November 22 - FUNdraiser

A couple of months ago Ben and Jodi Archibald approached us about organizing a fundraiser for AJ. The Archibald family moved into our ward in late 2013 and Ben has been serving with John in our ward's Bishopric for the past year. We gratefully accepted their offer and things started to take off! The Archibald's invited everyone to help and the results were amazing!  With permission from Wendy Christensen, I'll share her account, recorded at: wwwlittlemomentsthatmatter.blogspot.com
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Together, we make a difference!

AJ Hunt - November 22nd - Giving a teary 'thank you' to the community!

I was blessed to be part of a planning committee to help put together a community fundraiser for a young man named - AJ Hunt. He was in a horrible car accident in August (on his way to college) and was terribly injured. In fact, it changed his life forever! In an attempt to make a difference for he and his family, an event was created.

We had a group who organized a bake sale ... The community was amazing and we were so touched by the out pour of support. We all worked for weeks to pull this thing together.

We prayed the community would rally with us! At first, we set a goal to raise $3,000 dollars. Then we bumped it up to $10,000. Then we just threw a big number out - we wanted to raise $20,000 for AJ and his family.

We prayed again and went to work!

November 22nd at Jason Lee Elementary in Richland, WA

Our prayers were answered! People showed up all night. The place was packed... you could hardly move. The community rallied with us!

We had hundreds of donations from businesses and community members for our Silent Auction.
It was amazing and touching and SO inspiring!

I couldn't sleep that night just thinking about all that I had seen and been a part of!

We had live music, dinner for the family and good old-fashioned community fun! The real kind ... face-to-face!

It was the best event I've ever had the opportunity to be a part of ...
I attribute it to the sense of love, unity and purpose we all had in uniting to make a difference.

It's one of my favorite holiday moments - similar to George Bailey's Christmas miracle  in -

"It's a Wonderful Life"

Thank you to everyone who helped give hope to AJ Hunt.

The out pour of love and support will never be forgotten!
We created our own community holiday miracle.

More importantly, we made a difference ... together!

Miracles. They happen.

Special thanks to Sara Schilling for her support and coverage in the Tri-City Hearald 

And to Ben and Jodi Archibald for having the idea and vision to pull this entire thing together!

On Twitter & Facebook - #HopeforAJ 
(Thanks to all who helped us share on social media)

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As we entered the parking lot and saw so many cars already there, it was the first time AJ felt nervous since his accident.  You wouldn't have ever guessed it, because the whole night he spent talking and laughing!  Our whole family was part of the party and we relished in connecting with friends from our neighborhood, schools, and church. It felt like the FUN in fundraiser was unstoppable!

It was a humbling and overwhelming experience to feel that much love and good wishes from so many people that have been significant parts of our lives. We left the party filled with happiness and with a renewed energy!

The next day we were floored to find out that the cash on hand from the fundraiser totaled almost $25,000!  These funds will do so much to help provide AJ with the therapy and equipment he needs to make the best recovery possible.  He is committed to working hard in order to achieve the maximum recovery possible!

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*Update 12/15/2014 - John contacted HelpHOPELive for the total amount raised by the fundraiser.  After adding in the credit card donations to the cash on hand, the total raised was $36,000! Amazing! We are being cautious in spending these funds because there are so many things that are so expensive to consider buying.  We'll keep you posted on what AJ decides would be best.

Thank you so much!

November 21 - A Plane Adventure

Note:  Everything is more complicated when you are in a wheelchair.

With a friend's help, we were able to get 2 standby airline tickets so that AJ and I could return home for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the plane to Pasco was full so our choices became: 1. wait for the next flight to Pasco which was in 3 hours, but we were still not guaranteed a seat; or 2. we could get on a plane to Spokane leaving in 30 minutes where John would pick us up. We opted for Spokane and our adventure began!

When a wheelchair bound individual goes through airport security they have to be very thoroughly checked.  Since this was our 2nd time through security that morning, and the same people were still working, I was hoping they'd be a little more lenient, thus a little faster.  But, the procedure was the same so by the time AJ was done we had to run to make it to the gate. (I have to give props to airport security for keeping it safe!)

This is how we were told AJ would board a plane:

1. He is taken before other passengers to get loaded on the plane.
2. He is transferred to a small, narrow chair on wheels that can fit through the isle of the plane.
3. The chair parks next to the isle seat he is sitting in and he is transferred to that chair.
4. Buckle in.
5. After landing, wait for all passengers to unload.
6. He transfers back to the small, narrow chair on wheels.
7. Exits the plane and is transferred back to his own wheelchair.
As Murphy's Law requires, it wasn't quite so smooth.


The passengers had already been loaded on the plane and were waiting for a mechanical problem to be fixed before taking off. Because of this problem the air conditioning was off. As we entered this crowded sauna :), we realized that AJ had been assigned middle chair! What was the possibility that the 2 workers could lift AJ (6'3" 185 lbs) over one person and into a middle chair with passengers seated on both sides and in front and back?  Luckily there was one isle seat further down the plane, so the workers headed for that one. AJ could not help the workers transfer him, but was patient as we all worked to get him into the chair and situated. He was fortunate to be seated by 2 kind women who helped him with his snacks and anything else he needed.  When we landed, these ladies patiently waited as the entire plane unloaded before AJ was transferred to the narrow chair on wheels and taken out. They loved talking with him and might have been willing to adopt him if he needed it! What a blessing to have such good people to be seated by.

John was waiting for us at the airport (in a wheelchair accessible van that a friend of a friend loaned us) and we headed home for AJ's first visit since the accident.

It was awesome to be back! We were welcomed by Bradley and Caleb's fine artwork and by a ramp into the house that was built in a flash by some caring friends. It felt good to be together again!