world into words.”
Early estimates
of how long Fred would survive after the injury were rather open-ended, but
usually projected about 18 months to two years. Fred surpassed those time
frames by more than a decade, due to the physical and mental training as an elite athlete, but also due to Edith’s expert caregiving. The impact of
the prayer support of their church fellowship cannot be measured. This was made
quite evident during his most recent hospitalization. Edith was extremely
cautious about protecting Fred from exposure to Covid, but this summer he
became infected for the first time with the virus and it progressed to
pneumonia. When the request for prayer was made, I must confess that, as a
nurse, I did not hold out much hope for recovery. Many people his age had
succumbed, even without the complication of spinal cord injury. However, inside
his frail body was a world-class athlete. For three weeks, he battled the
infection and we prayed. What rejoicing there was when he was discharged for a
course of rehab before returning home!
On September 5,
Fred will be 80 years old. He beat the odds, by the Grace of God. We salute
Fred and Edith as they celebrate this milestone. In different ways, they are
both coaches, and definitely world-class.
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