Mark A. Easter
On July 21 of this past summer, recently home from a two-week vacation to Europe, I checked into Riverside Community Hospital (RCH). Basically, I could not, for the life of me, fall asleep, and the pressure to my brain had become unbearable. It did not take the doctors long to figure out that the cause of my problem was a herniated diaphragm, which had caused my lower intestines to gravitate "up" to where my heart and lungs were located. My heart had been pushed to the other side of my chest, and my lungs were more or less being suffocated by my intestines. My doctors have since determined that the herniated diaphragm was a congenital defect from birth. How I was able to live an active life with that condition, for 60 years, remains a mystery.
After an unsuccessful surgery by doctors at RCH at the end of July, I was transferred to University of California, Irvine Medical Center (UCI Medical Center). On August 11, surgeons performed a 9-hour surgery in which they basically sorted out and placed my organs and intestines back where they belong. I have been in recovery ever since. I finally came out of the intensive care unit in mid-September, and since the end of September I have been at a rehabilitation hospital in Brea, where the focus is 1) ongoing treatment of the wound in my belly from the surgery; and 2) my physical therapy. So, I am now three-plus months in the hospital, but in the past few weeks the healing of my wound has progressed exponentially, and I hope to be home before Thanksgiving. A couple of things:
First, I was blessed to have a truly all-star, championship caliber team of doctors and staff taking care of me at UCI Medical Center. I was always certain that they were on top of things. As a litigator, I am so used to having an opposing counsel "opposing" or trying to achieve the opposite of what I am trying to achieve. It was comforting realizing that there was no "opposing doctor" and that the entire team was after the same thing: the success of the surgery and my recovery. This inspired me to want to be an "all-star" patient—keeping a positive attitude, doing what they told me to do, no griping or complaining, etc. There were more than a few times when I was tested in that regard.
Second, I was blessed to have my daughter, EvanRae, with me along the way. In fact, she was working at RCH the night I first went into the hospital. She is a registered nurse, so she could speak for me to the doctors and explain things to me. She was helped by my sister Karen, who is also a nurse, and my nephew Tim, who is a physician's assistant.
Third, my firm at Best Best & Krieger has been incredibly supportive. Other attorneys and staff have stepped forward to manage and move my cases along. And the firm has made it clear to me that I was free to take as much time as necessary to heal and recover and figure out how to "re-enter the law practice" after a long absence. I really appreciate that support.
Fourth, the Bar Association has been very supportive. My colleagues on the board, especially President-Elect Megan Demshki, have stepped up and covered for me. The RCBA staff arranged to postpone the installation dinner to January. I am hoping to be able to return to fulfilling my responsibilities as your president by the end of the year.
Unrelated to my medical detour, I did want to make one plug. Extremely near and dear to my heart is RCBA's Elves program, in which every December, we provide needy families in our county with presents, food, and gas cards, in the hopes of bringing some joy to their holiday season. This program's success depends on many volunteers—to be a shopping elf, wrapping elf, delivery elf, or money elf. The shopping, wrapping, and delivery parts are great ways to involve your families.
This year, the shopping will take place on December 9, the wrapping will occur on December 11 and 12, and the deliveries will occur from December 13 into the following week. If you are interested in participating, please contact the RCBA at 951-682-1015.
In conclusion, I look forward to completing my recovery, getting home, and seeing all of you again. In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving!
Mark A. Easter is the president of the RCBA, a partner at Best Best & Krieger LLC, and has been residing and practicing law in Riverside since 1989.
