"Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?" Yes, incidentally, it hurt a lot. My dad, Randy, has always been a bit of a wild man. He's told me plenty of stories over the years of his crazy adventures in his younger years. When he shot off the big canon outside the courthouse in Galesburg, letting the air out of his tires to drive along the train tracks, the infamous getaway to Biloxi. I've heard them all. He's always been a big man, not in size but in spirit, in drive and in humor. Half of who I am, my stubbornness, my charisma, my taste for adventure (and more recently, my love of cooking) is because of him. Unfortunately, once you hit a certain age, some things can knock you down and make it hard to get back up. On May 4th, 2017, my dad fell off the top of a 20 foot ladder, hitting his back on the cross beam of my parents' front porch and his head on the deck. After having tests in Galena, he was flown via helicopter to Rockford, and he's been making jokes with the doctors all the while. He has multiple fractures along his spine and some in his sternum, as well as a small lung puncture (also yesterday he thought it was 1987). Apparently, he's still got some of his signature lucky streak left in him though, and we're hopeful for his recovery. We are grateful that he will heal, but it is unfortunately a long and difficult road ahead and my family is reaching out and seeking help, as insurance likely won't cover all expenses. Once he leaves the ICU, he will begin rehab, and once that finishes up he'll have 6-8 weeks of recovery, during which time he will be unable to work. We are unsure when he'll be able to resume work after that recovery period. Since he is a small business owner and his work contributes the vast majority of my family's household income, this is a big problem for us. My mother is struggling to fill the gap he will temporarily leave behind with the business, and any plans for expansion that would have greatly helped increase our revenue are going to be delayed indefinitely. We ask that you donate anything you are able to help us maintain the business and pay for any uncovered medical costs. In this scary time, literally anything will help. We call on our friends and family to contribute to our fund, to help alleviate the stress of this accident. Thanks for reading, and for donating if you choose to do so.