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Brenda's Second
Page
Brenda's Biography
The 1980’s decade was one of major growth and
strengthening for what was to come, but yet unknown. It was also a time to start a new
chapter in our life. Going from "What ever happened to Baby Toby" to:
WHO WILL GROW UP FIRST, KEN OR BARBIE?
We both were going to school now, but seemed to be running a parallel course with each
other. I was working as a Physical Therapy Assistant while Toby was in his early stages of
sports. This served me well, as I wound up working in Olympic Village here in 1984.
Wanting to know more about the sports Toby was getting involved in, I later became one of
the Athletic Trainers for Brea-Olinda High School. Football seemed to be turning into a
tougher sport all the time. I wound up going for my EMT license so I could be more
effective on the playing fields. Unfortunately, I wound up using it more on the freeways
traveling to and from schools.
Somewhere in here, the word "Cancer" reared its ugly head again, but it
didn’t take long for me to get back in the saddle again…literally!
Fullerton Day parades were never better, than when I was riding in them!
 
With the cancer cured, I must have been having way too much fun again, so my body
manufactured another disease. If you know anything about Graves Disease, the word
"hyper" wasn’t much of a surprise to anyone in my family. I still battle
with it to this day, but hey, who wants to slow down in old age?
And so, Toby and I continued on with our education until it was time for not 1, but 2
graduations!
I finished my Physician Assistant core classes (interning to follow) just 3 weeks before
Toby graduated from high school. Somehow this still didn’t answer the question:
"Who was going to grow up first, Ken or Barbie".
While I went into Cardiology Research, Toby went off into the Army. Even though we were
now physically separated, our lives still followed a parallel. I was living out of a
suitcase and traveling to different hospitals in different countries. Toby was living out
of a rucksack and also traveling to different posts. My best assignment was when I was
working in New Zealand, Toby’s was yet to come. The word "White Water" took
on a whole new meaning for me!
Queenstown, South New Zealand
And so the day finally came when I had to ask permission to be "grounded" and
stay in the United States for a month. It was to be one of the most important occasions in
the life of Ken and Barbie, but would this mean either of us had finally grown up?
26 August 1989
Meet Mr. & Mrs. Wm. T. Peruti
Obviously Toby and Amy are in the middle. Flanked by my husband, myself, his grandmother,
great grandmother, and at the ends 2 of his 3 brothers (my husbands sons).
1990’s to be continued……
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