A big welcome back to reporter Bob Burns.

He has been one of our most dependable employees over his 28 years of working as a reporter for The Times. He has been the main person that covers Town Hall, law enforcement and the fire department.

He has rarely missed a day of work in those 28 years.

That is until he was struck down with pneumonia. It was serious. He lost his wife, Linda, this past winter to cancer.

Being treated for bi-lateral pneumonia, he was under sedation, spending two weeks in the intensive care unit and another week in the hospital. Two more weeks were spent in rehab. It began with a slight cough.

Each day it was a little worse. This was several weeks before he got pneumonia. A doctor diagnosed the earlier cough as bronchitis. Bob was at my son, Brent’s, wedding on March 25. He called in on the morning of March 30, saying he wouldn’t be in. So did 10 of our 12 staffers including Editor Ryan Winslett, General Manager Kip Kirkendoll and me.

I had pneumonia and the flu.

Once she was healthy, Kip got out the disinfectant and wiped off all the surface areas in the office.

We’re also happy to be hearing that former mayor Jerry Miles is on the road to recovery after a serious bout with pneumonia.

Having only one lung, the pneumonia was a serious threat to his recovery.

He was expecting to go back home earlier this week after spending time in rehab following a hospital stay.

These respiratory problems are nothing to take lightly. If you have fatigue, chest pain or discomfort, and you are running a temperature, get immediate medical attention.

As you undoubtedly know by now, we lost boxing champion and humanitarian Muhammad Ali this past Friday night.

He was brought in to a Scottsdale hospital last Thursday with respiratory problems. He has had Parkinson’s Disease for a number of years.

Reportedly, he had suffered several of these respiratory conditions in recent years. Prior to this, he was treated and released after a few days.

This time he did not improve from the treatment for the respiratory problem and he died a day later from a condition called septic shock.

I Googled the term on my home computer and came up with the following information.

Septic shock is what happens as a complication of an infection where toxins can initiate a full-body inflammatory response. It often occurs in people who are elderly or have a weakened immune system. It is thought that the inflammation resulting from sepsis causes tiny blood clots to form, which can block oxygen and nutrients from reaching vital organs.

As a result the organs fail, causing a profound septic shock. This may cause a drop in blood pressure and may result in death. In fact, septic shock is the most common cause of death in intensive care units in the United States.

-------

A belated Happy Birthday to my son, Brent. He turned the big 40 on Sunday, June 5.

Friends got together and surprised him with a party. He is an ad rep for The Times. Also Happy Birthday to his step sister, Tammie LaBanca. who also turned 40 on June 5. They were born 10 minutes apart, Tammie in New Jersey and Brent in Scottsdale

Finally, another Happy Birthday to grandson Hunter, who turned 17 on the 5th also. He can’t wait to get his New Jersey driver’s license. Now that makes me feel old.