How quickly things change.

I was just having coffee this morning and getting ready to send my brother Jan (The other Hoop) pictures of the trout I caught yesterday when my cell rings. It is my daughter from Harwinton asking if anybody has called me yet. After just burying my wifes mother less than a month ago and my mother at 94 I asked "What happened to mom?"

Then the BOMB came!!!

My brother Jan was cutting a branch yesterday and it snapped, hit his ladder, and he hit the ground about 20 feet below. Don't know if the branch came down on him or what happene. He was taken to the hospital and transfered to Hartford hospital trama unit. The calls have been comming in all day keeping me updated. So far he broke all his ribs or at least broke both rib cages, has a colapsed lung, a ruptured spleen, a broken clavical, and durring the surgery to stop the internal bleeding the found he has CANCER in his kidney. He is not on a breathing machine at this time just oxygen and is having a very hard time breathing. He is not paralised.

I am booked solid till next Wednesday and there is nothing I can do for him but sit in the hospital so I will not be running up at this time. He will be in the trama unit for at least 5 more days unless something changes. I have put everybody (all my customers for the next 7 days) on notice that I may have to pull the plug and run at any given moment but for now it will be just contact by phone with the family. When you live 1700 miles away you have to suck it up and adjust.

Just wanted to vent and share a little. Wish my brother could bounce back as well as I but even though we are brothers I don't see that happening and his injuries are not looking good. Another bump in the road.

My heart and prayers are with you Jan!