The Southwest Voice

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My grandpa –– a veteran, a doctor, a savior, a hero –– is the moral basis on which I live my life.

He once told me that if he could go back in time and change anything that he did, any mistake or misjudgment, he wouldn’t.

Not because he wouldn’t know how to make it better or right again, but because every mistake he has made in his life has led him to where he is today and he has learned from every single one of them.

My grandpa, Robert Skabelund, was honest, fair, and helped others who couldn’t help themselves.
               

As a Navy Pilot in World War II, my grandpa told pilots where to land, fly, drop bombs, and how to protect themselves.

Once asked if he ever got discouraged while serving, he replied, “No. If I got discouraged, then my pilots got discouraged. My attitude determined the attitudes of those around me. I could not afford to be discouraged.”

He served in the Navy Air Core for five years, then retired to go to medical school.
               

As a doctor, my grandpa saved countless people. One of the many things I admire about my grandpa is his ability to make a life and death decision in a split second.

In Preston, Idaho, a man came into my grandpa’s hospital diagnosed with Gaches disease. My grandpa decided they must operate immediately. But the nurse protested and proclaimed that he would die if they operated. But my grandpa’s response was, “He’ll die if we don’t. At least he will have a chance this way.”

Forty years later, that man is still alive and well, living a regular life in Preston.
               

Always willing to lend a helping hand, five years ago my grandpa went on a missions trip to Mongolia, bringing supplies to the hospitals, and care for those in need. While on a mission’s trip in Germany, my grandmother, a loving, caring, sweet person, suffered a severe stroke. My grandfather cared for her day and night until five years later, when she suffered another stroke and passed away.
               

My grandpa is the rock on which I stand for many reasons. He helped, saved, and influenced many people in his life. But, now he must depend on others to help him. He is in an assisted living home and has Parkinson’s Disease.

I have learned many things about my grandpa that I can apply to my life, such as learning from our mistakes, helping others who can’t help themselves, and our impact on those around us. But if there is one thing I know about my grandpa, it is that he will fight every battle to the end and will run every race to the finish line.

And I know for a fact that when he decides to leave this world, he will have left nothing unsaid, not a work undone, and not a person uncared for. For I now know my grandpa, and that is just the kind of person he is.