Hello, dearest loved ones. I come to you with such a heavy heart to ask something no one ever wants to ask.

On Wednesday, April 27, at 64, we tragically lost my father-in-law, Tom Norris.

But this story doesn't start there. This story started seven days before Matt and I's wedding in 2018 when Tom was in a catastrophic accident at work. After being taken to the hospital via ambulance, we soon learned that Tom had no feeling from the neck down and was diagnosed with a severe spinal cord injury and was essentially paralyzed. He was hospitalized for a week at Abbott Northwest and then transferred to Courage Kenny, where he stayed in their care for another two weeks. Through many painstaking hours of rehabilitation, Tom gained mobility back in his extremities and relearned how to do everything we take for granted. Walk, eat, stand up, sit down, open doors, literally everything. He was able to come home on Thanksgiving Day and start the process of learning how life would be.

At that time, none of us realized how different Tom was after the accident. He had little to no feeling in his hands and legs and limited neck mobility. It was a long journey to get him halfway back to normal. In March of 2019, Tom's Nero surgeon ordered him to have a spinal fusion to protect him from injuring his spinal cord further. 6 months after his surgery, Tom was allowed to return to work part-time. Tom had always hoped to drive a forklift again and return to work full time, but he could never do so with his new limited abilities and general lessened stamina.

When Tom returned to work, he earned less money than he did on his workmens comp. But that's who Tom was; he wouldn't give up on being a provider for his wife and a contributing member of society, even though working was HARD.

Since Tom's accident happened at work, there was a Workman's Comp claim that did aid in making ends meet initially. In early 2020 as the world unraveled, so did Tom's Workmans Comp. And the fight to receive benefits became a full-time job for Barb.

With Tom only working part-time and Barb unable to work due to her RA and FM, the bills were piling up. In addition, every time Tom had to go to one of his MANY doctor's appointments, Workman's comp did not pay. Attending these necessary appointments resulted in hundreds of hours of unpaid time he should have been compensated for, and Tom lost hours of PTO, stocks, and 401k benefits. To get some help, Barb and Tom hired a Workman's comp lawyer to start a case to try to reclaim his losses.

The day Tom died, his death effectively ended any possibility for Barb to recoup any of these losses. Tom was also the carrier of their insurance, and as I write this, I am learning she will lose her insurance tomorrow. The punches keep on coming. And really, all of this, doesn't even feel like half of it.

But in reality, for Barb, Matt, Sarah and myself, all of that is nothing compared to the actuality of losing Tom. They are left without a piece of their whole world, and I know no sum of money can ever ease that pain.

My wish for them is that we as a community can rally behind them and help ease some of this burden.

Sincerely, with all my love and gratitude, Jannae.