"No greater love hath a man than this...."

Hello everyone from the flatlands of Kansas!  I wrote the post below as I was sitting in the living room at Mike's house in Montrose last evening.  Didn't get the chance to post it before I left this morning but am doing so now.  Glad to have made it back to Kansas, safe and sound~Oblio the "round head" greeted me at the front door.  Can't beat that with a stick :)  Yesterday's post follows~


Greetings friends from the Western Slopes! The second day of March has been about as beautiful weather-wise as one could wish.  The high temperature of 60 degrees is about 40 degrees warmer than it was the last time I was here 3 weeks back.  The sky was a beautiful blue, the sun shone brightly and for that I was thankful.  Although there is some snow forecast once again for the high country tomorrow, I should be able to get back over the pass at Monarch tomorrow morning before the winter weather arrives back again. We wanted to take full advantage of the unseasonably warm weather so Mike and I went for a couple miles hike around the neighbourhood early this afternoon and the scenery was so beautiful that I had to come back home and get my camera to get a photo or two.  One is shown below~

This has been a busy day here~with lots of different things to do and see.  The day started out early with a visit to the Montrose Health Fair.  Although I have no idea how many folks went there to stand in line to get their blood tests done, I'm gonna make a conservative guesstimate that at the VERY least, 500 folks got their blood drawn. With greatly reduced fees, in comparison to what folks would have to pay if they went to their doctors' offices to do it, people wisely gave up time yesterday morning to have their blood work done. Even though the lines were long, you never  heard one soul grumbling or complaining.  Every person just took it in stride and as an "outsider" looking in, I saw a nice reflection of what the citizenry of Montrose, Colorado is truly like.  They didn't realize what an impression they were making on this "flatlander" from Kansas.  There's a good lesson in there somewhere for all of us, wouldn't you agree?

 While Mike stood and waited in his place in line, I went around to take a look at all the different exhibitors that were there.  There were all kinds of things being given away related to health concerns and you could make your way down the rows picking up all kinds of "freebies" from pill containers, hand sanitizer, kleenix, key chains and everything else in between.  Information pamphlets and free screenings were in abundance and if you walked away without some kind of useful tool or information then it was your own dang fault.   Kind of reminded me of days going through the Meadowlark Building during the Kansas State Fair to "harvest" all of the give away things that they had to offer.  It was a great service to everyone and I was glad to be a witness to it.

Right before I left with Mike, we took one last walk through the open commons area to look at the different stations and it was there that I noticed a table set up by the Colorado "Donate Life" group.  It immediately got my attention and I spent the next 20 minutes there visiting with a trio of ladies who were there to advocate for folks to donate their "usable" body parts on the event of their death.  It was wonderful to hear their stories of being the recipients of donated organs and tissue and once they had finished with their "testimonies" they were surprised to hear mine as well.

I told them about my bike accident in 2011 and how I really had messed up my left arm and that I was LITERALLY in a "world of hurt".  I told them about having to go Wichita for a second, major reconstructive surgery in order that my arm and wrist could be salvaged.  And I told them about receiving the gift of a bone segment from a Missouri man who had died in an accident a couple of years prior.  They heard the story of "Eleanore" and how my life had changed for the "better" after I had been injured so badly and I told them that I would never be the same person again that I had been before.  Heck, I even rolled up my right pant leg and showed them the tattoo that I had done after all of the surgeries were completed, honouring the man who saved me.  Before I left, I signed up in the state of Colorado, as well as Kansas now, to be an organ donor upon my death.  Last, but certainly not least, I signed up to be a special advocate for their group and expressed my willingness to speak with anyone who would listen about the importance of donating whatever you can donate from your body upon death~the gift of "life".  I vowed on August 10, 2011 that I would never forget what happened for me, the gift I received. Sadly, one person died yet by his last act of kindness another was saved!  That person is now a part of me~

The photo below shows a time in my recuperation period when things had just about hit "rock bottom", in fact, they did. It was the last two days before I was going to have the last cast removed and it was itching like crazy.  If I could have taken a hack saw and cut it off of myself, well then trust me friends, it would have happened!  Of course, with my luck, I would have probably cut off both my cast AND my arm!  Not sure how I would have explained that one to the good Dr. Chan.   At a time when things seemed about as dismal as could be, I had a good friend write the message on "old lefty's" exoskeleton and it was that simple act, that got me through the final 48 hours.

Part of the message that I have tattooed on my left leg...written on my cast by a good friend.  The verse from the Bible is "No greater love hath a man, that he would lay down his life for a friend."  John 15:13.  The date, 8-10-11 was the day I received the bone material in surgery.  Missouri is where the man was from and the "gift" was given to me, here in Kansas.  Eleanor was the name that I thought of immediately when the nurses told me that I had received the "gift".  I had no idea where it came from, having known no one by that name.  But it stuck with me and I was sure it had something to do with the identity of my donor.  Later on, my sister Sherry told me about learning that the name of Eleanor translates into "a wonderful gift of healing" and from that moment on, I was at peace with not really knowing anything further about the man who gave it to me.  All I know is that I will forever be beholden to that unknown 45-year old man from Kansas' neighbour to the east, Missouri.  To who ever he was, I know that I'll see him in Heaven some day.  I may not know him now, but I will know him then.

Well, it's been a long day and guess it's soon time to say good night to all.  Have a great rest everyone and please, take care of yourselves and one another.  I am surely grateful to call you my friends~all of you!

"Old lefty" will never be the same but as people many times remind me at LEAST that arm is still attached to the rest of my body.  I am getting stronger every day in what I can do with it and with what I cannot, I have learned to just make do until I some day can.  I have learned the hard way that grown women should never attempt curb jumping and expect anything other than disastrous results.  A tough lesson to learn yet still the best thing that ever happened to me in life.  It shaped me into the person that I have become this day.  My life changed from the moment my body hit the curbing that August morning and I will be forever grateful.