This is from Connie from ND. Thought we had the connection problem licked yesterday, but today the gerbil died or something. Phooey. -- Her brother Jerry
Thank you all for the warm welcome to my peek back in. RCTQ was my first venture into a cyber community, and you are my oldest and dearest cyber friends. I will never forget how kind and supportive you have always been to me in some of my darkest hours.
I see many new and unfamiliar names, so I would like to introduce myself to them. I am Connie from ND. I live a short distance from the geographic center of North America. I have been a quilter most of my life, taught by my grandmas, mostly making them for my home and my family. RCTQ gave me confidence in my skills and since joining you all here, I have donated a dozen or more quilts to local fundraisers.
Four years ago, I felt the love and support of this group surround me, when I asked for a shower of birthday cards for my son, Tyler. He was a marine, stationed in Hawaii and would be celebrating his golden birthday far from home. The response was awesome. His bunk was covered with cards and letters and gifts from women he had never met. That winter, he completed his final training and the next spring, he was sent to Afghanistan. Your support went with him, and he never failed to get a letter or package from someone at every mail call. Three years ago, in August, Tyler was shot three times while on patrol. He was hospitalized for 10 days in Germany, then sent back to Afghanistan with three open wounds in his chest. Five days later, he had a massive infection, was sent back to Germany, and finally home. He is rated at 100 % disabled. He has limited lung function, nerve damage in his right hand, PTSD, and a traumatic brain injury affecting his memory and emotional balance.
The last two years for me have been pretty traumatic. I lost touch with you all around then, and I was pretty busy between my job and helping Tyler get to all of his many medical appointments. About that time, my new boss went on a campaign to make me quit. Eventually, she succeeded. About that time, my beloved husband was killed in a shooting accident. Tyler, who had made significant improvement, went back to square one. A couple of months after the funeral, my daughter noticed that I was having trouble walking, and a subsequent checkup showed that my left leg was becoming paralyzed and I would need immediate back surgery. The surgery went well, but two weeks later I ended up with a massive septic infection and found out I was allergic to almost all antibiotics. I am finally getting better now but I am left with damaged kidneys and a weakened immune system.
Enough of that! I am sorry I lost track of you all. I have continued with the baseball group so I have been hearing about you all, but I have missed your friendship. I have been so depressed and lethargic, I probably would have never come back, but a note from Dreamweaver last week sparked an interest for me, and my brother got me hooked up to converse with you again.
I wanted to let you know that Tyler's life is improving after so many setbacks. About two years ago, he met a lovely young woman named Andrea, who has stuck with him and supported him through everything. They were married last May 24th. He also has a job now, working for the Minnesota Dept. of Veteran Affairs. He learned about the job from someone he met while going weekly to the VA. He applied and was turned down, but he appealed the decision and asked for reconsideration, because if the VA won't hire a disabled veteran, who will? He was reconsidered and turned down again, because he was a ND resident and the job required him to live in Minnesota. He moved to Moorhead, MN and applied a third time. He finally was accepted for the job with a year long probationary period. They dropped the probation after 6 months, and he is doing well. He helps veterans negotiate the maze of the VA and is now giving motivational talks to new disabled vets in the system. He has alot of pride in what he is doing, and the setbacks he used to have weekly are now coming only monthly, and not as severely.
I have pictures of Tyler and his new wife, Andrea, with Tyler's HUG which has an honored place in their new home. If someone will email me privately, I will email them back to you so they can be posted somewhere where everyone can see them. I usually can't post pictures myself, because I am still on dial-up, and I usually lose the connection before I can get a picture posted.
Thanks for the warm welcome, and the M&Ms (I agree with Dreamweaver, minties are the best!).
Connie from ND