As of today, there is no news to report about the recovery of the saddle stolen from The Long Trail Home.  The media in Phoenix did a report about the missing saddle but I guess somebody needed it more than Matt, even though it was very personal to him.  The team is less than 400 miles from Camp Pendleton and I am sure he has raised awareness of veterans and their needs after returning home after deployment.  

Before Matt started his ride I hadn't really heard much about the Semper Fi Fund.  In the past few months I have taken the time to learn more about the organization.  It was refreshing to learn that the Semper Fi Fund has been awarded the highest rating from watch dog groups for charities and though some may immediately assume that they only provide help only to Marines, they actually work with all service branches and retired service members.  

Please donate to The Long Trail Home fund raising page.

Missing Saddle, Believed to be Stolen From The Long Trail Home

While camping in Payson, Arizona a saddle belonging to Matt Littrell of The Long Trail Home was stolen from a campsite at the Payson Rodeo Grounds sometime between 1:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

If anyone has information in regard to the missing saddle please contact Chief of Police Donald B. Engler at (928) 474-5177.

Please share so the saddle can be recovered.

The Long Trail Home fundraiser for Semper Fi Fund

The Long Trail Home facebook page

~Thank you

Dixie Off Road Photography

For the past few year I have attended the annual event of the Sheriff's JeepFest in Jasper, Georgia. I'm guessing that I have grown especially fond of the JeepFest because it reminds me of my younger years when I participated in unorganized four wheeling events. Okay, I really had no business being out in the woods four wheeling around as if I knew what I was doing and I know that part of the excitement was probably the risk of getting caught but these are different times and we are well beyond the statute of limitations.

The JeepFest is a well organized, fun event for people of all ages and though my time there this year was especially limited I was still able to have a great time thanks to Dixie Off Road Photography being kind enough to share pictures on their facebook page. It's not the first time Dixie Off Road Photography caught my attention so I contacted them in regard to their full line of services.

Here's the great news for you! Whether you use your equipment for agriculture, mining or excavation Dixie Off Road Photography of Monroe, Georgia is happy to provide their services throughout the United States. If you want to display the qualities of your business Dixie Off Road Photography can capture the essence of it through their photography. Contact them on facebook or their web site DIXIE OFF ROAD PHOTOGRAPHY.

Photos by Dixie Off Road Photography, Monroe, GA

Take on the Bear for Semper Fi Fund

As you know I have been following The Long Trail Home and trying to help promote them so that Matt Littrell will have a successful mission of raising money for the Semper Fi Fund. I am completely impressed with Matt. He started this crazy journey on a wing and a prayer when he left from just south of Camp LeJeune, NC in the spring. He did not have a publicist, an established schedule and I do not believe he even had much food. He did have a good friend, a facebook page, a horse and a destination, Camp Pendleton, CA.

Initially, I thought Matt was following a dream and I questioned how he expected to have success. I even wondered if in fact he would be able to accomplish the mission that he had assigned to himself. Sure, he was a Marine but I live in Georgia and it gets really hot. He planned on camping but I am afraid of the bear in my backyard and that is not even mentioning the mosquitoes, nor the poisonous snakes.

Matt has been a great sport about his long trail home. Actually, he did complain about the mosquitoes but he wasn't in Georgia when that happened, he was a little farther west. Even then he made mention that it was bothersome to the horses and he was concerned about their well being and comfort. Matt is a gentleman. He knows that his horse is his means of transportation and prioritizes the animals.

As I have sat back and watched the news from the safety of my home I have wondered why the media didn't recognize this Marine at every corner he passed. Why were people not noticing that this gentleman had a mission? It finally occurred to me that there is a strong possibility that others in this country may be more afraid of that bear in my backyard than I. Matt was out there with it! He also served over there where we are okay with our children not knowing about. Using the bear as a metaphor, we never want any child to be out in the backyard with the bear but Matt didn't care.

When Matt got home after his two tours in Iraq he knew that rejoining society would not be easy and he soon realized that others needed help too. Rather than waiting for the government to take action he decided to do something. Once again, Matt wasn't fearful of that stupid bear. After all, he had been part of the few, the proud, the Marines.

I would like to challenge you today. You already have the only tool you need, yourself.

I challenge you to share Matt's story with everybody you know. It doesn't matter if you like the person or not, share his story. Our wounded service members and their families need everybody to help. It's your turn to take on the bear!

Please donate to the Semper Fi Fund

and challenge others to take on the bear.

https://fundraising.semperfifund.org/fundraise?fcid=249300

You can follow The Long Trail Home on facebook through the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/Thelongtrailhome

Uncomfortably Numb

I know you're all eagerly awaiting the story of my husband's follow-up appointment with the neurosurgeon after his procedure to have his Subarachnoid Aneurysm repaired! I am presenting this to you in blog form though it is actually an edited version of the post I made on facebook to close friends and family. This has been a crazy time in our lives. My children, myself and my husband know that the story we've lived for the past few weeks is so far fetched that it is difficult to believe. I doubt I could have made this up. Remember, I'm big on karma and I'm talking about my husband's life! One thing to note is that early on a doctor told us if you hear someone complain about or experience “the worst headache of my life”, get to the hospital. Severe headaches that are beyond the pain of migraine headache pain are a tell tale sign. Here's the rest of the follow-up story:

My husband drove to the hospital for his appointment. I was the passenger. He did well with his driving but since I have spent the past few years being a drivers ed instructor I am still adjusting to keeping quiet. I'm not perfect but think I did fairly well.

We go into the doctor's office and he gives his name to the girl at the desk. "You're not from around here", she says. We're from New England. We're in Atlanta and have been busted immediately! We go into the small talk about us not being from here and she's thrilled to find that we are from New England. One of us asked where she was from and she replied with a strong accent, "I'm from New York!”  Suddenly, we're long lost friends talking about the differences in the commute, weather and housing.

We were called into the exam room. The nurse introduced herself and said she was substituting for the doctor's regular nurse. My husband and I are anxious. She opened the file folder with his records and saw that he was there for the follow-up of the aneurysm procedure. She shook her head and explained that her dad had died of a brain aneurysm when he was 41. She said she was coming up on that age and just didn't feel too good about it.

I never realized how many people have experienced brain aneurysms until now. Her story of her father's experience is typical. Come to find out there are so few survivors under the age of 65 that those stories are seldom told.

The nurse checked his vitals which were good. Strong pulse and increased weight which is what they were looking for. (I know the weight problem is something some of you might not want to discuss but this happened in August. It's not unusual for his weight to decrease in the summer but him not eating for a week while he was hospitalized made his weight cause for concern.) His blood pressure is still on the low side but it is up into the low normal and will just need to be monitored. The nurse was pleased for everybody involved.

We saw the doctor and he was happy to answer all of our questions. Actually, the nurse had already answered them but he reviewed everything that we had discussed with her and told my husband that he will need to have another follow-up in November. If they are to find anything they will do a repair at that time. Hoping and praying that all goes well he will then need to have an MRI done at the one year anniversary. In the mean time, my husband is to steadily increase his activity until something happens that tells him he can't.

Now we notice that we have become uncomfortably numb and we're faced with the choice of either getting up and leaving of sitting in the exam room until the nurse calls security!

We checked out and walked the seemingly ten miles to the car. Fairly uneventful. As we were exiting the parking garage I start thinking again and had my husband ask the attendant about the valet parking. She told us it would cost six dollars as she took our five dollar bill. I laughed and said, "Well, aren't we stupid?!" She smiled and replied in her heavy southern accent, "You know that's right. Have a good day!"

Intercranial Aneurysm

I'm sure some of you have been wondering why I haven't been posting much since last week.  It's not that I'm ignoring you, I have had reason.

On Wednesday of last week my husband decided to make a trip to the doctor because he had such a severe headache.  He had a CT scan done and they found an Intracranial aneurysm that had ruptured.  

I read an article about this that stated odds of surviving a ruptured aneurysm are between 40 and 60 percent. Actually, it seems that nobody wants to be specific and I really don't care about the math.  You're welcome to determine the odds.  This was a close call.  After his surgery on Thursday this puts us on day four but he's still not out of the woods.

Symptoms for an Intracranial aneurysm include:  

• a sudden severe headache that can last from several hours to days
• nausea and vomiting
• drowsiness, confusion and/or loss of consciousness
• Visual abnormalities

Hind sight is 20/20.  He probably should not have pushed himself to finalize that customer's order.  Maybe should have gone to the doctor sooner.  Who knows.  He and I are the fortunate ones.  Never in a million years would either of us have guessed something like this would happen.  He's healthy and strong.

Although high blood pressure is the most common cause of Intracranial aneurysms, he has never been diagnosed with high blood pressure.  

The whole ordeal has put me off schedule in a major way.  Well, it's been a schedule changer for the entire family.  

Please be aware of the symptoms.  Over the counter drugs will not correct this problem. 

Cowboy Matt Littrell's Long Trail Home

This weekend I had a moment of fearlessness when I offered some help to Matt Littrell with The Long Trail Home.  Please let me explain.

I adore horses and have since the American Quarter Horse Association sent me a free poster but I do not own one.  This may have something to do with the two near death experiences that I had as a child after I had received that awesome poster but I'm not really sure.  I still adore them and over the years I have fallen for different breeds.  The Clydesdale Horse rates high on my list, followed by Percheron and Shire, then American Paint and finally the Mustang.  

As I wrote in my last blog, the men with The Long Trail Home were brought to my attention in a round about way.  My daughter works at a horse rescue.  She and I discuss the horses daily and the conversation usually revolves around difficulties that the horses are overcoming.  When she arrived home full of excitement it was strange to me and there was no hiding it.  Look, I was raised in the suburbs and attended well groomed county fairs.  She's shoveling horse manure.  I spoil the cat and dog.  She takes me to the rodeo.  

The second rodeo I attended was a really cool, free-spirited crowd.  The excitement was contagious from the minute we entered the gates.  The weather was beautiful, the horses all appeared pristine and the vendors were busy with the crowd.   My husband and I decided to sit in the third row of the stands since I have a bad knee.  

Intermission arrived and the people around us started to talk to us.  Seems most of us in the lower rows of the stands have bad knees.  The lower the row, the worse the injury?  Anyway, a man about our age came along with his wife and they sat in front of us.  We welcomed them to the party!  The more, the merrier!  We laughed and joked and carried on and suddenly a teenage girl approached.  We all became politely quiet. 

The wife asked the girl what she was doing?  The girl told her mother that she was just going to go visit with one of the guys with the rodeo.  The man, in a deeper voice than I remembered, said, "You don't need to be hanging around with those cowboys."  The girl's eyes grew large as she looked at her dad.  The man turned around in his seat, belted my husband in the arm and said, "You know I'm right about that."  We all shook our heads and smiled trying to hold back our laughter.  The wife moved over a bit so the daughter could sit down next to her.

I commend Matt with his success in raising money for The Semper Fi Fund.  His dedication and compassion for his brothers-in-arms is extraordinary.  Please support Matt's effort by making a donation at The Long Trail Home.  

Matt, I'm sorry that my suburbian upbringing made me leery of cowboys.  

I know my fearlessness pales in comparison to yours,

 but I would put money on it that you would have

 told that sweet, young girl the same thing.