My Story
I was raised on a
ranch in southeast Oregon that raised horses, cattle, and sheep
along with a few pigs for our own use, several milk cows, and
chickens for eggs. Doing
chores morning and evening was a part of growing up.
The ranch was the last
in our area to use draft horses to put up hay in the summer and feed
it in the winter. My
first job in the hayfield was driving a dump rake for half a day.
By the time I entered high school I could do a day’s work
alongside the rest of the crew.
Responsibility and how to work was learned early in life.
I graduated from high
school, ending my formal education, and worked on the ranch most of
the time for the next 15 years.
I did spend a little time working on ranches in Texas,
Arizona, Montana, and Nevada.
I got married and had a daughter and in the late eighties I
decided to leave the ranch.
My wife and I bought a
small place to run a few cows on and I taught myself to make
furniture. Then started
my own shop. My family
grew with the birth of a son. A
few years later my ex asked for a divorce.
We split the property and sold most of it.
I kept two acres and the house.
I had my kids every other week.
The rest of the
nineties were rough for me.
I struggled with depression and worked odd jobs.
I became an advocate for mental health issues and a part of
what is now called the Idaho Behavioral Health Planning council.
I testified in front of legislative
committees which led to being asked to speak at psychiatric nursing
classes at BSU and Psychology classes at the College of Idaho.
I wrote newsletters, websites and did a directory for mental
health services in the Treasure Valley of Idaho.
Most was volunteering.
Around 2000 I decided
I needed to find a job providing a service or product everyone
needed. One I could feel
good about even if I did not like it.
I put an application in at the local grocery store and was
hired. I was employed
there until July 2015.
In the first of August 2015 I was accepted for SSDI.
Over the last eight
years I have traveled a little, stayed with relatives and in RV
parks. I have remained
active playing tennis, riding an electric bike, walking, visiting
gyms and attended a respiratory therapy class.
From 2015 to 2018 it was becoming more difficult to remain
active, the only portable oxygen I had was an Inogen One G3 portable
oxygen concentrator and it did not come close to meeting my needs.
In 2018 I got a
Respironics UltraFill system where I could fill the supplied tanks.
It took me 16 to 18 hours to fill them and three to four
hours to empty them when playing tennis, riding my bike, and other
high energy activities.
With higher flows I was able to be more active for several hours a
day, but still not getting the oxygen I needed.
In 2020 I bought an
Eclipse 5 luggable POC, a liquid oxygen reservoir and portable to go
with it. In 2022 I
found a steady source of liquid oxygen that was affordable for me
and became able to get the oxygen I needed.
Over the last eight
years I have learned how to get the oxygen I need, learned how to
use it and am able to move around more easily in 2023 than I could
in 2014. And my health
has improved.
Corralling horses in the 80s
We also had sheep
2018 Lewiston Xmas lights with my daughter and grandchildren