Helping the Land Family

As many of you have learned, the Land family encountered an unfortunate setback recently.  Last Thursday evening, while working, Aaron fell 15 feet from the rooftop of a barn.  He attempted to hone in on his cat like reflexes and land on his feet, but unfortunately he was unable to stick the landing.  Needless to say the score is now Tin Roofs 2 and Aaron Land 0 – not that we are keeping count.  With all joking aside, he has sustained some very serious injuries with this fall.  

I have to start his story by thanking his brave eldest daughter and my niece Alexie, who was working with him at the time, for acting fast and immediately running to get help.  Once the ambulance arrived, he was brought to the local hospital in Woodbury where they then airlifted him to Vanderbilt.  Not how he envisioned his first helicopter ride at all!  We, his family and close friends, raced to meet him there.  Once we got there, we couldn’t locate him to get an update.  There started our second wave of panic.  Well, long story short, they didn’t have his ID so they had him registered under Ithica Stat…yes, Ithica is his new nickname, folks.  Once we finally got back to see him, they had assessed the severity of his injuries.  The news wasn’t good.  He had not only broken both of his ankles, but also his shins and shattered his heels.  The doctor told us these were the worst kind of breaks you could have in your legs and the recovery would be long and difficult (approximately 6-9 months).  He then told us that he would more than likely not be able to return to his work trade and that every step from then out would surely be a painful one.  As his wife Tiffany and I looked at each other in horror, the weight and reality of what just happened hit us.  The doctor used the words, “life changing”.  That pretty much summed it all up.  For the husband and father that lay there before us writhing in pain, life had just changed.

This news now weighs heavily upon his family in the wake of his accident.  Aaron has always been a hardworking and dedicated provider for his girls.  It was the reason he was on the roof that day and the hundreds of roofs before that.  It will no doubt be that same determination and stubbornness (oh yes, he is a stubborn one) that will help him get through this situation now and hopefully prove the doctors wrong.

It’s really difficult to ask for help when life gets tough, but sometimes you just can’t recover without assistance.  If you know Aaron, you know he is a generous man and not someone who willingly asks for help.  So, it’s with great humility and hesitation that he granted me permission to even set up this fund.  But, he continues to put his family’s needs in the forefront and happily swallows any pride in asking, for their sake.   

Aaron and Tiffany have a great network of friends and family locally that have already set out to support and help them.  But, the road to recovery is going to be a long one and their financial needs will continue to grow over these next several months.  One way we can ALL help, near and far, is through this page.  Any amount helps and all donations will be put towards the Land family’s overall household expenses; specifically with the completion of their home, of which Aaron was building himself.  

I will continue to update everyone on his progress and let you know the many ways your money is helping them.  Thanks in advance for your support and generosity!