Dear Editor,
I know we have said it before but we, Russell and Sue Hodge, cannot thank enough all the people who have done so much for us over the last seven weeks. Since my husband (AKA Captain Barnacles) had his accident, which left him with a broken shoulder, 11 broken ribs and a broken leg, we have been overwhelmed with the kindness of our community. From Tom and Alison’s tyre shop, the Mennonite community, the hospital staff, to complete strangers asking about Russell’s health – the concern has been amazing.
Since Russell has had gate leave from hospital, we have gone out for dinner quite a lot and I do not think we paid for ourselves once. When time gets tough, the good seems to be a very natural response in our small town of Canowindra.
Russ will be coming home permanently from the hospital this week, but there is still a long road of recovery. His shoulder socket area was badly broken in the crash and will take a long time to mend, the same goes with his leg. Russ has only one leg so the specialist doctor from Orange said if he does not wish to have permanent damage in his only leg, he has to take it slow.
The next challenge for him is to endure my driving for the next five months while his licence has been suspended. After that, we need to put some serious thought into what to do about our tour business. Has Captain Barnacles been sunk or will he sail again? Stay tuned!
We have tried to keep up our thanks to all who have done so much for us, but I know I have missed some, so I just hope you know how much we appreciate all who have helped and we pray God will bless you for your kindness.
Thanks again. As you can see from the photo, Russell’s grandson Sebastian was very happy to see him hail and hardy.