Thanks to modern medical science, Clarence Roberts of rural Mount Carroll is on the road to leading a normal life again. In the first operation of it's kind in Freeport, a 4 to 5 inch segment of Roberts' abdominal aorta was removed then replaced with a plastic-like tube.

Although the 70 year old retired farmer is not up to turning cart wheels as yet, it is believed he will be well enough to go to his normal routine in a few weeks. An avid hunter, Roberts hopes he will recover in time to go after some raccoons this fall.

Although Roberts was the first person to undergo such an operation here, the operation has been performed in other parts of the country. Asked if he would have liked to have gone to some larger city for the operation, Roberts replied, "No, I have every confidence in those doctors in Freeport. I knew that if they could not do the job there, it probably couldn't be done anywhere."

Recovery from a successful operation is from six to eight weeks. Roberts has been up and about since a few days after the operation on July 1. He strolls in the yard and down to his garden and apple orchard. Sometimes he looks over a few rocks in his collection or just sits and smokes his pipe, which is always at arms reach.

He hasn't attempted any heavy work as yet and has refrained from driving. But he expects he will get restless this Fall when his hound wants to get on the trail of a coon or a fox.

His operation marks the second major one in his life. His love of hunting resulted in the first one over 50 years ago. Coincidently were on his left side and he has had to carry foreign matter in his body after each.

Thanks to modern medicine he carries the plastic tube that keeps him alive. No thanks to a carelessly placed shot gun he also carries a wad of buckshot he could easily do without.

A shotgun blast tore through his left side while on a hunting trip when he was 16 years old. The pellets tore off two of his ribs and embedded under his skin.

It is believed that the tiny pellets under his skin had nothing to do with his artery condition.

After the blast tore into him and set his clothes on fire, Roberts walked to a nearby neighbor's house where a doctor was summoned. The operation took place right there in the house. "Quite a difference between then and now," he said, commenting on modern hospitals.