THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE: AFTER SURVIVING MENINGITIS AS A CHILD, WHS TEACHER CONTINUES TO INSPIRE

The recent death of a Ukiah toddler from bacterial meningitis has made Cloverdale native Greg Lands realize once again how blessed he is to be alive.

Now the ROP (occupational education) teacher at Windsor High School, Lands has always had a way of connecting with his students that encourages them to succeed. In 2004, he was named Northern California Teacher of the Year by the Universal Technical Institute. And under his guidance, more than 400 students have gone on to technical schools.

"It's not that I teach them welding, automotive or landscape," Lands says. "I teach them there is nothing they can't get through. I teach them how to be teachable and give them skills to work anywhere. I teach them respect, honesty, trust, teamwork, all by example."

Through his own personal experiences, he has also been able to teach his students they don't need to become victims of their circumstances.

When Lands was 2, his brother Randy recalls him running around and playing one minute and becoming really sick a short time later. At first, his mom thought he might have the flu, but then his fever spiked to 104 degrees and wouldn't come down.

One of the doctors in town, a Dr. Lightfoot, immediately started him on ice and alcohol baths. He also called Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital about a new medicine to bring the fever down and had it delivered to Cloverdale in a CHP squad car.

Once stabilized, Lands was transferred to Memorial, where his mom was told he had bacterial meningitis. Doctors said that if he lived, he would be blind, deaf, mentally challenged and have deformities because the fever was so severe.

Despite the dire predictions, Lands continued to improve and was able to go home in about two weeks. At one point, Dr. Lightfoot commented that Greg must have guardian angels because people don't usually survive with a prolonged fever over 104.

As time went on, though, the right side of Lands' body didn't grow at the same pace as the left, most prominently, his right leg. Over the years, it has required numerous surgeries. By sixth grade, the difference in his legs was more than two inches, and by the time Lands started high school, it was closer to four inches. Pain, surgeries and medication became a way of life.

When he was about 12, Lands made his first batch of cookies. Much to his surprise, he found being in the kitchen was therapeutic.

"Cooking and baking take my mind off the pain," he said. "This past weekend, for example, I made sourdough bread and homemade potato soup."

As a kid, Lands wanted to play football, but the doctors wouldn't let him. They all said he was disabled and would be for the rest of his life.

"Funny thing is," he says, "my mother never believed that, and she instilled that same belief into me. I was different but surely not disabled."

Lands finally found a doctor who agreed to let him play. He wore a back brace and an ankle brace, and when he played varsity, a friend made a lift for his football cleat. "It was heavy, but at least I was able to run better."

Later, while working for the City of Cloverdale, he was asked to cover a shop class at Cloverdale High School. That was when he discovered his true calling. The late Herb Nunn, whom he looked up to like a father figure, helped him get his teaching credential, and the rest is history.

During his 15 years at Cloverdale High, he taught welding, auto shop and landscaping, and even coached football and track. At one point, he did all of this in a wheelchair.

"Greg is a real advocate for kids who aren't on a college track," says former Cloverdale High School Principal Gene Lile. "He directs them and inspires them to continue their education in trade schools and work."

For the past eight years, Lands has taught welding, landscaping and small motor maintenance skills at Windsor High, where he has twice been named Vocational Teacher of the Year.

"I love being a teacher," Lands says. "All of my students know that I care and that I am always there if they need anything."

Last year, the meningitis symptoms returned with a vengeance. Sometimes when the pain is really bad and he just wants to give up, Lands says he can almost hear his mom's voice telling him to snap out of it and quit feeling sorry for himself.

"'Gregory Dee,' she would always say, 'you are a strong and blessed man. God's not finished with you yet.'"