This weeks treat was an inspiring story to me. Tim Welch was visiting Cusack's Alaska Lodge for the first time in 2010, he has since been back, and he fell seriously ill. He was having a great week of fishing when one morning he woke up and knew something wasn't right. Several hours later he was feeling worse and Bob flew him to the hospital in Iliamna, where there they decided to fly him to Anchorage. In Anchorage they diagnosed him with a severe arrhythmia. The cure for which was to stop his heart and shock it back into rhythm. Any normal person would just be thankful to be alive, but Tim wanted to finish his fishing trip!
He came back to the lodge that evening on the last flight from Anchorage and went fishing the next day! He caught a lot of big fish the next few days, but you could tell his appreciation for everything had changed. He is the one who took the picture of me that marks our "Treat" of the Week. Tim came back to the lodge in 2011 and had another amazing trip. It's just incredible to see his new outlook on life, knowing full well if he didn't get help that day he may not have made his second trip to the lodge.
I hope you enjoy the compilation of pictures from Tim's 2 trips and one short video of Tim on the same day he got back from the hospital!
I am Tim Welch's daughter Lisa. My Dad is an amazing person and has a commitment, passion and drive for fly fishing and, the same commitment in his life and to the people he surrounds himself with. I am not surprised one bit that he came back after having such a close call. I just finished running my first ultra marathon The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K in Washington DC. When I was in so much pain and so close to quitting, I would think of my Dad and how much I love him, how much he means to me and it gave me the courage to take one more step forward. It was a brutal day but just like this day was for my Father, no matter how painful something might be, no matter how many times you fall down I think the only answer for some, is to get back on that horse and keep trying... that is the essence of Tim Welch. Thank you for sharing his story.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa for the kind words and more inspirational stories involving your father. Tim is a great guy and I feel lucky that I have gotten a chance to know him through shared fishing experience.
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