Hello fellows!  I am back, firing on all cylinders after, briefly put,
a 2-year medical adversity interruption.

Recently turning the spry middle age of 62, I am grateful to have
re-emerged from first, an emergency surgery for a lower abdominal
aortic aneurysm performed New Years Eve 2013 (sporting a dandy
Dacron implant) and second, seven months later taken down by what
proved to be a severe cryptococcal meningitis attack that slowly
rendered me a 98-pound demented shell of cadaverous skin and bone.

It was not positively diagnosed until December of 2014.  Doctors
initially, and rightly, were suspecting complications from the earlier
surgery, e.g.  mini-strokes, blood clots and early onset dementia.

From November of 2014 I was removed from my home to a recovery home
45 minutes away for 11 months of care, compassion and encouragement,
gradually improving from bedridden to wheelchair, to walker to
stumbling shuffle to adequate recovery and return to my home,
independent again, in mid August 2014.

My goal, among other concerns, was to return to the work I love in
January 2015.  With good nutrition, dogged determination and 5 days
a week at the gym rebuilding atrophied muscle tone, I am pleased to
report I did just that.  Changes have been made on all fronts and I'm
pleased to say I lost virtually nothing but the unnecessary baggage
and I'm now firmly re-employed and re-built and am piece-by-piece
picking up my hobbies where I left off.

It is time I began monitoring Mechanical Music Digest daily again.
I rejoined AMICA, have projects on the go or on the back burner and
I trust that come November of 2015 I will again re-embark on winter
vacation road trips.

I am continuing roll scanning and MIDI conversions, I have an Ampico
spinet to restore with Spencer's MIDI valve interface and I'm in the
best health I've been in a decade.  I'm confident I'll be around and
active another 20 years or more if the Fates allow.

Should you not recall me please enter my name in an Archives search.
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Authors/Aut660.html ]

Dave Kerr - a.k.a. "Old Davy"!
Stratford, Ontario, Canada

 [ Back in the game at 62
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Attachments/15/03/14/150314_120338_62nd%20birthday%20pic.jpg 

 [ Dave loves the backstage activities at the Stratford Festival
 [ Theatre.  Read his correspondence about the player piano for "The
 [ Music Man", beginning with the request forwarded via John Tuttle:
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/200001/2000.01.16.02.html 
 [   Seek On-Stage Player Piano for "The Music Man", by Laura Koch
 [ http://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/200001/2000.01.20.10.html 
 [   On-Stage Player Piano for "The Music Man", by Dave Kerr
 [
 [ See Dave on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsKqASL4rvc 
 [ -- Robbie