|
|
Long time face at the county tractor pulls, Joe Singer, works more
behind the scenes than out
on the track doing hooks. Singer has bounced
back from a fight with diabetes. From Super Modifieds
to mini rods to
black belching smoke from the tractors, tractor pulling has long been a
part of
the Great Darke County Fair. CNO Photos by George Starks
|
|
Singer bounces back after long road to recovery
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- At the age of 59, 1977 Tri-Village graduate, Joe Singer had
a reality check forced on him. In September 2018, Singer was blindsided
by diabetes.
He suffered a stroke and after further tests were run, he was told his
sugar was through the roof and his a1c, a sugar indicater, was at 12.0.
A far cry from the 6.5 a doctor wants to see.
"It was the day after Labor Day and I just got home from a pull," said
Singer. "I had just sat down to eat breakfast and I couldn't talk and I
couldn't chew. I took a hand full of aspirin and eventually ended up at
the hospital. They eventually transferred me to Dayton after I was
stabilized. I knew it wasn't too serious because I sat in the ambulance
for nearly an hour. If it would have been serious, they would've
careflighted me out of there. So they got me there safely. "
Like most people, Singer admitted he didn't know a whole lot about the
things the doctors were telling him. Now, after the fact, he
understands better.
Much better.
"They were throwing a lot of medical terms at me that I really didn't
understand. I still don't understand a lot of it but I do know that I
needed to make some drastic lifestyle changes," admitted Singer.
Those changes started at the kitchen table.
"I no longer eat bread, pasta and potatoes," said Singer. "Those things
are off my diet list now. I realize I have to stay away from these
things. I've lost a lot of weight (40+) pounds. My sugar is now under
control and I feel much better about things. It was a long road for me
but it's much better now."
As always, behind every good man, there's a good woman keeping things
together. In Joe's case, this is his wife, Chevone.
"Things have been a little bit different for us," said Chevone. "The
biggest thing we had to do was change the way we eat. I've changed
right along with him. It's been good for both of us."
As the owner of three pulling sleds, Joe is on the road a lot.
Chevone does her best to stay on top of things but still worries about
her husband.
"When Joe had his stroke, he couldn't say a word," said his wife. "He
could write but couldn't verbally speak anything. If he would've been
on the road that day, he could've called 911 but couldn't say anything.
It worries me that when on the road, this could happen again."
Now, after a year, things have gotten much better for Joe.
"I still worry about him when he's gone but he pretty much takes care
of things on his own," said Chevone. "Now he’s running the circuit and
doing what he enjoys. A year ago he was on his way home from
Pennsylvania. I think there are times when he does too much. Last week
he was away for a whole week. I think that's a little too much. When he
got home, he was running on only three hours of sleep the next day
because we were helping with the 4-H Club Breakfast. A little too much
I think."
The old saying that you can't keep a good man down applies to Joe
Singer.
|
|
|
|
