Alphas, Friends & Family
His wings lifted him way above his depression
If you saw the movie, The Bucket List, you probably enjoyed watching Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson trying to do as many outrageous and unthinkable things as they could before their time was up.
But what if it was your life?
John Grammer flying his two-seater CGS Hawk Classic II over the Indiana countryside
What would be the first thing on your list?
John Grammer saw the movie. And long before that, he’d made his bucket list.
Grammer was a federal police officer when he was diagnosed with Alpha-1 in 1993. It took just six months before “I was put out to pasture,” because he couldn’t meet the job’s physical requirements. Then he went to work for the Indiana FOP Labor Council. But as his breathing continued to deteriorate, he had to resign and go on Social Security Disability.
Life went downhill. He found himself lounging around his home in Clarksville, Indiana, often in a state of depression. He couldn’t work. He found it difficult to breathe all the time, but believed he couldn’t do anything about it.
“I just gave up on life,” Grammer says. “Then I had a complete bucket list moment. I thought, What are some of the things I want to do before it’s too late?”
Flashback to his days as a park ranger: He’d often watch the ultralight planes flying overhead and think, “one day I want to fly one of those.” He did some research and found out it wasn’t necessary to have a pilot’s license or even a medical test to fly an ultralight. In 2003, he bought one.
Grammer preparing the Hawk for flight.
“It was the biggest thrill I’ve ever had,” he says.
After a couple of years, he decided to go bigger and faster. He began looking at two-seater planes. But in 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) came out with new regulations. Heavier aircrafts and those with two seats had to be licensed, and the pilot would fall into a new category – the sport category. Grammer had to pass a test to prove he was capable of flying.
He successfully passed written, oral and flight tests. Luckily for him, a valid driver’s license could satisfy the physical eligibility requirements under the FAA’s sport category. This meant that you could self-certify your medical fitness. “If you are well enough to fly then you fly, and if you feel sick, then you don’t,” says Grammer. “For me, it’s really my breathing. I can’t go up to high altitudes, so most of my flying is kept below 4,000 feet.”
Interestingly, after he learned to fly, his lung function stopped deteriorating. “It’s been about the same, and some days, even better.”
The low-speed, docile flying is the perfect environment for him to get away and enjoy life, he says. “There’s nothing like being in and above the clouds. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
John’s not the only Alpha pilot who loves to fly. Read Steve Wolbrink’s story in our Special Story Section.
