For your Tuesday evening plans, here’s an option that will take care of your dinner, your civic duty and your generous heart.
The First Christian Church is having a fund-raising dinner to help a neighbor. Luther’s Josh Pridemore as he recovers from an August motorcycle accident.
Turns out there is also a Town Board meeting Tuesday night. So you can grab a taco at First Christian’s Fellowship Hall beginning at 5:30, take part in the raffle fundraising and then head over to the Senior Center for the meeting that won’t be public until about 8pm. The Town board is meeting for two hours in executive session to give 15-minute interviews for eight police chief applicants.
You could also watch the meeting on The Luther Register’sFB page. But definitely get your tacos and pay for it with the money in your pockets, and then some more if you have it. (It’s a love offering for the food!).
It’s another in a series of community events the First Christian Church is having to help their fellow neighbors whether or not they attend the congregation. Josh’s mom, Tracy Pridemore, says the family is grateful.
Josh soon after his August accident with sister Tiffani.
“We feel truly blessed by all the love and support from the community. From DJ’s Barbecue putting on the benefit and the buckets around town of people dropping extra change has helped tremendously with Josh’s bills. We were able to pay August and September bills for Josh so he wouldn’t have to move out of his home.
And now this fundraiser at the Christian Church to help us with October along with support from us he will get through October with only having to worry about getting better and better. The medial bills are pilling up but we cannot worry about that right now. Our main concern is getting Josh back to as close as we can to 100% and making sure he has what he needs on a daily basis,” said Tracy Pridemore.
The road to recovery is long but has been filled with blessings … and miracles. When the prognosis seemed grim, Josh would pull through defying the odds and impressing everyone. Tracy said it’s been a faith-building and faith-leaning season for their lives, particularly as the medical bills mount for Josh’s initial hospitalization, and ongoing rehabilitation.
“We are really leaning on our faith that God will provide as he has been so far. It is amazing how far we have come with Josh. From the first day in the hospital seeing him there with all the tubes and being unable to communicate with him was heart wrenching. You have so many emotions and feel so helpless but we were held up by all the prayers from the community as well as all over the United States. Josh was on so many prayer chains and still is.
She said Josh went back to work last week and will have surgery in November to address an aneurysm.
Josh on the road to recovery. Now back to work, he is in therapy and working on memory issues.
“He still has some deficiencies although he doesn’t think he does and we as his parents know him better than anyone and can see them quickly. His memory at times is not good and he has forgotten a lot of people he once knew. One story that I can share that is pretty hard for us is with his nephew Brantley, my daughter’s oldest son who is six years old. Josh and Brantley were so close. Josh would take him on Friday day adventures to the movies and Chili’s all the time (and buy him a toy at Walmart). That was their thing and Josh doesn’t remember that at all and the bond they had is not the same. So it is hard for all of us to see and heartbreaking to Brantley. We just have to remind him that Uncle Josh has a broken head and it will take time for it to heal. So we are learning our new normal with Josh. We have witnessed many miracles with him.
From the couple who exited the turnpike two exits early to save my son, the doctors and nurses who tended to him in the hospital, the therapist who helped him learn to walk, step up stairs, and all the prayers. So many many that one day I need to share.
We are not members of the Christian church although we are very familiar with it so many family and friends as well as our daughter got married at that church. The love from both Brother Derek at the First Baptist Church and Brother Melton from the Christian Church with continuous contact with us about Josh has been amazing!! And all the prayers! We cannot even begin to give back the love that has been shown to Josh and our family. I could go on and on. We are blessed to be a part of this community and we are so thankful for all the continued prayers for our son.”
All of the funds donated Tuesday night go straight to the family.
“We are really leaning on our faith that God will provide as he has been so far. It is amazing how far we have come with Josh. From the first day in the hospital seeing him there with all the tubes and being unable to communicate with him was heart wrenching. You have so many emotions and feel so helpless but we were held up by all the prayers from the community as well as all over the United States. Josh was on so many prayer chains and still is.
“He still has some deficiencies although he doesn’t think he does and we as his parents know him better than anyone and can see them quickly. His memory at times is not good and he has forgotten a lot of people he once knew. One story that I can share that is pretty hard for us is with his nephew Brantley, my daughter’s oldest son who is six years old. Josh and Brantley were so close. Josh would take him on Friday day adventures to the movies and Chili’s all the time (and buy him a toy at Walmart). That was their thing and Josh doesn’t remember that at all and the bond they had is not the same. So it is hard for all of us to see and heartbreaking to Brantley. We just have to remind him that Uncle Josh has a broken head and it will take time for it to heal. So we are learning our new normal with Josh. We have witnessed many miracles with him.
