NickDG 23 #1 March 12, 2005 Happy Anniversary To Me . . . I didn't have a phone in my room, as it wasn't too plush a hospital. It's late and I lay tossing in my bed the day's course of chemotherapy having thoroughly kicked my ass. A nurse came and plugged in the phone she carried. "It'll ring in a few moments, I shouldn't be doing this, but it sounded important." My hair was almost all gone now; my moustache falling into the sink had horrified me. The phone rang and it's a laughing Moe Viletto. "Hey, man, we're coming to bust you out. So be ready." I waited until the nurse left the room, rolled up my clothes around my sneakers, and climbed back under the covers to wait. I really needed out of this place. I wasn't eating or drinking anything so they had me hooked up to a water bag and I had to yank out the needle. I was thinking if I didn't leave now I never would. A half hour later I peered into the hallway and all was clear. I walked down the corridor as calmly as possible and then hit the stairs running. I stood outside the hospital hiding in a bush until I saw them circling the parking lot and then I jumped into the car. I looked at Moe and said, "Let's blow . . ." "Let's," Moe replied. "There's a rig back there if you want it, brother." I was pretty weak, but figured if I could get in, and get up, I could handle the rest. They both had to help me up the last few floors, and they helped me get geared up too, but I managed it other than sort of landing in a heap. I felt myself coming back to life. And I did, as all that happened in March of 1990. NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dqpacker 7 #2 March 12, 2005 Awesome story! congrates on the anniversary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
basehoundsam 0 #4 March 12, 2005 Congrats..... a truly cool story. Jay Epstein Ramirez www.adrenalineexploits.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
linny 0 #5 March 12, 2005 oh my god you can't stop the story there!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
truckerbase 0 #6 March 13, 2005 I needed that Nick. Thank you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZegeunerLeben 0 #7 March 13, 2005 >>Same story...different day... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Twoply 0 #8 March 13, 2005 That's the most inspiring story I've ever heard. Thanks Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites diablopilot 2 #9 March 14, 2005 Nick, your stories are always interesting. I'd love to buy you a beer and hang out one day........---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites unclecharlie95 3 #10 March 14, 2005 Inspiring story Nick, I hope your upcoming book on the history of BASE includes some of these great stories!! BASEstore.it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites TomAiello 25 #11 March 14, 2005 QuoteNick, I hope your upcoming book on the history of BASE includes some of these great stories!! Me too. If it doesn't, Nick, you're going to have to write a second book just about your personal BASE experiences.-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites yourmomma 0 #12 March 15, 2005 Nick Heard a funny story from moe a little bit ago about jumps you made when your body wasn't cooperating. Think he called them "sandbags" something about going limp in the harness immediately after exit. Would love to hear your espouse on the events of them days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #13 March 15, 2005 Sacking It . . . This will sound odd, but I was lucky to get cancer when I did. I was still fairly young, and my body could still tolerate massive amounts of chemotherapy (a cocktail of drugs, which are really poisons) used to kill cancer cells. I was in a VA hospital in La Jolla, California, in a room with six other men. There are all much older and every few days one would get rolled out the door. It was very depressing . . . My doctor, a young man himself at the time, and someone I still correspond with (I'm his longest living cancer survivor) told me he wanted to try a new mixture, a mix too strong to use on any of the older guys. Before we started he told me it was going to be very rough. I had it pretty bad, and the deal is going to be finding the line where the drugs kill the cancer, but not crossing that line, so the drugs kill me too. By now the cancer is using my lymph system as a highway and traveling from organ to organ. I had cancer tumors the size of softballs growing inside me. The pain of my body eating itself from the inside out was beginning to come on. "No problem, Doc, it's pretty rough right now." Like everyone, I've experienced discomfort before, I've had broken bones, but I never felt anything like this stuff. I remember telling the Doctor during the worst of it that I finally met a drug I didn't like . . . Toward the end of my course of treatment, the tumors are shrinking, but I'm weak as a kitten. But, I was well enough to get around. And it was during this period that Moe and some others went out of their way to help me. On some of the first BASE jumps after coming out of the hospital I wasn't launching very well. I was going ass over teakettle when I never had trouble with stability before. Watching a video with Moe we are laughing and I said, "Look at that, that's not flying, I'm just a living breathing sack of potatoes." So for the next few jumps I just stepped off, I stopped trying to force it, and went into relax mode, just letting it happen, and it was better. And we took to calling the practice, "sacking it." I feel somewhat vindicated by last year's Bridge Day as I watched many jumpers, rather than have some rehearsed freefall plan; just give themselves over to gravity and the result of how they stepped off. "Oh my," I thought, "that's cool, people are sacking it . . ." NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites nicknitro71 0 #14 March 15, 2005 Thanks for sharing Nick. It's always something to read your posts...Memento Audere Semper 903 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #15 March 15, 2005 Not for nothing, but this thread needs a cherry on top, so here's a nice picky of Marta . . . and a reminder, it's a beautiful world. NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites edge01 1 #16 March 15, 2005 My mom went through treatment it was hell to quote her.Congrats on another year.E Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #17 March 25, 2005 Thanks, Brother, and tell your Mom I said hey . . . NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zennie 0 #18 March 25, 2005 Nick, you are one of the originals. And only two words can describe you guys... HARD CORE. You guys rock. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites 0 Go To Topic Listing
Twoply 0 #8 March 13, 2005 That's the most inspiring story I've ever heard. Thanks Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #9 March 14, 2005 Nick, your stories are always interesting. I'd love to buy you a beer and hang out one day........---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unclecharlie95 3 #10 March 14, 2005 Inspiring story Nick, I hope your upcoming book on the history of BASE includes some of these great stories!! BASEstore.it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 25 #11 March 14, 2005 QuoteNick, I hope your upcoming book on the history of BASE includes some of these great stories!! Me too. If it doesn't, Nick, you're going to have to write a second book just about your personal BASE experiences.-- Tom Aiello [email protected] SnakeRiverBASE.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yourmomma 0 #12 March 15, 2005 Nick Heard a funny story from moe a little bit ago about jumps you made when your body wasn't cooperating. Think he called them "sandbags" something about going limp in the harness immediately after exit. Would love to hear your espouse on the events of them days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #13 March 15, 2005 Sacking It . . . This will sound odd, but I was lucky to get cancer when I did. I was still fairly young, and my body could still tolerate massive amounts of chemotherapy (a cocktail of drugs, which are really poisons) used to kill cancer cells. I was in a VA hospital in La Jolla, California, in a room with six other men. There are all much older and every few days one would get rolled out the door. It was very depressing . . . My doctor, a young man himself at the time, and someone I still correspond with (I'm his longest living cancer survivor) told me he wanted to try a new mixture, a mix too strong to use on any of the older guys. Before we started he told me it was going to be very rough. I had it pretty bad, and the deal is going to be finding the line where the drugs kill the cancer, but not crossing that line, so the drugs kill me too. By now the cancer is using my lymph system as a highway and traveling from organ to organ. I had cancer tumors the size of softballs growing inside me. The pain of my body eating itself from the inside out was beginning to come on. "No problem, Doc, it's pretty rough right now." Like everyone, I've experienced discomfort before, I've had broken bones, but I never felt anything like this stuff. I remember telling the Doctor during the worst of it that I finally met a drug I didn't like . . . Toward the end of my course of treatment, the tumors are shrinking, but I'm weak as a kitten. But, I was well enough to get around. And it was during this period that Moe and some others went out of their way to help me. On some of the first BASE jumps after coming out of the hospital I wasn't launching very well. I was going ass over teakettle when I never had trouble with stability before. Watching a video with Moe we are laughing and I said, "Look at that, that's not flying, I'm just a living breathing sack of potatoes." So for the next few jumps I just stepped off, I stopped trying to force it, and went into relax mode, just letting it happen, and it was better. And we took to calling the practice, "sacking it." I feel somewhat vindicated by last year's Bridge Day as I watched many jumpers, rather than have some rehearsed freefall plan; just give themselves over to gravity and the result of how they stepped off. "Oh my," I thought, "that's cool, people are sacking it . . ." NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nicknitro71 0 #14 March 15, 2005 Thanks for sharing Nick. It's always something to read your posts...Memento Audere Semper 903 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NickDG 23 #15 March 15, 2005 Not for nothing, but this thread needs a cherry on top, so here's a nice picky of Marta . . . and a reminder, it's a beautiful world. NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edge01 1 #16 March 15, 2005 My mom went through treatment it was hell to quote her.Congrats on another year.E Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NickDG 23 #17 March 25, 2005 Thanks, Brother, and tell your Mom I said hey . . . NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Zennie 0 #18 March 25, 2005 Nick, you are one of the originals. And only two words can describe you guys... HARD CORE. You guys rock. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites 0
NickDG 23 #17 March 25, 2005 Thanks, Brother, and tell your Mom I said hey . . . NickD BASE 194 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zennie 0 #18 March 25, 2005 Nick, you are one of the originals. And only two words can describe you guys... HARD CORE. You guys rock. - Z "Always be yourself... unless you suck." - Joss Whedon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
