Life Keeps Rolling

I’ll start this Monday’s post with a quote: “you are the company that you keep.” If this saying rings true, then Kass and I must be pretty damn cool. If you have been on Facebook or Instagram at all this last week then you’ve probably seen some sweet pictures of Kass and I’s getaway to Maine. We applied for a veterans retreat through the Travis Mills Foundation months and months ago and it was easily the best decision that I’ve made since becoming injured. I don’t intend on going into crazy detail regarding Staff Sergeant Travis Mills simply because of the fact that it isn’t my story to tell. What I can say is that the essence of self pride and motivation that this man gives off is extremely infectious and profound and what he does for the veteran and disabled community is unreal. SSG Mills was a Squad Leader with the 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan and was hit by an IED leaving him one of five surviving quadruple amputees. His story of perseverance and drive is extremely humbling and

Hi guys! My name is Alexis and I’m Jake’s fiancé. We’ve been together since 2013, which was a little after Josh left for the military. My brother, Nick, had left for the military in 2012 so I knew what it was like to have a brother leave the comfort of Hudson, NH to protect our freedom. It’s a scary feeling but makes you proud at the same time. Although Jake didn’t know why his brother choose to go in at that time, I did. Just like my brother, Josh would strive in the military.  Not only did our brothers serve the army but they were both Rangers which is an elite unit in the United States Military that performs special operations. Basically they have three battalions of tough men and woman that jump out of airplanes and know a shit ton about guns. I thought it was the coolest thing that both of our brothers surpassed the intense training and earned the status of an Army Ranger. My memories of Josh include his basic training picture that was on top of the Keller’s TV console. He looked

I have said it before and I will say it again, complacency is bad. It can ruin relationships and can reap havoc on your mental health. I find myself working my way out of bad habits constantly. Being cooped up inside on beautiful days. Eating poor choices in food and skipping workouts. But my worst bad habit that I adopted post-injury was saying no. “Do you want to meet us for dinner?”. “Want to go to the movies?” “Want to go out back and relax with me and the dog?”. No, no, no.  I had become so self conscious and anxious about my injury. I dreaded things that I used to love simply because I couldn’t do them right or had to try them differently. I was afraid that something would medically happen to me while I was out in the public and I would be embarrassed because of it. As much as I preached about taking pride in my situation and owning this injury, I still cared about what people thought. I would get embarrassed if my chair made a noise in church or if I had to recline my wheelchair