Our aching backs brought us together

My very first Medical Library Association meeting was in Boston.  I think it was 1989. I can usually spot someone who has a bad back, and so I started chatting with Jerry, who like me, was standing against a wall during a presentation, even though there were seats available.  Sitting is the worst possible position for some back problems.  We’ve been friends ever since.  The following year I stayed at her home in a suburb of Detroit, and I think we roomed together at some conferences.  She was a hospital librarian and eventually took a wonderful job setting up a library on a Caribbean island.  We’re both retired now, but on Facebook recently there was an update about her back: “The less invasive procedure in April did not do the trick. Have a ruptured disk, stenosis, spondylethesis and degeneratie discs. “  Ouch.  Mine never got that bad, and when I get twinges, I wear a back brace. Prayers for my good friend. Love you Jerry.

                   

Here we are in San Antonio in 1994.