This past Thursday, a member of Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital’s team of orthopedic surgeons looked at x-rays of my left femur for the sixth time since I fractured the bone by falling onto Highway 49, back in late May. Now, three months later, I am very, very happy to report the surgeon did not schedule me for another appointment. The bone has healed.

Moreover, this week, the physical therapist I have been seeing once a week since my release from a rehabilitation facility in Grass Valley in late June, told me the time has come to stop using the cane.

Yes, there’s still plenty of disciplined exercise/physical therapy needed before my normal range of mobility is restored. Also, a hardly discernible limp issue remains for me to address. But, progress is being made and I look forward to a full recovery from my life’s worst physical injury.

Meanwhile, however, I want the readers of this newspaper to know of my boundless gratitude to Ryan Steinwert, Angela Shannon, and Lenny Ackerman for keeping The Mountain Messenger alive over the past three months. As it happened, shortly before my fall, Lenny had provided the funding for hiring Ryan to be the paper’s “summer intern”. Thus, quite miraculously, the week after I disappeared from the scene in an ambulance, Ryan reported to duty and, together with Angela’s fantastic support, the newspaper continued to thrive during its 171st year of existence. All hail, Lenny, Ryan, and Angela!

Carl J. Butz

Editor