COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho —
To celebrate his 55th birthday last week, Mike Kralicek went golfing for the first time in years.
One-handed.
“We wanted to try the practice area to see if I could do it,” he said.
He could. And did.
That Kralicek was able to hit a few shots is in some minds a miracle. In Mike’s, it’s what he’s come to expect of himself.
“I used to golf righthanded, but now, only my lefthand works,” he said.
A bearded Kralicek was in good spirits as he and his wife, Carrie, sat down for an interview Thursday at the Kroc Center.
“I have good days and bad days,” he said. “Right now, I’m doing pretty good.”
The former Coeur d’Alene police officer celebrated his birthday again Saturday. He’s not wild about birthday parties, but if that’s what friends want to do, perhaps barbecue, then he’s game.
“It’s just another day,” he said.
Carrie’s birthday, by the way, is this week.
“For 10 days we’re the same age,” Mike said, laughing.
The Kraliceks look young for their age and are young at heart. The conversation between them is easy and relaxed. They joke and glance at each other often.
Carrie recounts a story from a few years ago while they were at the airport. A woman asked, “Do you need any help with your son?”
“He's always looked young,” Carrie said, shaking her head. “Next time, it’s going to be, ‘Do you need help with your grandson?'”
That the two are sitting there, among kids and adults coming and going, was a testimony to how far Mike has come since he nearly died almost 20 years ago.
“I try to blend in,” Mike said with a grin.
He was a 35-year-old Coeur d’Alene police officer Dec. 28, 2004, when he was shot at close range after responding to a call. The bullet struck him in the right cheek, caused catastrophic injuries and left him permanently disabled.
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