I met Mr. Gordon Scott while serving in the United States Army, just prior to my deployment to Iraq.  Gordon was a contractor for our unit and deployed with us to the Middle East.  While we were deployed, Gordon and I became close friends.  He was a reserve combat arms soldier and we had many experiences in common, so we immediately hit it off.  We spent many hours sharing duties and performing maintenance tasks on Army Aircraft.  As a contractor and reserve soldier, Gordon was extremely energetic, and spent all his waking hours actively involved with our mission there.

Midway though the tour of duty, Gordon had to leave the theater of operations and return to the States for medical treatment.  I was not sure what his medical problem was at the time, but knowing how Gordon was, I expected him to return fairly quickly.  When I finally learned that Gordon had been diagnosed with cancer, I was deeply concerned.  I knew in my heart that Gordon would beat this, but because he led such an active lifestyle, I was worried for him that he might have to "settle down" and stop doing the things he loved so dearly.  I knew this would surely devastate my friend, and I didn't know what to do to help prevent this happening.

Several months later, I was retired and working back in Colorado as an Army Contractor, when Gordon came into the office and paid me a visit.  I was delighted to see my friend and comrade in arms doing well, though I was heartbroken when he described what he had endured in order to get back on his feet.  He also let me in on a little project he was working on to help him get back to his "normal" activities, even while wearing his required medical appliance.  It was then that I saw some of the old Gordon shining through.

A few short months later, I became a supervisor for the contractor I was working for, and Gordon applied for a job as an aircraft mechanic.  Having worked with him for a long time, I knew he could be depended on and was what I needed on the hanger floor.  I hired him and he came to work a week later.  Although still fighting cancer, Gordon was one of my best employees.  His energy level, though not as high as it was in Iraq, was higher than most, and he always volunteered to perform the most demanding tasks.  I was worried that this was too much for him, but he insisted.  This continued for well over a year and a half.  It was only when he had his "Project" near completion that he filled me in on what he was doing.  He had invented and built a shield to protect his appliance, so he could work and enjoy all of the activities he had enjoyed prior to his surgery.  I was skeptical at first, but he showed me his device, which he called "Ostomy Armor", and I was amazed.  After a rather lengthy explanation, I also found out that he had been wearing this device for over a year; nobody had any idea he was wearing an appliance or the Ostomy Armor!  I was thoroughly impressed.  After all the surgeries, his need for an appliance, and his setbacks, he was finally able to lead a "normal" lifestyle AND enjoy his recreational activities, which usually included some form of physical challenge, like climbing, rappelling, hiking, horseback riding and the like.  In short, my old friend was back.

It has been almost a year now and Gordon has done amazing things with his Ostomy Armor system.  Every day it seems he has conquered another challenge, and proven to himself and others that his device is what has made all of this possible for him.  I am convinced that this device was the determining factor in Gordon's rapid recovery from his surgery, and was what brought him back into the mainstream of life.  Before, he just existed, but now he is truly living and enjoying life again.  It makes me happy to see he is doing so well, and as we have said on many occasions, "life is too short as it is, why waste a single minute when you can do something about it?"

Mark Durocher
Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor ~ 2006