Dad's Story

Do you know how everyone dreads the middle of the night phone call?...Well, last November I got the middle of the night knock on the door. (horrible experience I might add) It was my cousin and his wife...these were his words..."Jen, get dressed and get to the hospital, it's your dad".

Here's the story......

Nov. 9th 5:00 pm.....my dad get's off work earlier than expected, and decides to make up on the hunting time that he had been missing out on.My mom is still not home, so he leaves her a note on the table..."Gone hunting". He heads out onto the family farm's 70 acres for 1 last hour of prime hunting time, to one of his many tree stands.

6:00 pm.....dad shoots a deer with his bow and arrow.

6:10pm....dad stands in his stand, and gets ready to climb down to track the deer. The tree stand is old, and the supporting board gives way, breaks and falls. My dad falls 15 feet, head first to the ground below. Along the way and during the fall, he breaks his neck, his back, his wrist, his sternum and several ribs. He also punctures a lung, and has a closed head brain injury. My dad lay alone, unconcious on the ground.

Sometime that evening....mom gets home from work, see's the hunting note, and settles in for the night. She has to be to work at 3:00 AM, and dozes off on the couch...waiting for dad to come back in.

11:00 pm...Mom wakes up and realizes the time and that dad is not back inside. She panics, and runs outside in the woods alone, yelling his name. After a while, of almost getting lost herself...she calls my aunt and cousins who live next door....by this time, another hour has passed.

12:00pm....My aunt convinces my mom to call 911, and help is on the way...the hunting party for the hunter has started.

1:00AM....7 hours after the fall....my dad is found...alone and broken, near death in the woods.

After 3 hospital transfers, 9 or more surgeries, 2 months on a ventilator, 4 months hospitilazation, and SOOO much more in between, we are almost a year after the accident. My dad is now paralyzed from the chest down, and his life will never be the same....but, he is here. He is a changed man, physically and emotionally, but...here.

Today my son hunted in my dad's tree....

We bought a new stand, and my husband SWORE to me that it was secure. He promised!!! I guess my dad's good luck and love of hunting passed on to his firstborn grandson. This is a pic of 2 of my favorite men...my son, and my dad.....Tyler got an 8pt buck on his second day of hunting.......The tradition lives on......