 Wind
in his sails
A new lease on life
Elbaum's wife, Ellie, tracked his progress with binoculars from the
deck of their summer home in Jamestown. "He's as good as new. We are
both so pleased with his recovery," she says. So satisfied, in fact,
Elbaum was back at The Miriam last December to do it all again-this time
on his left knee.
Elbaum slipped the second operation
into the holiday break from his duties as a professor at Brown University,
where he holds the Hazard Chair in Physics. "I needed to be back in
class within three weeks—that was my window of opportunity." By the
third week in January, with only a cane for support, he had resumed his
usual research and teaching schedule. He's completing his 40th year at the
university and says he has no plans to retire: "What for?"
It's summertime again and the waves await.
This season, Elbaum will have two good knees-for the first time in more
than 10 years-to ride the tides and hop the waves. And when summer's
over...? With a sly smile, he says he's already thinking of Vermont's
challenging ski slopes. Even though his doctor does not recommend
exercises that cause impact to the knee, he winks: "Maybe I'll give
it a try again."
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