By Elisabeth Strillacci
For the Salisbury Post

I had to be cautious in my title because I don’t want to tread on copyright, but what I’m really referring to is the old television show “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

Some of you will not be old enough to remember it, but for those who do, Lee Majors was a gorgeous actor (oh yeah, I know!) who played Steve Austin, an astronaut who gets hurt, nearly killed, when his spacecraft crashes.

The government steps in and puts him back together with mechanical parts that give him superhuman strength and speed along with other attributes.

It ran from 1973-78, and at a time when I was unaware of real surgeries replacing body parts.

It was only in 1967 that the first human-to-human heart transplant took place, and even now, there is no known way to transplant an eye that will restore vision, as they have not yet learned how to regenerate the optic nerve.

But there have been joint transplants, liver and kidney transplants, and a very dear friend and high school classmate is even the recipient of a double lung transplant.

However, at the time that TV show came out, I was young and completely unaware of all the magic and miracles science could perform and over time, would perform.

So seeing this handsome young astronaut not only saved, but turned into RoboCop but with appealing human features — well, I was hooked.

Over the years, other family members have had hip replacements, but overall, I’m from pretty healthy stock so that’s about as serious as it’s been.

Now, I’m about to be by my sweet husband’s side as he gets his knee replaced, and to be honest, I’m looking at my own Steve Austin. I’m sure that makes you giggle, as it should. It’s not going to give him super powers, I am well aware.

However, this man is a former wrestling champion who coached high school wrestlers for many, many years, and when he left the post at the age of 69, not one of them had ever been able to pin him. Not one.

Years of that hard work on those knees have broken down the cartilage and he’s at bone on bone, and the man who once ran half marathons now struggles to cross the street with any speed. He will never admit how much it hurts, because he’s stoic beyond belief, but I can see the pain on his face.

For 15 years, we have tried all the less drastic methods, and they have worked for a bit, but it’s time to get this man some relief and the ability to move freely again.

His surgeon was honest, told him that for the first three or four weeks, Jim will curse his name, but said by week six, things will be looking up and by two months out, he’ll know it was the best thing he could have done.

I cannot wait. This man is my world, and we all know, to see someone we love hurting and be able to do nothing is agony.

Which means I’m about to be a bit of a nurse for a bit, but I also know this stubborn, strong, determined man will do everything the doctor says and his recovery will be great, however long it takes. Even the doc says he wishes he had more patients like him.

The miracles we have available to us through modern medicine amaze me every single day. No, we cannot keep life from ending, we’re all still in the boat ride that has an end date, but the quality of life we can lead between the beginning and the end of the ride continues to improve. And I’m grateful for that.

Here’s to my own personal six million dollar man (and thanks to heaven for the insurance that means we’re not trying to foot that bill). And thanks to heaven for the researchers and early recipients and the trials and all the work that goes into making these things available. I am excited for new chances to explore with my best friend, and know how lucky we are to get the chance.

Elisabeth Strillacci is former editor of the Salisbury Post. Contact her at lizstrillacci@gmail.com.