Help Save Our Farm
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Please help us keep our farmIn 2016 my Army Veteran husband, Gary, and I made the decision to move to the mountains of east Tennessee. Our whole family and all of our animals became poisoned after 15 years living next to a phosphate mine in Florida . We knew it was time to get back to the mountains, find the farm of our dreams, fulfill our goals and regain our health. It was something from a fairy tale when this incredibly beautiful property fell into our laps. It was absolutely a meant to be moment. Without hesitating we packed up the entire ranch: 10 head of our best Miniature Texas Longhorns, Pedigreed Kune Kune Pigs, Exotic Peacocks and other Poultry and a slew of dogs, cats, goats and other critters. Even though it took everything we had to pull it off we knew with certainty that we were being led here for a reason.
The second we stepped onto this 36 acre farm, tucked away in a secluded holler in Parrottsville TN, we knew we were supposed to share it with others. We planned to create a small community for like minded folks, Veterans in particular. Coming from my years of working with Veterans, along with Garys time serving and my family of Air force Veterans, our desire was that of wanting to give back to those who have served our country. In this place we all could work together to help those find the refuge from the world and the peace they seek. A place to heal wounds by working with the land, living in nature surrounded by animals. To have a place where retreats and solitude could occur surrounded by heaven on earth with everyone working together to become as self sufficient as possible.
Almost immediately we encountered hurdles. Jobs that were guaranteed fell through, licensure for my Massage Therapy business of 23 years took an entire year to obtain leaving us with only one income. We found ourselves struggling financially and having to put some of our goals on hold until our lives stabilized. We slowly had to downsize on our livestock as providing feed would soon become an issue. 2 years into it while creating hiking trails on our mountain, Gary began to experience numbness in his legs. Within 4 days he was paralyzed and eventually diagnosed with the horrible Autoimmune disease called, Guillian Barre. We were told it could be years until he walked again. With my brand new business not having a reliable income and he now out of work we were forced into Bankruptcy to keep our farm. Still we were determined to realize our dreams to share our farm with others. We were grateful for the opportunity to keep our home and farm and committed to use the 5 years in the bankruptcy to slowly create our plan. We were blessed that Gary recovered as quickly as he did and was able to return to work later that year. The bankruptcy court would take his entire paycheck each month for our repayment. We would discover that the effects of this auto immune disorder are still becoming apparent to us as time goes on.
In 2020 we started the year with high hopes, until I ended up with a terrible respiratory virus beginning in January that took close to 5 months for me to recover from that I now believe was indeed Covid. As an Asthmatic, I had never experienced a respiratory episode that bad in my entire life. We kept pushing forward, our goals ever in front of us. We had begun our first tiny house and were excited at the prospects this year would bring. I even rescued two equines that were to be shipped the next day to a slaughter house. Then when my business was shut down, as a personal close contact service, for 3 months it once again threw us into financial distress. I found I wasn’t eligible for assistance from the state due to not having a sales tax number, and as an LMT exempt from business tax so I did not have the required Business tax number either. We had to turn to the bankruptcy court and request they temporarily stop taking Gary's entire paycheck for the repayment since my small income we lived on was taken away from me. We were one of the last people we knew to receive a stimulus check and it immediately it was used as Garys car finally had to be replaced after over 300K miles.
When I was allowed to re-open my business it unfortunately did not return to Pre Covid levels. Folks were too scared or too broke to receive massage therapy anymore. I watched my thriving business, now in my 27th year, get reduced to levels I had never anticipated. Then in August Gary was laid off from his job at an Urgent Care where he had been doing 14+ hrs mostly testing Covid patients and providing xrays. For him as a high risk person, auto immune disorder, cardiac patient it was a nerve wracking time for us, but it provided a much needed income. At this time the bankruptcy court contacted us and we were told that not only did we need to pay our monthly balance but needed to add on another $275 per month. This was an impossible task due to the fact that I was holding onto my business by my fingernails at this point and Gary no longer had an income.
The bankruptcy court dismissed our case in September, effectively throwing us to the wolves. We rushed to finish the tiny house and began to ready our farm for sale as we felt we were about to lose everything. We knew at this point the position we were in was we were one accident, illness or injury away from losing it all. It also took 3 months before Gary received any un-employment. By this time he had thankfully found a wonderful job at an Orthopedist office but for a significant pay cut.
We were resolved to do what he had to do to survive and accepted the fact that selling our home and downsizing was our only option. We realized though that we would not be able to get a mortgage since our case was dismissed not discharged. The next shock was with the high sales in the area there were no properties available that wouldn’t take a small fortune to put a tiny house on. We agreed that we needed to fight to save our farm and came up with a plan to split the property and sell the house and tiny house which would then allow us to build on the other half which already had utilities.
We were so excited that we had come up with a solution. But our first setback was also the first step we needed to take. We had to have the property surveyed. We were told each survey would costs thousands of dollars. Yet we were determined to find a way to make it happen and began to get excited we wouldn’t have to really leave our farm, just downsize on it. Our dreams still seemed possible and within reach.
Then this week tragedy struck. Our first snow came after a day of rain. I asked Gary to help me put bedding into all the critters beds to keep them warm. While I was out front he went down the hill to our pigs pasture. There he slipped on the way down in the snow and slick clay. He caught a foot in a root making him fall backwards onto his own leg, breaking two bones. Once I realized he was down there I called 911. Gary laid for over 90 minutes in below freezing temperatures and it took two local fire departments, neighbors and the ambulance drivers to rescue him and get him up the 50' steep slick slope. 7 hours in the ER confirmed his two broken bones and they put a temporary support on his leg and sent us home at 1 am to wait on approval from his cardiac doctor at the VA.
His surgery was scheduled for one week later and would be the first day of his healing journey. That morning he suffered some kind of episode and blacked out. 911 was called and he was rushed to the ER again where the next 10 hours in cardiac AFIB. He was admitted and eventually moved to a room at 2 am. After a CT scan of his heart to rule out any blood clots he is now in surgery to repair his broken leg as I write this. I realize this is the moment I need to swallow my pride, bow my head in humility and ask for help from those in our lives and our community. Up until now I just couldn’t with other folks in even worse shape than we are but Gary will be healing and recovering for the next 4-6 months. Being at a new job he hasn’t been there long enough to earn sick leave or vacation time although they love him and his job seems to be secure for now.
My husband is a patriot who loves his country and serving others. He has survived 3 back surgeries that have caused so much scar tissue that daily he suffers with sciatica running down both legs to his feet. He still has ongoing residual issues from Guillian Barre. Despite all of this, unbelievably he has recently been denied disability. He is non weight bearing and needs complete care so I have missed work almost two weeks now and after barely making my rent for December I fear this may be the last straw for my business. Recently I received a financial gift to help me pay my rent and told that, Its important that I keep working as I need to be able to bring in an income. The care of the entire farm and all our livestock, poultry and daily chores now rest solely upon my shoulders. I know he would do the same for me so I do it all gratefully and with love.
We are asking for help financially so that we don’t lose our farm and to keep my business alive. The we can continue to fight to survive and accomplish our dreams and goals of sharing this beautiful space with those it can help the most. If you can help us achieve this and can offer any donation we are eternally in your debt, and if you cant we still appreciate if you could spread our story as it would really mean more than you know. Thank you for your understanding and god bless.
Sincerely,
Colleen and Gary Cox
Organizer
Colleen Call Cox
Organizer
Parrottsville, TN