RAK Request

To all of my talented fellow stampers:

On April 10, 2008, my cousin, Stuart Wride, was in a tragic accident and thrown from his car. He is now a paraplegic. Stuart and his wife, Julie, have two boys, ages 5 and 8. Naturally, his entire family is in need of comfort and support in dealing with this difficult turn of events. If you feel inclined, please send one of your beautiful hand-stamped sympathy cards to shower my cousin and his family with heartfelt wishes and support in this trying time. They would be overwhelmed with gratitude.

Stuart Wride's Story:
Last Thursday morning, April 10, 2008, Stuart left for work. It had snowed the night before. His son usually rides with him to get dropped off at school, but this time Julie decided to drive him (meaning Julie was behind Stuart and both were headed to Victor, ID.) Stuart was driving his little SUV. He always uses his lap seatbelt, but didn't put it on when he left. When he was only about 400 yards from home he hit black ice and his auto spun around and around on the ice. When it hit the berm, the car rolled over and over (it was completely smashed on top, so, had Stuart been wearing his lap belt that morning the outcome may have been more tragic than it is). Stuart had his two dogs in the auto, too.

A woman witnessed the accident and said she saw Stuart and the dogs being flung from the auto. Stuart landed on his back. (I have heard that the dogs are both okay.) When the woman got to him with her cell phone he said he felt lightening go down both legs when he hit the ground, and then he felt nothing. He told her that he thought he had broken his back and that he was a paraplegic. Julie arrived soon and he said to Julie, "I am sorry Julie, but I think I am a paraplegic."

The second person at the scene of the accident was a nurse (family members feel this was a miracle). She immediately sat in the snow, straddled Stuart's head and held it. As others arrived to help she took charge and directed all of their efforts. The snow he was laying on acted like an ice pack to minimize swelling. She knew how to handle someone with a spinal cord injury and was able to make sure he was not further injured while being transported to the ambulance. He has had two surgeries. The doctor removed bone shards from his spinal cord and said the spinal cord had been compressed (it was not severed). The only broken bone he had was the 12th vertebrae which was shattered. The doctor replaced the shattered vertebrae with a titanium vertebrae. He will be in intensive care for 4 more days then be moved to the hospital wing for 10 more days. At that point he will go into a rehabilitation facility.

The good news is that their friends in the little town of Victor are trying to help him all they can. The men he works with (building houses) have all visited him and offered their love and support. They even talked to the owner of a little hardware store in their town, told the owner he needed to hire Stuart to work the construction help desk. They said Stuart knows everything about construction, he can do amazing drawings, and knows all about the materials needed to do building projects. The hardware store owner agreed to hire Stuart as soon as he is able to go back to work. Then, one of the men said he owns a ranch-style home right across the street from the school Stuart's son goes to. He has already asked his rental people to vacate the house by the first of the month. He and the other construction workers are going to adjust the home to be wheelchair accessible, and Stuart and Julie can live there rent free as long as they need to. (Stuart owns a house in Victor that is up for sale, but that house has bedrooms upstairs.)

He does NOT have insurance.

Please send your cards to*:
The Stuart Wride Family
572 S. 50 W.
Victor, ID 83455

*Although they will be moving in May, they will surely have their mail forwarded.

No Ink Stains

I'm sorry that I haven't posted recently. I've had my ups and my downs. I've been nesting, deep cleaning, reading classic novels, planting seeds for my garden, learning how to make homemade yogurt, learning about sourdough starter, grinding my own wheat and making fresh bread a few times a week, and I just haven't felt like stamping. It's crazy. I feel like sewing and organizing and lots of other things, but no card groove has caught me. Also, I've been summoned to jury duty for the second half of April--so who knows when I'll get good and inky. This is by far the longest dry spell.

I'm 21 weeks and the doctor says I'm having another girl. That makes three. My husband feels outnumbered already. But the baby seems to be healthy and growing well--I can't ask for much more than that.

Today is what I term "my mom's survival anniversary." She was in a near-fatal car accident on this day 11 years ago and should have died. But they saved her. She spent more than a month in the ICU, months in a wheel chair, and many more months with a walker and cane. It's a special day for me because my mom is one of the most wonderful people I've ever known. She's my best friend. She has shown me how to overcome. Her life has gotten harder since her accident because people close to her have forgotten how fragile life is and treat her badly (which breaks my heart), but she keeps going. And I am extra grateful that God spared my mother this day 11 years ago.

I hope you're all doing well and I'll be blog hopping to get some inspiration from all of you talented ladies.