Class is ending; we are down to the very last stretches…our fingers.  I happen to glance down to the far end of the pool, twenty-five yards away, and my heart jumps.  There is Arnold returning to the lane line to reopen it for swimmers on time.  It is almost noon and the classes have occupied this coveted pool space since 8:45 AM.  How does Arnold do that, I wonder?  He is a bare wisp of a man at 5’ 10” and 122 pounds.  My mind travels back to the past few years when Arnold was often the person to drive his friend Scotty who had Parkinson’s disease to class.  This was another monumental task with a big man and a walker.   Thoughtful acts of kindness are an integral part of who Arnold is.  He actually learned the magical healing power of Water Walking when he lived in New York.  He had a major reoccurrence of his disease, Sarcoidosis (pronounced sar - coy - do - sis) and his Rheumatologist told him to exercise in the water.

I had never heard the word Sarcoidosis.  Over one million people in the United States have this disease.  It is known to be fatal for 5 – 10% of diagnosed cases.  It is often misdiagnosed with other illnesses like Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and AIDS.  It manifests in the lungs 90% of the time.  However, Arnold’s problems are stiffness of all the joints; swelling and arthritis in the hands, wrists, elbows, hips, knee, ankles, and feet.  Oh misery!  He constantly battles chronic fatigue and he cannot gain weight.

The mystery of Sarcoidosis is very compelling and its impact in the United States has yet to be realized.  Many people are dying.  It is a serious health issue; as important for research and funding as  many other diseases affecting our society today such as MS, hypertension, Parkinson’s, AIDS, diabetes, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.

Arnold has been attending my classes in Sun City Hilton Head for five years now.  I asked him exactly how the water walking classes have helped him.  First, we walk for one quarter of a mile (nine laps in our pool).  This helps him build stamina and warms up those miserable stiff joints.  Stretching, breathing, doing the Kegal and crunches all are important to Arnold.  He can use the lightest aqua bells with one arm only.  His other elbow would be harmed by the water pressure. He says he really takes it to heart when I say, “If it doesn’t feel right or hurts, don’t do it.”  This is my mantra early on in EVERY class.  I constantly tell them that each person must personalize the class for his/her own body.  When there are 24 people in the class, they may have 24 different problems.  Arnold loves the noodle exercises.  They are always a fun time for everyone.

Arnold says he needs the structure of working out with others.  It is motivating to be a part of a group.  Why would a person always come to class week after week, month after month, year after year…missing only when traveling out of town?  They come for those pain free moments when one’s body is finally free to get that much needed exercise for every joint and every muscle.  And, they have fun.  This week I played a CD with songs from 1950 – 1954.  With a few strong voices in the lead, soon they were singing.  Then we had a good time figuring out who the vocal artist was.  Actually, this is a stimulating exercise for one’s mind.

Arnold says his biggest challenges for the future physically are to keep up his present protocol of water walking and necessary medications.  The medications needed on a daily basis for Sarcoidoses have allowed him to maintain a very active lifestyle.  These meds started at the time of diagnoses in 1972.  Now, it is 37 years later, and Arnold is 77.  The flip side of the coin is living with the side effects of powerful drugs.  His corticosteroid treatment has resulted in suppressed Adrenal Glands and Osteoporosis.  These are serious conditions and overshadow one’s life every day.  Methotrerxate, Fosomax, folic acid, and calcium are all needed to help combat the side effects of Prednisone. 

A positive mental attitude and uplifting outlook on life and the future are what saves Arnold and makes him the amazing man he is today. 

He is currently pouring all of his energy into preserving the stories of our aging veterans.  In the prime of his life he was a full Professor of Office Technology at Nassau Community College with a student body of 23,000.  He was there on the cutting edge when our technological world changed.  At first he taught Secretarial Science (do you remember typewriters?); this evolved into Office Technology and finally into Computer Science.  Since each field was brand new, Arnold wrote the textbooks--a total of 20 technical books.  He served as President of the International Word Processing Association which had a membership of 16,000.  Now he has combined his technical and computer skills with his love of people into a new calling.  What began as interesting articles for Sun City’s Veteran’s Newsletter has resulted in two beautiful books that chronicle a part of our history that is disappearing at a rate of 1,000 people per day right now.

His second book covering the people who served in world War II, Korea, and Vietnam has just been released from the presses.  Before It’s Too Late:  Our Aging Veterans Tell Their Stories profiles all three wars, but especially highlights the Veterans of World War II because time is running out for our “greatest generation” to tell their stories.  If as a child, grandchild, or great grandchild of a veteran  you wish to say thank you and that you will remember the sacrifice and honor the freedom that he/she handed down to us, you may want to e-mail Arnold Rosen at arosen@hargray.com.

I am honored to be able to help Arnold as he patiently faces his disease and the side effects of steroids so he can continue to make his valuable contributions to society.  Especially right now, at the time of 9/11, my heart goes out to all the veterans and their families.  Arnold himself, is a veteran of the Korean War.