January 23, 2015

One of the nice things about blogspot is that they have plenty of data to show how your blog is doing and what kind of readership you might be collecting. All of this data is great, IF you take the time to look at it, and sometimes I don't. I just noticed that I've past the 1200 posting mark with the blog, and that is a bunch of posts. I thank you all, whoever you are, for continuing to read and follow Jason's development. It started out as a recovery from the injuries, and now has morphed into simply what life has continued to toss his way (and in many aspects, OUR way). Getting this blog started was something that Linda suggested all those years ago, and I'm glad she did, for many reason, this has been very therapeutic for me.

Linda and I got up to a nice little surprise this morning, and that was that they recycle guys had already come by, and they picked up the large cardboard box Jason's new chair came in, and I "knew" that I was going to have to go down this morning and ask them to. I guess that was a wrong guess on my part. We really didn't have much to do this morning, except wait for Brian and Billy to show up, so that the chair could be put together, so I decided that it was time for me to clean up the backyard.

And cleaning it needed. I spent about four hours raking and pulling and moving and just plain taking care of the stuff that needed to be taken care of. I worked up a good sweat, to say the least. On top of all that my phone was busy and I was talking with all kinds of folks, making appointments and either getting or giving information. Bottom line is that it was all very positive. Just about the time I had all the piles of leaves and twigs done in the backyard Brian showed up, with his girl friend, Lindsey and his dog Mia. Also found out that Billy wasn't going to be able to get here, as he had another issue he needed to take care of.

As it turned Brian and I worked on Jason's chair (Brian was providing me with the "training" for what I was able to do). Jason had an appointment he needed to get to, though he was able to sit in the chair to help with Brian getting the correct adjustments made. Shortly after Jason left, Linda and Lindsey came out to watch and in a little while we were able to finish the chair. There are still a couple of adjustments I can do, if they're needed. Then Jason will have himself a new chair all ready for his use. He will need to get it over to the Ability Center, so that they can put the connector latch on the chair, so he can use it to drive his truck, and this way he'll have two chairs.

Brian waited for a little while, to see if Jason would be able to get back before he had to leave, but it wasn't to be. Linda got some pictures of the efforts, and I've shown them below, so you can see what we were working on. We found Brian to be a very knowledgeable and skilled technician, especially considering that he is a triple amputee - amazing to say the least. For those who have seen the movie American Sniper, yes, this is the same guy in that movie - like I said, pretty amazing.

When Jason got home, he was pretty happy with what he saw, and we'll be working to get everything else that needs to be done - done. We want to be able to have the chair for the ground breaking event coming up, as the chair is another gift from the Gary Sinise Foundation. The more we find out about Gary and the Foundation, the more we are humbled by all of this. Thank you, for all the continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.