Edward Gerdemann
Well-Known Member
I'm writing from Farmington, MO. My dad is very ill and is in the hospital with congestive heart failure. He started feeling badly in April and went to several different doctors but was misdiagnosed. Two weeks ago this past Friday he went to the hospital unable to breathe. It was there he was diagnosed. Judy and I left for Missouri the following Sunday.
The problem is his heart is not pumping fluids out of his body causing him to swell up. Unfortunately for his type of CHF there are no medications than can help his heart pump better. For some other types there are, but not for Dad's condition. The only hope is heavy doses of diuretics to draw out the fluid, and this appeared to work at first. His swelling went down and he came home. Unfortunately his lungs started filling again and last Friday he was admitted back into the hospital. His long-term prognosis is not good. He will be 91 later this month which makes the hope for recovery less likely.
My dad has lived a long and rich life. He had a strong marriage, a brilliant career as a geologist and he did virtually everything he ever wanted to do - much of which most people only dream about. Most of all, he's been a great dad. He taught me the value of honesty and hard work. He taught me how to shoot and hunt. And he taught me how to fish. I remember a cloudy morning 60 years ago when he sat me down on a ledge on the bank of Sinkin Creek here in the Ozarks. He baited my hook with a minnow and told me to lower it down below the ledge into the little hole of water. The bobber went straight down and I hauled up my first smallmouth bass, a beautiful two-pounder. I've been hooked on bronzebacks ever since.
Over my childhood years we took eight trips to Ontario, trips to Montana, Oregon and Maine and multitudes of trips to the lakes, rivers and creeks in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks. My dad and I had some conflicts as most fathers and sons do, however fishing and hunting were things we could always enjoy doing together. When a lot of my peers were ruining their lives with drugs I was pursuing healthy outdoor activities, many of them with my dad. There's no doubt fishing and hunting and other family activities kept me out of trouble. For that I will be ever grateful.
I am happy that I was able to share Lake Powell with him. He enjoyed coming to the SHAD rallies and laughed when we blamed all the bad weather on him. I took him out for a couple pretty good smallmouth days. I'm glad he got the opportunity to see and fish the lake I love so much.
So I would ask that you say a prayer for my dad. He's been a great geologist and a great fisherman, but most of all he's been a great husband and father - someone I can look up to with pride. In these crazy times the world could use a lot more men like my dad.
Ed Gerdemann
The problem is his heart is not pumping fluids out of his body causing him to swell up. Unfortunately for his type of CHF there are no medications than can help his heart pump better. For some other types there are, but not for Dad's condition. The only hope is heavy doses of diuretics to draw out the fluid, and this appeared to work at first. His swelling went down and he came home. Unfortunately his lungs started filling again and last Friday he was admitted back into the hospital. His long-term prognosis is not good. He will be 91 later this month which makes the hope for recovery less likely.
My dad has lived a long and rich life. He had a strong marriage, a brilliant career as a geologist and he did virtually everything he ever wanted to do - much of which most people only dream about. Most of all, he's been a great dad. He taught me the value of honesty and hard work. He taught me how to shoot and hunt. And he taught me how to fish. I remember a cloudy morning 60 years ago when he sat me down on a ledge on the bank of Sinkin Creek here in the Ozarks. He baited my hook with a minnow and told me to lower it down below the ledge into the little hole of water. The bobber went straight down and I hauled up my first smallmouth bass, a beautiful two-pounder. I've been hooked on bronzebacks ever since.
Over my childhood years we took eight trips to Ontario, trips to Montana, Oregon and Maine and multitudes of trips to the lakes, rivers and creeks in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks. My dad and I had some conflicts as most fathers and sons do, however fishing and hunting were things we could always enjoy doing together. When a lot of my peers were ruining their lives with drugs I was pursuing healthy outdoor activities, many of them with my dad. There's no doubt fishing and hunting and other family activities kept me out of trouble. For that I will be ever grateful.
I am happy that I was able to share Lake Powell with him. He enjoyed coming to the SHAD rallies and laughed when we blamed all the bad weather on him. I took him out for a couple pretty good smallmouth days. I'm glad he got the opportunity to see and fish the lake I love so much.
So I would ask that you say a prayer for my dad. He's been a great geologist and a great fisherman, but most of all he's been a great husband and father - someone I can look up to with pride. In these crazy times the world could use a lot more men like my dad.
Ed Gerdemann
