In May, Robert "Buzz" Hill, Lehighton, 80, got a septic infection in his system, related to a heart valve replacement he'd had several years prior to that. He spent three weeks in the hospital, and another two weeks in rehabilitation.

In early August, Buzz had a stroke and had another hospital stay. On August 20, he found out he'd drawn a Zone 12 Pennsylvania cow elk tag. About two weeks before the state's elk hunt began November 2, he had another stroke and another hospital stay.When he kept telling his care team about the need for a speedy recovery, because he was going on an elk hunt, those on his care team smiled kindly but didn't believe it would be possible."He was exhilarated when he was drawn and when he had the second stroke, he told his doctors that he was going on the elk hunt and nobody was going to stop him," said his son, Terry of Albrightsville, who accompanied him on the hunt. "It was great, the hunt of a lifetime, and a thrill for me to be there - since I was twelve years old he'd been taking me hunting."Buzz and Terry had chosen Elk Country Outfitters to guide the hunt. They arrived Saturday and stayed in a camp owned by Tom and Bob Kolivoski. The Kolivoski's and Elk Country Outfitters guide Mike Weaver showed them around the area where they'd be hunting."You could tell how important the hunt was going to be for both of them," Weaver said. "Terry is a caring son, and was very supportive of his dad and you could tell, really proud of him that he was able to get back out hunting."Buzz Hill taught history and drivers' education at Emmaus High School, where he also coached the rifle team and was athletic director. He and his wife Carolyn have been married 59 years. In addition to their son Terry they have a daughter, Wendy, who lives in the Philadelphia area."The first morning on the hunt started with a lot of action, even though there was thick fog you could hear several bulls bugling in the distance," Weaver said. "As the fog lifted we could see more than 50 elk about 500 yards away, that seemed to be working in our direction."The fog lifted and returned, lifted and returned. Elk would suddenly appear and then disappear, still a good distance away. Then the fog settled, thicker than before, and seemingly was there to stay."Suddenly Buzz said, 'There's an elk' and sure enough we saw one, then two, then five or six cows and two small bulls," Weaver recalled. "Buzz was ready - he leveled his rifle and focused on the lead cow, there was the report of his rifle and his elk was down."During his recovery, Buzz had to struggle to walk, even short distances. Every step is a challenge, especially on uneven terrain."The cow ran but not far and I was saying to my dad, 'You got it, you got it' because you could tell it was going to go down," Terry Hill said. "It went over a hill and we couldn't see it."They told Buzz they'd go see if the elk was down but Buzz wouldn't hear of it. They all made the long, 125-yard walk together. Terry said that Buzz was smiling every step of the way, taking his time.Could be he wanted to savor every moment."He made it," Weaver said. "When he got to his elk he didn't have a lot to say, but his big smile said it all."