John, chapters 1 and 2. (The Pioneer).

What often is forgotten about my comeback Is the fact that it took two surgeries, and the second one was every bit as Important as the first. For several weeks after Dr. Frank Jobe replaced the ligament in my elbow, there still was numbness in my little finger and ring finger. The doctors were perplexed. My hand had started to look simian--like a gorilla's. My fingers looked almost clawlike.

Dr. Jobe explained that the ulnar nerve, which gives us strength in the hand and fingers, had gotten irritated during surgery. Scar tissue had formed, restricting the nerve, like when you crimp a garden hose. So he went back in for a follow-up surgery to work on the ulnar nerve. He told me that if this operation wasn't successful, I'd have a clawed hand the rest of my life. Not only would my pitching career be over but I'd also have a permanent deformity.

Thank goodness, that surgery worked. Soon, my fingers started tingling--very weekly at first, then a little more. Now, more than a little relieved, I was ready to rehab. The cast came off for good in January, and my arm was ugly--very thin. and the skin was dried out and saggy. Sally, my wife, would rub my arm with lotion and baby oil to make the skin look alive again. The arm was so atrophied that the sight of it would bring Sally to tears.

My instructions ...