iModernize - The Profound Logic Software Blog

Many people know Scott Klement as an expert in IBM i application and RPG development. But over the last year, Scott faced - and overcame - the battle of his life against a debilitating health condition.

I’ve always been a huge fan of RPG & DB2 Summit. It’s definitely one of the best conferences that I attend, and I attend a lot of conferences! In fact, I’ve participated in all twelve of the previous RPG & DB2 Summit conferences. However, the thirteenth one which was held in March 2013 had a good chance of being different. You see, I am still recovering from a serious spinal cord injury that I sustained in January, that has left me a paraplegic. That means that my wife and son will have to come to take care of me, and since they aren’t RPG developers, this conference might not be much fun for them. Furthermore, my colleague David Russo would be attending this conference, as an exhibitor, for the first time. If he didn’t enjoy it, I’d surely hear about it every day at work.

On February 19^th, 2013 I was discharged from Froedtert Hospital’s Spinal Cord Injury Center (SCIC) rehab unit. I decided to stay until evening on the 19^th, because this gave me the chance to do all of my therapy sessions one last time. I even had a surprise – the wheelchair guy showed up with my permanent wheelchair! I would not have to go home with a loaner.

Is it hard to imagine a life where you reach another milestone every day? Every day you meet or exceed a goal, and are proud of yourself? That’s what my life is like, right now. Every day, it seems, I accomplish something I once saw as impossible.

On January 5th, 2013, I had a spinal cord injury that has left me a paraplegic. This blog entry is a continuation of my journey toward recovery.

Life can be very strange sometimes. On Sunday, January 13^th, I was so weak that I needed to take a nap after eating half of a bowl of rice krispies. Think about what a strange symptom that is. I was in the Neuro ICU at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, and my nurse called the doctor urgently. They decided to do emergency surgery that ended up saving my life. They knew that it was necessary, in part, because I could not eat a bowl of rice krispies. Life is strange.

Hello Folks!