3 - days left

All, in less than 3 days, I will be undergoing hopefully my last surgery. I could have scheduled it as early as June 10th, but we all decided it would be better to wait until later in the summer. What a summer we had. With being on hold in the reserves, we went to the lake more than we ever have in the past. The boys are doing better at every water sport we try. School has started, footbal is getting started, and we told the marina that we were done with the boat for the year.

This surgery will be a pretty big deal, but I am a lot stronger than I was after the accidend so I am hoping for a quick recovery. It will be hard to not put weight on my leg for three months, but we all hope the rewards will be worth the wait. 3 - 4 days in the hospital and then about 2 weeks at home before I try to return to my normal activities. Stay in touch.

J

Survival Anniversary

To Everyone,

I have said it before and I will say it again. I am so grateful for all of you. The prayers, the thoughts, the visits. They always mean so much. Today is the one year anniversary of my accident and I am so thankful for what I have been able to do with my family and friends. July 29th will come and go every year, but it will have a very special meaning for me. The fact is, it could have been so different. Most people do not survive an aortic tear. My body was messed up and it will always be messed up, but I am back doing the things I want to do with the people that mean so much to me. I am going to celebrate July 29th every year. I survived and I still have so much to give. One more surgery to go. This has been a long challenging ordeal. I feel like I have been tested and I hope I am passing the test. Please take a moment to say a quick prayer, toast a glass, tell a friend - "It is wonderful to be alive and I appreciate life in a way most people can't imagine. I am blessed with many gifts"

I look forward to seeing everyone who has kept up with this blog and my journey again.

Thank you,

J

Surgery is Confirmed

All,
The date for hopefully the last surgery regarding the motorcycle wreck is confirmed on September 2nd. I have a pre-op testing appointment on August 24th, but I expect that to go well.
This is a pretty big operation that will keep me off of my left leg for 3 months, but I hope it will allow me to walk without crutches or canes in the early spring.

Everything has been going great this summer. Look me up on Facebook to see some of the good times we have been having. We intend to continue making the most of the rest of the summer.

I am sure I will put some more updates on the blog before the surgery, but please keep Cara in your thoughts as she cares for me and the boys during and after the surgery this fall.

J

Family Vacation

Words can't describe how wonderful it was to be able to go on a family vacation. It has almost been a year since my wreck and there is still a long road of recovery left, but I had so much fun and am so grateful to have my family. Vacation started Friday, June 26th with a visit with David and Tina Kemp in Russellville on our way to Pine Bluff. We got to Gulfport, MS on Saturday afternoon and visited with my grandfather, Papa (Jerry Sr.), Aunt Sandra and Uncle Terry - Thank you Terry for dinner that night!!!, Cousin Terry and my parents and Benjy Richards. We all went to dinner at Lil' Rays and joined Allison, Bin, Emily and Anna Clair, Scott and Elise. Allison and Bin hosted my family for the night at their house where we continued visiting. We continued our journey Sunday with a stop at LuLu's in Gulf Shores, AL and finally arrived at the Beach House in Seagrove Beach, FL that afternoon. Eleanor, Windell, Michael and Alex joined us at the beach house Monday evening. We had a great time hitting the beach with great (hot) weather every day. Wednesday, Cara and I enjoyed our 18th anniversary (June 29th)dinner at Cafe 30A. Aunt Mary and Uncle Ken joined us Thursday and ate grilled mahi mahi fish tacos for dinner. Saturday, the boys brought Eleanor and Windell's kayaks down to the beach and I thought, "I can do that" I had so much fun in the kayak and felt so "normal" that I wish I had not waited until the last day on the beach to use it. We watched fireworks on the deck Saturday night and made the long drive home all day Sunday.
I was so happy, surprised and grateful Sunday night to see that some one had weed eated at our house!
We are also blessed and thankful that Katie stayed at our house and watched over the pets.

Here is a funny confession: I have gained about 20+ pounds since leaving the hospital. After I showered this "afternoon", I noticed a funny tan line. Ever heard of dunlap disease? My new tan line is not due to my shorts being too high, it is due to it lapped over my waist band...

What a wonderful time!!!
J

It has been almost a month since my last post

All,
I am not sure where to start, but I will begin with last weekend.
I am still on hold with the Air Force reserves and every letter I get from the 403rd, I nervously open hoping for some form of news.
Anyway, Jon Vansandt arranged a night at the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball game last Saturday night.
Cara and I were thrilled to get an opportunity to go back to the Air Force base and visit with friends.
I tell people I only saw 2 plays: The commander throw the first pitch and Gus and Phil playing "dizzy bat" between innings.
The rest of the time was spent visiting with my best friends.

Allen's hand is healing very well, and we may convince Cara to let him ski or wake board this weekend. (This will happen if he weed eats at the cabin tomorrow morning) We also need to try out the new surfboard...
Speaking of Allen, he helped me replace the accelerator cable in his car this week and he is on the road solo! Hopefully he will keep his head and be responsible.

As for me, I had (3) different doctor's visits yesterday. (2) of them said I am in good health and scheduled the next appointments in six months. I spoke with Dr. Arnold about postponing my hip surgery until fall and he completely agreed. He told me to enjoy my summer, but to definitely get it done this fall.

I took Sam out on his first "date" last Tuesday night. He says they are just friends, but he did fix his hair and wear jeans...

Cara was interviewed on the news last night asn an expert on internet social networking and the affects of not having real face to face interactions. She looked and sounded great.
http://nwahomepage.com/content/fulltext_news?cid=96702

That is about it for now. We are having a great summer so far and are looking forward to the beach soon.

J

Church Youth Trip

This past Sunday and Monday, we were able to host the 2nd annual church youth group at Table Rock Lake.
We are truly BLESSED to have such a wonderful group of children.
Let’s face it, the weather was miserable for most of the trip.
These kids never complained. We went out and had a blast on the tube, on the knee board and jumping off a few rocks.
In a way, the weather was perfect because there were very few other boats willing to get out on the lake.
We practically had the entire lake to ourselves.
I am sure some of them are confused about getting a little sun burn with all the clouds and rain.
Nothing but smiles and great spirits!

I do not have a Special moment or Highlight.
Sunday’s boating was fun.
Dinner at our cabin was fun.
Monday’s boating was fun and we got a bonus run after lunch.
Monday’s lunch was fun.

I continue to be impressed with our group of kids.
I loved getting to know the junior high group better.
Special thanks to Bethany and Hannah for staying with me and helping tie up the boat and put things away Monday before lunch.

Thank you for trusting them with me and Cara.
I hope they are telling stories for a long time.

Our only regret is the lack of pictures. The weather was just too rainy and wet to risk using the camera.
Cara did get a great picture of most of the group in the boat on our initial outing.
I will try to get a copy of it to share.

We look forward to doing it again next year!
Maybe we should make tee shirts for:
The 3rd Annual First Presbyterian Church Springdale Youth Retreat to Table Rock Lake…

Tim and Lynn, if you are reading this, thank you for letting some kids hang out with you on your dock. That was a life saver. We came and got the tube Monday, but we did not see Sam's flip flops. We will get them the next time we hunt you down on the lake...


J.

Allen did it again

All,
Just to keep you posted. Allen broke his left hand yesterday trying to keep from falling after getting hit in football practice. We have not seen the orthopedic doctor yet, but he should be put into a cast some time today. I hope it will not be for too long so he can enjoy his summer. He was so looking forward to showing off his boarding and skiing ability next weekend with the church youth group...
J