Corey’s injury and our state of mind.

This is an excerpt from the book I’m writing. I will probably never get it finished, much less published, but maybe it’s more for myself and to be able to look back on our experiences.

Corey’s recent injury has been at the forefront of our minds lately. No it’s not a terminal diagnosis, or anything that severe, its broken bones and torn tendons, but it has been a huge blow to us, financially, mentally and emotionally.

He was walking from his truck to the front door, slipped on black ice, and fell, breaking the tibia and fibula in multiple places, dislocating his ankle bone, and tearing tendons in his ankle. A few days later they did surgery, putting in seven screws and a plate. Some bone fragments they couldn’t set or screw, so they are currently floating, in hopes they will heal on their own. As far as the torn tendons, we won’t know anything until he’s able to walk on that foot. Physical therapy will then determine if he will need to have surgery to repair the tendons. We have been told he will likely need the screw that’s holding the tibia and fibula together removed, will likely have severe arthritis, may need an ankle fusion later in life and could walk with a limp. Again, not life threatening, but it’s not a simple broken bone and healed in six weeks.

Part of the reason this has been such a huge blow to us, is that we were just starting to get back on our feet again, pun intended. Corey had his knee scoped and a back injection three months prior, and we felt we were getting him healthy again and would finally be able to be healed up and wouldn’t have pain interfere with work and hunting. The other part, is that we were getting to a better financial state than we had been in a long time.

In 2015, we lost our house. The house we bought together six days after getting married. The house that we started a family in, grew as a family, healed from shoulder surgeries, cervical cancer, taught our kids how to ride bikes, and the list goes on. I’m not much of a sentimental person, but this house meant the world to me, more than I can express in words.
After losing my job on my maternity leave in 2009, and then again in 2013, we tried everything we could do. Sold stuff, put payments on credit cards, borrowed from family. Without being able to find a job, I started SOS. It was allowing me to have some income, but that was going right out the door for expenses. We got behind on a few mortgage payments, and were never able to catch up. After exhausting all options, we were forced to sell the house in August 2015 as a short sale since we were facing foreclosure.

We have been living in a 900 square foot apartment since. We gave up our dog (thankfully a family member was able to take her so we are able to visit weekly). We gave up a back yard for the kids to play in, we don’t even have a dresser in our bedroom, since SOS has to have a place for paracord. We have made the best of our situation, and are thankful that we have made it through together and have a roof over our heads. But we were so looking forward to moving out and finding at least a rental house, since we are not able to buy yet. 
The sacrifices this family has given up for me to pursue being self-employed are huge. And we were starting to feel like our head was above water again and that we were paying things off; then Corey broke his leg. We are the typical family that cannot survive on one income alone. I’m working 25 hours a week as a secretary for Corey’s road construction company, and putting in another 30 working for SOS, and also being a mom and taking kids to gymnastics, church classes, skate lessons, baseball or whatever sport is going on. I’m tired. I’m exhausted. I started drinking caffeine again, which in turn gave me headaches. Corey’s miserable watching me run around and him not being able to work. But, life goes on and I’m determined to not let this stop us.

I’ve managed my time better this last week, and have a better handle, and am able to try and relax a little bit since we have had such amazing support. I was very reluctant to let Lindsay post the Go Fund Me, I felt like we shouldn’t be asking for help, but we are beyond blessed and honestly can’t wrap our heads around the amount of support we have received. 

I felt like maybe I should explain why this was such a huge hit to us. Maybe I just needed to say thank you again. But from the bottom of our hearts, we are deeply grateful for every word of encouragement, prayer, order placed at SOS, and donation. We have been humbled and shown faith again in humanity.

Thank you.