It Takes a Village

Randi and Jeanette working the soil around the Airbnb

Last week I was in a dark place and wrote about the ‘unimaginable’ and how well I wasn’t coping… this week is about hope, and friendship and community.

Andy and I live on East Orchard Mesa off the Fruit and Wine Byway in Palisade, Colorado. Over the last year and a half, we have made many friends that also live along the Byway which is the main road that runs through East Orchard Mesa. Give our locations, Andy and I often joked about sending up a signal when one of us needs wine. Being the movie geeks that we are we liken it to when the Mineola fires were lit in the movie The Lord of the Rings. Many of our friends didn’t know the reference but Andy and I liked it and it  was our running joke… until March, 4th, 2025.

Once I arrived at the emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, I sent out a distress call metaphorically lighting the Mineola fires via text saying it’s not wine that is needed it is prayers, and that Andy had a stroke. Our friends, my Rohan warriors, immediately came to my aid. Even now I cry when I think about how quickly they were at my side. Randi was the first to arrive and helped me process what the surgeon was telling me, I was numb, probably in shock. Jeannette arrived next. They sat with me while we waited and came with me when they finally wheeled Andy into ICU. As the hours passed others arrived, Laurie and Roger, Stephanie, Scott, Laura and Gary. They brought food, change of clothes, love and reassurance when I needed it most. And they talked to Andy, bantered with him as his wonderful sense of humor remained strong. I’m honestly not sure how I would have made it those first few days without the love and kindness and compassion shown by our friends, my Rohan warriors.

I reached out to everyone I could think of that knew Andy and asked for their prayers, I’m a huge believer in the power of prayer and I knew (know) Andy would need every single one of them to get through this life changing event. To help provide a place for people to get updates, Randi set up a Caring Bridge page and posts updates as they come in. As Andy’s condition started to stabilize the realization of the potential damage that had occurred to his body and brain started to set in, this was then followed by worrying about our financial situation, Andy was the main bread winner. My little salary from teaching and Palisade Posh, paled in comparison to what he earned. I’ve heard of horror stories where families lost everything due to mounting medical bills. Would Andy still have his job once he recovered, what would his recovery look like? Would we lose our ‘Forever Home’ that we both love so much, would we have to sell the farm? As each day passed in ICU these worries turned into genuine fear and I was starting to steal myself to the possibility that yes all that would go way and Andy wouldn’t have a home to come home to… Seeing my growing concern, Jeanette set up a GoFundMe account and started reaching out to folks and they responded. We even had an anonymous donor offer to match up to $5,000 in donations over the course of several days. It was truly amazing. Jeanette also helped me navigate all the HR medical, FAMLI etc… paperwork I had to fill out for Andy and helped me get the Power of Attorney paperwork in order and signed. All this was so foreign to me. Andy and I always worked as a team and now with my team mate down I was being both Andy and Kim… so much to figure out it was overwhelming.  But with the Caring Bridge in place, the GoFundMe doing its magic, the paperwork completed and most importantly Andy’s recovering moving in the right direction. I was starting to feel some of the fear subside. Of course, then the realization of all the projects Andy and I had going at the farm and that we were now coming into planting season, other worries started to weigh heavily on my mind. It was one thing after another nonstop.

Gary Leading the Grass project surrounding the Airbnb

And again, my friends rallied, I am so blessed to be a part of this amazing Palisade community and so grateful to have such wonderful friends! This time our friends are helping me complete the many different projects Andy and I were working on around the farm. We had finished the hardscape around the Airbnb and were about to start on the grass when Andy went down. With the arrival of spring and bookings at our Airbnb on the rise, this project was always in the back of my mind while I was also focusing on Andy’s recovery. Our friends knew this and stepped in to help! This past weekend more friends came over to help around the property fixing doors and tending to yard work. This then allowed me to focus on the Posh Market Garden and getting the soft fruit section in order. This part of the garden is the new addition this year and I’m only halfway finished making the raised beds, the irrigation is run but I need to finish connecting it to the drip system and of course then there is the actual planting of the fruit which arrived while Andy was in St Mary’s.  Our little place is only two acres but we have a lot going on and my hope is that I can keep it going so that when Andy finally returns home he will have something beautiful to return to and functioning and growing as it should. My gratitude and deep appreciation of our friends’ kindness and love cannot be expressed enough! Andy and I are so luck to live in Palisade and to be a part of this incredible village we call home!