Dear Strut-N-Rut
I can not begin to thank you for making my son's wish to go hunting a reality. Ever since he has shot a turkey, he has not stopped talking about it. He told everyone at church,in the grocery store,at the doctor's office,basically anyone and everyone that would give him two minutes of there time.I have not seen him this excited about anything in such a long time.Trust me I know.You see, Joseph was born with Spina Bifda,a neurological defect in his spine. The skin did not cover the spinal cord and exposed the nerves in his back. The higher up the opening of the defect is the more complications a child has.It causes hydrocephalua in the brain because the cord is constantly being pulled down,so many childern have to have a shunt placed in the brain to drain the excess fluid.The higher the defect would cause the nerves that would control Balance,arm movement,walking talking, bladder control, turning your head,almost any movement to be compromised.Unfortunately, Joseph has a very high defect starting between his shoulder blades.These nerves control breathing, eating, brain function, balance,coordination,and bladder function. When a specialist saw Joseph,he said that Joseph was the worst case he had ever seen.He said that the defect was so high and so many nerves had been damaged that Joesph would not even live long enough to be born. He told us to go home and start planning his funeral and make peace with everything.He then waved his hands in the air and said that if Joseph lived,perhaps a 1in 10,000 chance,that he would never feed himself, drink,crawl,walk,write,laugh,breath on his own,basically never have a normal life as a little boy. Thank goodness God had other plans for Joseph.Currently he is able to do everything that the doctors said he would not be able to do. He attends school, draws pictures,crawls,walks with a walker, eats like any other 8 year old boy, and has the faith for his healing that is awesome to watch.Saying all that Joseph has not been without a series of medical problems. He has had to endure 8 surgeries, countless doctor's appointments,every test known to man,more MRI's than a normal person will have in a entire lifetime,at least 150 days in the hospital,and has to be on oxygen and monitors at night because his brain forgets how to breath,a condition know as central apnea.He has to be careful around sick children because his immune system is compromised. A cold to me or you is a nuisance, a cold for him could be life threatening, because of the central apnea that he has the doctor wanted to remove part of his vertebra in his neck to give the brain stem more room. And that is where you came in at.The doctors were telling us that if during this surgery,nicked the brain stem, Joseph would instantly die. The other surgeries he had did not do what they had hoped it would in helping with his central apnea and bladder issues, this surgery was sort of a last ditch effort to try to help the brain help itself.So right before the very intense surgery, you guys came to me and asked if you could take Joseph hunting. Honestly, I think that was an answer to a prayer, Joseph was already very nervous about the upcoming surgery and was very anxious about the possibility of dying.One morning we sat in bed after Greg had gone to work and talked about Heaven.He wanted to know all about it and would it hurt, would he see angels would he be able to walk normal and breath without having to be connected to a machine? I answered all of his questions he had, but have to tell you that talking to your 8 year old about the possibility of dying is a very surreal experience,and one that I would not wish on anyone.But then you guys came in and it totally took his mind off the surgery.He would wake up in the middle of the night and ask, 'Is today the day I get to go hunting? 'Will I get to shoot my turkey today?' I would laugh and tell him not today, you still have three more days left. This hunt gave him purpose and a event to look forward to.The day of the hunt,Joseph woke up very early,and in a very whispered voice asked me,'Mom you awake?Can I get ready?Is Dad ready?Do you think the turkeys are already out there? Will I get to shoot a bazooka today? When will we get to eat it?Do I get to wear camouflage and hat? Although this conversation was too cute,it was also 3:00 in the morning.After the hunt the family,neighbors,church people,nurses,teachers,friends,and complete strangers heard every moment of the day.Compete detail of how the leaves sound,the sound of the turkeys,what they looked like,how they had to be quiet,how they shoot the gun,how much blood there was, what his neck looked like after being shot,how many feathers there were,details were endless.We heard it so often that we could all tell the story just like him. Five days later he went into the hospital to have his intense surgery. His last words before he went under was about this turkey shoot. It was also one of the things he talked about when he woke up. We hung pictures of the day in his room and everyone that came in got an ear full of turkey hunting.He told nurses,doctors,lab tech,x-ray tech,even the food lady delivering his meals.I can't help but think that this turkey hunt helped not only divert his attention away from the surgery,but I also think that this turkey hunt helped him heal much faster than he probably would have if had not been for the hunt.Not to mention that it made a little boy feel "normal" for one day and not the child that is known for being disabled.Thanks you again for going out of your way to make this day so special for Joseph.It did all of us so much good to see Joseph so happy.I hope and pray that you will be blessed with the ability to take many more children with special needs on these hunts.The world needs more people like you.Thanks again for everything,your kindness and generosity was greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Stacy Guthrie
Mother of Joseph Guthrie
