Stepping Over Myself is the life story of Ayis A. Caperonis. The book recounts how the medical mistakes and judgement errors ultimately almost cost him his life as he was diagnosed with a voluminous Brain Tumor in the cerebellum... With a slight survival chance in the surgery, he was to be the "test" to a new and dangerous surgery technique that would last nine hours and was performed by renowned surgions in Europe. From this sudden tragic turn in his life and the numerous aftermaths Ayis A. Caperonis recounts how he managed to overlook the negative aspects of his life and resume living. Hard work in reeducation, love and God would help him go beyond what doctors ever thought would be possible....

STEPPING OVER MYSELF

FINDING MY WAY AND MY LIFE AFTER A BRAIN TUMORBy AYIS CAPERONIS

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 AYIS CAPERONIS
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-4603-0

Contents

Chapter 1: Baguettes and Big Dreams..........................1Chapter 2: A Growing Concern.................................12Chapter 3: Prognosis: Negative...............................22Chapter 4: Tick Tock ........................................26Chapter 5: Nine Historic Hours...............................32Chapter 6: Bad Medicine......................................44Chapter 7: Finding the Meaning...............................53Chapter 8: Back to School....................................59Chapter 9: A Taste of the States.............................63Chapter 10: Revelations......................................69Chapter 11: Changes..........................................73Chapter 12: The French Connection............................77Chapter 13: A Good Swim......................................82Chapter 14: Relapse..........................................89Chapter 15: Grade Point and Other Scores.....................93Chapter 16: Job One..........................................98Chapter 17: Unlocking the Door...............................103Chapter 18: I Go to Rio......................................109Chapter 19: Taking Action....................................118Chapter 20: Steps Taken, Steps to Take.......................123

Chapter One

Baguettes and Big Dreams

Sometimes I enjoy a bittersweet laugh when I think back to my childhood and remember that my great ambition in life was to be a professional tennis player. This was when I was growing up in Switzerland and France. It was the mid-eighties when dashing, swaggering Europeans such as Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, and Boris Becker were winning tournaments, making millions of dollars, and running around with hot European models-all of which I wanted to do, though probably the last most of all.

I thought I fit the mold. I was, if I may say so, a good-looking boy with thick wavy hair and the gaunt look that all the great tennis players seemed to have. I even fancied myself a bit of a playboy, or at least what I believed a playboy was at a time when I was just coming into puberty. I did play the game, too, and pretty well. I was fast on my feet, lithe, and loose-limbed, with natural hand-eye coordination and balance.

I can't help but regret how life threw me a curveball (to borrow a metaphor from another sport) and took all those wonderful physical traits I took for granted away, making hand-eye coordination something I feared I might never have again. But then, my formative years were filled with irony. For example, though the passing scenery of my first decade makes it seem as though I lived in a travel brochure for the rich and famous, in reality I was neither. But I did have quite a legacy to live up to.

I was born on January 11, 1975, in the skiing paradise of Lausanne, Switzerland, high in the Alps, the oldest of five sons and one daughter of a man of Swiss and Greek descent, Pano Caperonis and his wife Amy. For many in Switzerland with a love of sports and a long enough memory, that name is a source of great national pride. My father, who was born in 1947, grew up in a privileged home where they had the first covered pool in Lausanne. A real go-getter, he took advantage of it, as did his only brother Aris, who was born three years later. Both developed into wonderful swimmers, with Pano becoming a multiple Swiss titleholder, racking up more then forty. In the early 1960s until the early 1970s, he remained dominant in all events except for his weaknesses, long distances and the breaststroke.

An icon at age seventeen, he can say something very few athletes ever can, "I competed in the Olympics"-actually two of them, representing Switzerland in the Summer Games in Tokyo in 1964 and Mexico City in 1968. In the former, he swam in three events, the 100-, 400-, and 1,500-meter freestyle races, making it all the way to the eighth heat of the 100 and seventh of the 400. In Mexico City, he repeated in the same events, adding the 4x100 medley relay and getting to heat five in the 1,500. Considering he was up against the cream of the crop of the world's swimmers, this was nothing to sneeze at, and he was still greeted as a hero when he returned home, as was my uncle Aris, who competed in the butterfly event and teamed up with my dad in the freestyle.

Both continued to compete brilliantly. My father was back on the international stage at the 1970 World Championships in Torino, Italy, where he had his best finish ever at the world level: finishing fifth in the 100-meter freestyle behind two Americans and two Soviets. Meanwhile, my uncle came close to setting a European record in the butterfly at the European championships in Barcelona a few years later.

Admittedly, while I came around long after my father's world-class competition days were over (though he did go on swimming, even recently in the age 50-54 class for the Phoenix team of Montreal), I found it wasn't easy to follow in his footsteps. Having such a figure in one's life can be a blessing or a hurdle-or both. Pano Caperonis beyond doubt inspired me, even though I knew him as a slightly overweight, nonathletic-looking man. In his youth, he was good looking, with a mole on his upper right cheek that we always thought made him look dashing. He played that part well, too. His mannerisms, his walk, his deep baritone voice, and his impeccable style of dress all made for a look of grandeur, like a man who belonged in the upper crust, one a cut above the masses, even though he never made near the kind of money people seemed to think he did.

Amy Caperonis was similarly impressive to the eye, standing a willowy five-foot-seven and being a real head turner. Blonde and blue- eyed with high cheek bones (think Grace Kelly), even today she's a stunning woman; back then, she could have competed in beauty pageants. She too was naturally athletic, having played all manner of sports with her brothers, and I was taken with her broad shoulders. One great sadness for me has been watching this vivacious woman growing old, though she still has the aura of classic European beauty.

Legally, being the son of a Swiss citizen meant that I was one too. I spent part of my childhood living in Lausanne because my father was very close to his father, my grandfather Ayis. Both of them were involved in the real estate business in Switzerland and France and spent a lot of time together.

Who could blame him? My grandfather was the family patriarch, respected by everyone-an imposing person with excellent taste and manners. He was educated in France before World War II and spoke perfect French with not a trace of an accent. Like my father, his voice was a slow, authoritative baritone. From old photographs, I could see he'd been a handsome man in his youth, and traces of those features remained when he became older. He measured only around five foot ten, but seemed taller to me because of his baronial stature, sharp brown eyes, Greek nose, lion-like mane of white hair with protruding sideburns, and full head of hair thinning only in front. He walked straight in an upward and elegant fashion. Having made a good amount of money, he never had to fake having a tan or forego the finer things in life and clothing. Ayis was a man who wore a suit and tie along with expensive, spotless shoes even when merely sitting around the house relaxing.

Ayis also always seemed to have the right advice in business...