October 6, 1999
Health dose of friendship
Traverse City man makes miraculous recovery
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Jack Richardson and his family discovered this summer what friendships mean, learning firsthand how the people in their lives truly make a difference.
For the gravely ill Jack and his anxious family, this summer passed in a blur seen from the inside of the Intensive Care Unit at Munson Medical Center. For the first seven weeks of his three-month hospitalization, Jack was unaware of his surroundings and close to death, while his family pulled together and prayed for a miracle.
They were not alone in their vigil.
By their side were members of the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department Reserve Unit, the Grand Traverse County Commission on Aging and other friends or former co-workers. Without a formal schedule or any coordination, these friends stepped forward to support one of their own. They did not let a day go by without someone stopping by to visit the family, and later, when he was better, Jack.
"We were just overwhelmed by the support, it absolutely contributed to his getting better," said Pam Kenny of Fenton, Richardson's oldest daughter. "When he was totally out of it and didn't know a thing, the doctor or nurse would say, 'Sheriff so-and-so is here,' and he would smile."
When Jack was finally released from the hospital last Thursday morning, 25 supporters gathered in the lobby of Munson Medical Center to surprise him and cheer on his return to home and good health. They had a small wait as Jack made sure to say goodbye to the doctors and nurses who had helped him so much and also became friends to him and his family.
When he reached the lobby, once again Jack was flabbergasted at the support.
"I didn't have the slightest idea they were there, it was really touching," said Jack, who also served as the harbor master at Clinch Park for 10 years. "I never went a day when I was in the hospital without somebody there and my wife was there every day."
From the onset of his illness on July 4, his prognosis was poor. Doctors diagnosed his sudden, severe abdominal pain as a ruptured bowel, which led to surgery. Within a few days, peritonitis and septicemia set in and, in the next three months, his body nearly succumbed to the raging infections. A few times doctors gave the family little hope of his recovering.
"Although everyone at the hospital tried to be optimistic, they really did not give him much hope," said Kenny, who spent much of the summer on the road coming to visit her father. "But the progress he's made in the past few weeks has been remarkable. All of a sudden he turned the corner and I've got to believe that it was the collective energy of all those people pulling for him."
Jack's ties to the local Sheriff's Department go back 12 years to when he and his wife, Annie, retired to Traverse City. He immediately became a part of the local community as a reserve Sheriff deputy, continuing his tradition of service started on the Flint force years before. Two years later he signed on as a board member for the Commission on Aging and became very active on the board, serving as chair in the past and vice chair this year. In both places he quickly left his mark with his enthusiasm, sense of humor and commitment.
"Jack is full of life and very easy to talk to, very committed to our cause," said Patricia Parr, a board member for the Grand Traverse County Commission on Aging. "We all came up to see him at different times or called to talk to members of the family."