What a great day!

Another day where I did something I could not have done before my surgery. I drove out to a small airport in Fauchier (SP?) County and got to go inside a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress (those of you old enough to remember, this was the plane in the TV show "Twelve O'clock High"). I had to climb a ladder into the nose of the plane then crawl into the ****pit. And then I almost paniced when I saw that I had to squeeze between two support structures as I walked along a walkway no wider then a 2 X 4, over the open bomb bay, to get to the back of the plane. I would have never squeezed through before the surgery, in fact I would have never even attempted to climb the ladder because of the fear of embarrasement and the pain from my fibromyalgia. But I got through with no problem and enjoyed every minute. This was something I had always wanted to do ever since I was a kid when I built my first B-17 model plane. I think this is a "first" of many "firsts" to come.

Great job man -  Glad to hear this is going to be one of many many first's.  Keep up the good work....

That sounds like a lot of fun!  I thought a big plane like that would have lots of room but it sounds like there's more room in the middle coach seat of a commercial flight than you had on the B-17. So what's next for you?  I did the "Hard Hat Tour" at Hoover dam when I was 350.  Had to squeeze the entire tour group into a dinky elevator at one point and I was getting lots of angry looks.  That would be a good destination for the newly thin.

Yeh, it's hard to believe how small those planes actually are. Inside at the widest part I could touch both sides at the same time with my hands stretched out. To get to the forward bombadier compartment you have to crawl on your hands and knees. The navigator and radio compartment (behind the ****pit and before the bombbay) had one seat on each side and enough room to walk between them, that's it. One thing I really enjoyed was meeting one of the crew who flew off the USS Coral Sea during the Vietnam war. He had been shot down and spent eight years as a POW. My hero.

Congratulations man.....    These are the moments that make it all worthwhile...............   I'm amazed almost daily at things I'm able to do now, and places i can squeeze my (not so fat) azz.............      Keep up the hard work. Chuck

Congratulations!!  It's amazing what we go through sometimes that so many take for granted.  When following the trainer through the gym, I always hesitate when he moves between machines on the way to where we are going.  I can make it through now, but there's still a doubt every time. Brian