One Leg
02-11-2011, 15:13
I wanted to first say "Hello" to my old friends here at White Blaze. It seems as though it has been forever since I've been on here. Much has happened in my life that has necessitated a change in priorities and direction for me.
As a means of updating you, I guess I should start with my precious wife, Leisa. Some of you may recall her as being "overweight", the 'proper medical term' for that would be "morbidly obese". Back in August of 2008, she underwent Gastric Bypass surgery - in the beginning, she had a very rough time, and it was very questionable during the first 3 days post-op whether or not she was going to live. She had some massive internal bleeding, which the source thereof could not be determined. She finally was able to come home after a couple of weeks in the hospital, and was relegated to living 24/7 in a recliner in our bedroom. She had numerous drainage tubes coming from her abdominal region, and had a very rough go of it for many months. I am very proud to be able to report to you that she's gone from a high of 307# down to the high 140's - I am very immensely proud of her. Her energy levels have quadrupled, and she no longer has to stop to catch her breath when doing something as simple as going to the mailbox. Completely all of her previous medical problems have totally disappeared since she dropped the weight, and in fact, she has far more vast amounts of energy than I do.
My oldest son, Tyler (known as "M & M" on the trail) recently celebrated his 20th birthday, as well as his 3rd anniversary in the Tn National Guard. He returned this past July from serving his first tour of duty in Iraq, and is presently attempting to merge with the first available Guard unit deploying overseas. He's been unable to secure civilian employment, needs money to get his own life jump-started, and sees deployment as his only means to do so at this point.
On 09 May 2009, I was involved in an accident that very nearly resulted in the end of my life. I was operating a 1972 Harley Sportster, was less than 2 miles from my own home, when a Chrysler minivan coming in the opposite direction drifted over the center line and struck me head-on. The results of that were not pretty at all: The impact threw me over the handlebars, headfirst into her windshield, knocking me out. My body then flew over the top of the van, landing some 30' behind the van, in a standing-position, my artificial leg striking the ground first. The impact of that caused the "socket" of my prosthetic leg to drive up and into my pelvis, shattering everything in its path.
Apologies for being so graphic and descriptive, but that's exactly how it happened. The result was that I had a left fractured wrist, bilateral fractured shoulders, all of the ribs on my right side were fractured, and my pelvis was essentially obliterated.
In the time since the accident, I have been unable to walk. I am hoping to remedy that situation over the course of the remainder of this month, as well as next month. It remains unknown as to whether or not I'll ever be able to walk again - but I am going to give it my best effort to do so. Failure doesn't necessitate the "end of the world" as I know it. It'll just be viewed as another obstacle that I will learn to live with, compensate for, and continue to move forward with my life.
Having said all of that, I would like to take the time to invite y'all to come to The Rock School during this year's annual Trail Days. On Friday, May 13th from 5 - 6pm, I will be delivering what may be my final presentation about my hike, as well as other aspects of my life. My family will accompany me, so you'll get to see them as well! I very sincerely hope that y'all are able to come, as I would dearly love to see long-lost friends and members of my hiking family. (Jaybird, would you mind coming if you can?)
Thank you for allowing me the time to share here. I apologize for the lengthiness of my post, but hope that it's succeeded in bringing you up-to-date on me and my life.
Before I forget - It's been long rumored that I was "writing a book". That rumor is hopefully going to become a reality this year, as I have finally located someone with more knowledge than I when it relates to writing. He's agreed to co-author the book with me, which will not just entail particulars surrounding my hike, but basically will be the history of my life up to this point. I hope that it will not be a book that will be considered as "boring to read" - but I do know that it will be a rather lengthy book (somewhere around 300 pages), as there is a lot to share that I want printed.
Peace, Love, and Happy Trails to all of you!
Scotty "One-Leg" Rogers
Philippians 4: 11-13
As a means of updating you, I guess I should start with my precious wife, Leisa. Some of you may recall her as being "overweight", the 'proper medical term' for that would be "morbidly obese". Back in August of 2008, she underwent Gastric Bypass surgery - in the beginning, she had a very rough time, and it was very questionable during the first 3 days post-op whether or not she was going to live. She had some massive internal bleeding, which the source thereof could not be determined. She finally was able to come home after a couple of weeks in the hospital, and was relegated to living 24/7 in a recliner in our bedroom. She had numerous drainage tubes coming from her abdominal region, and had a very rough go of it for many months. I am very proud to be able to report to you that she's gone from a high of 307# down to the high 140's - I am very immensely proud of her. Her energy levels have quadrupled, and she no longer has to stop to catch her breath when doing something as simple as going to the mailbox. Completely all of her previous medical problems have totally disappeared since she dropped the weight, and in fact, she has far more vast amounts of energy than I do.
My oldest son, Tyler (known as "M & M" on the trail) recently celebrated his 20th birthday, as well as his 3rd anniversary in the Tn National Guard. He returned this past July from serving his first tour of duty in Iraq, and is presently attempting to merge with the first available Guard unit deploying overseas. He's been unable to secure civilian employment, needs money to get his own life jump-started, and sees deployment as his only means to do so at this point.
On 09 May 2009, I was involved in an accident that very nearly resulted in the end of my life. I was operating a 1972 Harley Sportster, was less than 2 miles from my own home, when a Chrysler minivan coming in the opposite direction drifted over the center line and struck me head-on. The results of that were not pretty at all: The impact threw me over the handlebars, headfirst into her windshield, knocking me out. My body then flew over the top of the van, landing some 30' behind the van, in a standing-position, my artificial leg striking the ground first. The impact of that caused the "socket" of my prosthetic leg to drive up and into my pelvis, shattering everything in its path.
Apologies for being so graphic and descriptive, but that's exactly how it happened. The result was that I had a left fractured wrist, bilateral fractured shoulders, all of the ribs on my right side were fractured, and my pelvis was essentially obliterated.
In the time since the accident, I have been unable to walk. I am hoping to remedy that situation over the course of the remainder of this month, as well as next month. It remains unknown as to whether or not I'll ever be able to walk again - but I am going to give it my best effort to do so. Failure doesn't necessitate the "end of the world" as I know it. It'll just be viewed as another obstacle that I will learn to live with, compensate for, and continue to move forward with my life.
Having said all of that, I would like to take the time to invite y'all to come to The Rock School during this year's annual Trail Days. On Friday, May 13th from 5 - 6pm, I will be delivering what may be my final presentation about my hike, as well as other aspects of my life. My family will accompany me, so you'll get to see them as well! I very sincerely hope that y'all are able to come, as I would dearly love to see long-lost friends and members of my hiking family. (Jaybird, would you mind coming if you can?)
Thank you for allowing me the time to share here. I apologize for the lengthiness of my post, but hope that it's succeeded in bringing you up-to-date on me and my life.
Before I forget - It's been long rumored that I was "writing a book". That rumor is hopefully going to become a reality this year, as I have finally located someone with more knowledge than I when it relates to writing. He's agreed to co-author the book with me, which will not just entail particulars surrounding my hike, but basically will be the history of my life up to this point. I hope that it will not be a book that will be considered as "boring to read" - but I do know that it will be a rather lengthy book (somewhere around 300 pages), as there is a lot to share that I want printed.
Peace, Love, and Happy Trails to all of you!
Scotty "One-Leg" Rogers
Philippians 4: 11-13