From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

As most of you know, my children (Taylor..age 11, and Ryan...age 8) and I were in a serious accident on April 8th. Hannah and Jenny (team 234) printed off the post of well wishes from the FIRST family and I have to say...it meant so much to us!

As my wonderful friend Ken Leung, has pointed out, keep things in perspective in life! I have had to learn this the hard way. I have had to watch Taylor go through two surgeries to repair her intestines and see her in so much pain on a daily basis. I have had two surgeries myself in the past two weeks. I have had to watch my son go through a lot of emotional pain. And, I have had to watch my husband, Scott (234), run from one hospital room to another to do what he can to take care of his family. I have learned that life is short and you cannot take anything for granted. You think nothing will ever happen to you...and within just seconds, it all changes.

For now, we are simply just trying to get through each day and continue to pray for healing. However, we know that in the long run all will be well and these injuries will heal. God has been good to us and we are so thankful.

The FIRST family is amazing and I cannot say thank you enough to all of you for your support, prayers, thoughts, well wishes, flowers, gifts, "get well Taylor" pins, etc. Wildstang...you guys probably wouldn't know my daughter if you saw her walking down the street. Even though Taylor's mom runs team 393 and her dad runs team 234...her favorite team has always been 111! :) She loves your shirts! Dan Green was kind enough to send a team shirt home to Taylor via David Kelly. Taylor's eyes truly lit up when David pulled that shirt out for her. She has it hanging in her hospital room! Little things like that have meant the world to all of us and it just goes to show you how many wonderful people there are in FIRST!

Thank you all so much for all you have done during this really difficult time in our lives. We appreciate it all so very much!! And to the parent crew/engineers of team 234 and 393...along with David Kelly and Sarah Everhart....thank you so much for all of your kindness and help!

I hope everyone is able to now get some sleep now that it's all over for the year...and make sure you mark your calendars for IRI!! The Ritchie family will be there with walkers and wheelchairs...ready for another GREAT competition!! :)

THANK YOU!!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Libby I am glad to hear things are working out for you guys, I knew they would. Good luck on a speedy recovery, and I hope too see you guys real soon. IRI will be a blast, as always. You guys are still in my thoughts.

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

I think that's both the most depresssing and the most uplifting thing I've read on CD to date.

It's great to know that you're all recovering, though. I've got no idea what our plans are yet, but I'd love to have 818 return to IRI this year simply for the sake of seeing you again.

Keep us updated, and keep bringing us good news. :)

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Oh Libby I am so thrilled to hear you all are doing better. I was waiting for an update from you all personally to see how you were. Thank God you're all okay now. Be sure to keep us all posted on Taylor, yourself and Ryan! I think many of us want to know specifically what to keep in our prayers...

Thank you for posting, it really has lifted my spirits.

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

I'm so glad you and your family are recovering! I'll be sure to pass on the word to my team. On behalf of the West Lafayette/ Lafayette community, get well soon and stay healthy!

We're thinking of you.

Sincerely,
Genia Gabrielov

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Its GREAT to hear that you guys are doing better. It was a great thing that 234 handed out "Get Well Taylor" buttons. If we saw a drive team with out the buttons on we either gave them some that we had, or them to get some on. You guys were sorely missed at nationals. But look at it this way, we can make IRI like nationals for you guys! :D :D I hope you guys all heal up ok, take care!

Sincerely, Kyle Love

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Libby!

Get well soon and God bless from our teams to yours!

Ellery & the whole Xerox FIRST program (191 X-CATS, 1126 SparX, 1450 XQ Robotics)

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

I've got some GREAT news! Taylor was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon and is now back 'home' staying with all the family at her aunts house. She is doing very well as well as the rest of the family. There is still a long road to recovery for the family and they are going to need the continued support from everybody! Thank you for all that everybody has done for this awesome family. I know they greatly appreciated it and it means a lot to them!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

That's WONDERFUL to hear!! :D Thanks for keeping us up to date!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

GREAT news to hear, thanks for keeping us up to date David!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

this just makes my day!! thanks for keeping the cd community updated!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Good to hear! The Ritchies are still in our prayers!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Awesome to hear!!! :)

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

This is the best thing I've heard in an otherwise crappy day!! Thanks for the update, and I'm still praying!!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

So fantastic to hear that things are looking up for your family Libby. You guys have gone through so much, I'm just waiting for the good stuff to shower down on you!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

What wonderful news to hear! Thank you so much Dave for that great report. I was hoping to hear something soon.

To the Ritchie Family: You're in my prayers. You're doing so well, and your spirits seem to always be up. Keep it going, and stick together. That's the only way to get through this. Taylor, I'm so thrilled to hear you're doing well. Stay strong you guys!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

I'm so glad things are working out! I knew they would, but just see the rest through. I <3 the Ritchie Family and I know my life has had a serious impact from them. You will continue to be in my thoughts.

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

This news is great to here that things are improving I am so happy for you Ritchie Family God bless. I also enjoyed meeting some of the students and mentors on 234 at UCF. Thank you for being so involved with FIRST all your hard work is greatly appreciated. Good luck with everything in the future.

God bless,
Drew Dis bury
The Tech Tigers Team# 1251

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Thanks for the update Dave.
Please pass on our good wishes for more better days ahead.
Al

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

I am so glad that you all are healing and feeling better. The great thing about FIRST was that I saw so many teams stepping up and taking the initiative to help: from giving team get well cards to having team fundraisers to help. While this was definitely a horrible series of events for you, it truly showed the gracious professionalism of FIRST. Even "gracious professionalism" is too weak a word for this effort. It was pure compassion. This compassion separates true heroes from the rest of society, and those who organized the multiple fundraisers, cards, and gifts were true heroes.

So to sum it up, I am still praying that the Ritchie family gets well, and I would also like to thank FIRST for making true heroes and role models of society.

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

You are right. The FIRST family is incredible. We have been so overwhelmed by the kindness of so many people and teams! Words cannot express our gratitude to all that have been there for us and have done so many nice things for our family. We can never repay you all for what you have done. In addition to other teams, we have been impressed with the kindness of both Dean and Woody. They both have called us on seperate occasions to see if we were ok and to just let us know that they have been thinking of us. They practice what they preach in that they aren't just the "face" of FIRST, they care about those in the FIRST family and go beyond the building of robots. FIRST is definitely more than that. The robots are a vehicle that have brought so many good people together as friends.

As an update, we are moving into our rental house this weekend and we have Taylor home! Things are looking up!

I hope to see many of you at the IRI in July!!

Thanks again!

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

It's SO GOOD, TO HEAR GOOD NEWS

Re: From the Ritchie Family...THANK YOU!
 

Ritchie Family,

If you guys need any help moving around your stuff or an extra truck to move it around in, don't be afraid to ask me, I'm always up for a road trip! I know of a few 45ers that would be willing to help out in any way you guys need also. (including myself) Take care!
-Kyle