Glenbrooke News

Rick, thank you for sharing a little about yourself.  People always have a story but I have never heard one like yours before.  This is normally the part where I ask what brought you to Glenbrooke but this one takes a little explaining, so this is my version of how Rick and Mary moved to Glenbrooke!

My mother and stepfather, Art, lived in Redding.   My mother passed away a couple of years before we moved from Redding to Glenbrooke.   Art then moved to an independent living retirement residence where he made a new life and fell in love with a wonderful woman, Jennie.  They got married and decided to relocate to her home in Arizona.

On their way to Arizona, they wanted to stop in Davis first to visit Jennie’s son, Rick and Rick’s wife Mary.  Then they would see our new home and us.  Rick offered to drive them to Glenbrooke.

We had a lovely visit and of course showed them around including the Arbour Lodge.  Next thing we know, Rick and Mary bought one of the first homes in Village 2!

Rick said moving here allowed Mary to be able to retire.  They came back and looked at the models and both liked the prices and loved the ‘Maggie’ floor plan. It is also close to their daughter and family. They spent three months being the only people living in the north side of the development.

Q: Where did you go to school?
A:  In Davis.  I have lived in Davis all my life except for three years.

Q: What was your first job?
A:  When I was in junior high I mowed lawns, pulling a lawn mower behind my bike to the houses.

Q:  First car?
A:   A 1948 Ford 2-door coupe

Q: What did you do after high school?
A:  I went into the Navy. After graduating training, I served on the U.S S. R K Turner in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam for a year.   I worked with torpeds and our ship had surface to air missiles.  We also did patrols around the aircraft carriers in the bay.

Q:  How did you meet Mary?  Was it love at first sight?
A:  We met at a family reunion on the 4th of July, while we were both on vacation. It was love at first sight - for both of us.

Q: Rick, you have such an interesting background. Would you feel comfortable sharing your background working with primates?  How did you get started and what happened?
A:   After the Navy, and back in Davis, I got a job at the primate center taking care of the Rhesus Monkeys.   I was bitten a couple of times, but didn’t think much of it at the time.

I began having flu-like symptoms and collapsed.   I was taken to the hospital and didn’t return home for three months.  At the time, Chodi was only a year old and Mary and I had been married just under 5 years.

Mary picks up the story, as Rick doesn’t remember the time in the hospital or even his childhood as a result of the incident.

During this three-month period, Mary was living with Rick’s parents going to hospital each day, working and caring for their one year old.    No one knew what was wrong with Rick.  They thought he suffered strokes as he had evidence of neurological problems.

One night, while Rick was still in a coma, Mary got a call at 2:00 AM telling her and his parents to come to the hospital as Rick had stopped breathing.   She tears up, even today, remembering the horrible night.

According to article picked up by AP wire:
Leger, (then 28) was in a coma, doctors still didn’t know what was wrong. Luckily, when he stopped breathing a staff person happened to be making rounds and he was placed on a respirator.
While Rick doesn’t remember ta thing from time in the hospital, Mary said it’s not true that people in comas don’t move.  He was combative and “very difficult.”

Finally, a virologist diagnosed the problem as the extremely rare “Monkey Disease”  (then only 24 known cases, 20 resulted in death 3 with ‘major permanent bodily damage’ and Rick).  Rick was infected at the primate center when he was bitten.    There was no cure.

But Rick shocked everyone.  Slowly, he began to improve.  First he moved a finger, then a toe and then his lips.  After three moths, he could breathe without the respirator.

Rick was able to go home to Mary and their baby on their 5th anniversary. His survival made the news.  However, he was declared 98% disabled.  He is blind in left eye, has partial paralysis in his legs, some organs, neurological and other health challenges.

Surprisingly, Rick went back to work at the primate center and worked another 20 years.   He said he loved working with the monkeys.

Q: Was that scary for you to go back to work there?
A: No, I was the only one who was safe back there.  It is a live virus and I still carry it.  Once you have it, you can’t get it again.  It makes me ineligible to give blood, get flu shots, etc.   The virus is debilitating and progressive – similar to HIV.   But the only way to get it is by a Monkey’s bite.   “I walk like I had to much to drink when I am tired.”

Mary:  That’s what made him finally stop working; it just became too difficult.

Rick credits God and the many prayers for his survival.  Even though he has numerous challenges with mobility, and health, he is an optimist looking for the good in all things.

I couldn’t help thinking how strong Mary must have been through the entire ordeal.   I guess it is true,  “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” - including marriages.

Back to the Q & A……

Q: Who is your favorite author or last book you read?
A:  My favorite book is my Daily Guidepost 2011 and my favorite author Is Rick Warren.

Q: If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?
A: The building of the Golden Gate Bridge

Q: If you could plan a trip anywhere in the world for you and Mary, where would you like to go?
A: Australia

Q:  What is your favorite quote or bumper sticker?
A:   Soccer is a kick in the grass

Q:  What activities to you most enjoy at Glenbrooke?
A:   We both like the Theatergoers group, and the gym.  Mary likes the pool for water exercise, and I like playing Mexican train.

I said good-bye, wishing Rick and Mary safe travels.   They are leaving on a their first road trip since Mary retired; to Arizona, to see Rick's mom, Jennie, and Art.