written by Patty Torr
I woke up this morning thinking about Jay.? This day is going to be an absolute whirlwind for him.? I suspect right about now, he is eating breakfast and getting ready to go to the gym where he has to be at 8 a.m.? From there he will have a series of meetings and appointments as he gets ready to depart from The Shepherd Center in Atlanta, his home for the past 4-1/2 months.? Know that this is not the end of the therapy for Jay; this is just a “pit stop” at home to ready him for the next round of therapy.? At this time, the Ruckelshaus’ are not certain where Jay will go from here.? Stay tuned:? we will let you know!
I received the following note from John who asked me to post this from him.”On August 15, 2011 Jay(Bird) arrived at the Shepherd Center to begin his rehabilitation from his injury.? On December 22, he will fly home to enjoy the Christmas Holiday before he embarks on his next phase of recovery, where we do not know at this point.It has been a long and emotional 4 months since we left Indianapolis to Atlanta.? When we left, Jay was not breathing on his own and had very limited mobility.? The weeks of therapy have set the foundation for his recovery. ??Jay has made good progress, breathing on his own and so forth. ?Spinal cord injury rehabilitation is a very slow and arduous task that draws upon the inner strength that you did not know you had before.? Rehabilitation takes the whole family to nurture along.? In Jay?s case, there is an entire community and beyond that has pulled together to help him every step of the way.? Our family has felt your prayers, your support and kindness at every stop.? Simply put:? we would not be where we are today without the love and support of everyone.? Jay would state that it is clout that brings us together, but then Jay would say that and make us all scramble for the dictionary.? (PATTY’S NOTE:? Yep – I looked in the dictionary!)When Jay returns, we ask that you please indulge us as we gradually ease back into life.? This transition from Shepherd to Indy will be challenging, as we navigate familiar but now very different territory.? We are very happy to have our new Butler University graduate, Maggie, and graduate student, Drew, home for Christmas direct from ?the University of Idaho, who will only be home for a couple of days.? Of course, our beloved dog Teddy will be overjoyed ?to share his rather moist kisses with Jay.? Jay cannot wait!
This Holiday Season, as we all hustle about attending to the last minute details of the season, our family is reminded of the scene in the Charles Schultz Christmas Special whereby Linus tells a rather befouled Lucy and Charlie what Christmas is all about.? Linus moves to center stage as the house lights dim to a lone spotlight on him as he recites the true meaning of Christmas.? This year in the Ruckelshaus house, we will truly celebrate the birth of Christ.? As the meaning of Christ?s birth brings hope and renewal, so too will Jay.
Merry Christmas to all as we count our blessings, and there are many, and among some of the best are all of you.”
I will close with a line from one of my favorite Christmas movies ever;? “If you’re tired and cannot sleep, just count your blessings instead of sheep.? And you’ll go to sleep counting your blessings.”
Merry Christmas to all of you.
As always, please continue to pray for a miracle.
