A Note From Justin Ringler

The Ringler family has been among the numerous examples of endless support, inspiration and hope to all who have known them. Justin Ringler, the oldest son, is participating in the 100-mile ultra-marathon in Leadville, Colorado and is dedicating his participation in memory of Brett Zamrzla of Sylvan Grove, Jen and "paying it forward". Please do not feel obligated in any way to contribute monetarily. A moment of silence in memory of Brett, a simple way to "pay it forward" and encouragement for Justin's adventure is what's important.

Dear friends and family,

In January of this year, Brett Zamrzla, formerly of Sylvan Grove, Kansas, and a student at Fort Hays State University, lost his life in a car accident. His family; Jeanette, Erin and Ben, requested in lieu of flowers, food, money, etc., that friends and family honor Brett by “paying it forward”.

They asked for us to consider who might best receive the gift we had to give and to give it in loving memory of Brett.

In March of 2007, Jennifer Whipple Griffin was admitted to a hospital in Dallas, TX, where she spent the next several months fighting for her life. She was eventually diagnosed with Septic Shock Syndrome. During the course of this extensive hospital stay, Jenny had to have her hands and legs amputated. Due to her tenaciousness and positive attitude, Jenny has gone through rehabilitation and now has returned part time to work. She has two artificial legs (named Fred and Ginger) and plans to one day have artificial hands.

On August 16 and 17, of this year, I will be running the 100 mile trail race in Leadville, Colorado. My gift is to run this race, in memory of Brett and to give any monetary support to Jenny’s fund, The P.L.A.Y. Foundation (Positive Living for Active Youth). Her website is getwelljen.blogspot.com. I would like to honor both my friends by “paying it forward” and have set a goal to raise $5,000. We are asking our closest friends and family to help us “pay it forward.”

For those of you who would like to support this endeavor, an account has been opened under “For the Greater Good” at Thunder Bank, 102 N. Main, PO Box 338, Sylvan Grove, KS. 67481. Please specify “Jenny’s Fund” in the memo. To find more information about this trail race, please visit leadvilletrail100.com. You can be kept up to date on the participants, the outcome, etc. with this website. My parents, Glenn and Sharon Ringler, and my wife, Angie, will be participating as my support team during this 30 hour run.

Brett’s life and legacy will be remembered during this special day, and Jenny’s fund will change lives with your monetary support as she too has committed to “paying it forward “ as her new foundation will benefit amputee youth by bringing sport activities into their world. Thank you for joining our team to help “pay it forward.”

Love,
Justin Ringler

Belated 4th, Communication Around the World

I hope you enjoyed the fireworks, time off and great family time! We saw some great fireworks this weekend and had a fun time in a parade as well. While I was waiting for the parade to start I witnessed a really cool conversation.

A family from Bejing was visiting the states and happened to have found the parade. They were talking amongst themselves when a lady, who was from Texas and looked so far removed from Bejing, walked up and starts conversing with them (she was fluent in Mandarin).

I was amazed at how they came together and how the lady from Texas welcomed them. I started thinking how everyone can relate to eachother if we take an interest in the other, no matter the obstacle. Even though I was thoroughly confused as to what they were saying, I saw lots of smiles and human kindness. It was great.

It got me thinking about my foundation and how far I could reach people and happen to come across an article in the paper about a man from Sierra Leone who lost a leg from combat with a Rebel.

Without getting political, there were so many lessons from listening to the conversation and reading about someone from Sierra Leone. At the end of the day, no matter where we are from or what we have experienced, we all need to be heard, respected and the ability to be "accepted" with our differences. Things like this give me hope & inspiration everyday.

I have found expression in things now that I didn't realize before. My lesson? ACCEPTANCE. Life is way too short. You can't love without respecting and you can't respect without acceptance.

Take this week and turn an obstacle into something worth respecting & loving, even if it's yourself, :)

Love,
Jen

Go Ahead, Smile

The next time you are feeling really frustrated or like you just can't stand someone or something, what do you do? Smile. It releases endorphins and makes us feel good.

My internet has been in a constant state of chaos, I was in traffic for about 1 1/2 hours Saturday night, I was leaving the gym today when someone asked why I was taking up a handicap spot (big smile on this one), I'm reading a great book when I realized some of the most important pages are missing. And, I ended up without keys and no way to get in my house! Fabulous.

Smiles are the best because they are easy, economical, universal and a simple language. However, we do have the sarcastic smile. I think the guy asking me about my parking spot might have received one from me today, but I'm not sure. :)

I'm staying busy these days.

I was asked many times when I got out of the hospital if I would ever consider public speaking. And as I have said before, I would rather become Paris Hilton's B.F.F. than speak in front of large crowds. However, I have recently been talking with the best people to get me prepared. I'm looking forward to this part of my journey and seeing the doors open up more and more. It's so therapeutic.

The foundation is coming along and I'll have more to share in the near future. I'm waiting on a few things. I also wanted to provide my e-mail again as I have received requests that I would love to accommodate. Always feel free to contact me at: griffinja123@gmail.com.

Have a great week and I will talk to you soon!

Love,

Jen

How Life Does Go On

Yesterday I had an appointment to discuss my hands and look and what is to come. Truly amazing how real they look and how I can have my fingers sized to fit my wedding ring.

I'm about 6 weeks away. Out of the 1 1/2 hour appointment, there were 3 minutes that really stuck with me. We discussed what was important to me as far as functionality and he told me about a few patients who really wanted to be able to open a door, do gardening, etc. and I thought, AMAZING.

I'm in a category with many of his patients and what is important to us is all different. When we all had hands I promise we never thought about the importance of what we had. As you go through your day think about every little thing you do and you can pretty quickly determine what you can do without. It can be liberating if you can allow yourself to let go!

So, after people have prosthetics how do they take life to the next level? This is where my efforts will be placed for a long time. I have established the P.L.A.Y. Foundation (Positive Living for Active Youth) to allow those with amputations to become involved with sports activities as a way to build the self-esteem and confidence while going to the next phase: living life! This will be truly official in about one week.

It is very exciting to be able to reach out to the community and see all the faces of those who have had an experience that we can all learn from. I am finishing the logo and behind the scenes details but will let share it all with you as soon as its here. I will have an interview process and be able to connect with those who are wanting to grow and understand what this is all about. Really looking forward to this!

I have a busy week and will keep you up to date as the week progresses.

Have a fantastic day!

Love,
Jen

Monday Morning News

Good morning all! You gotta love this morning heat in texas. It's only 8:20 A.M. and I'm on

the patio with my coffee and already sweating. How is a girl to enjoy that? :)

The video: first, thanks to ALL that have voted so far! We are currently in 3rd place and we have until July 31st so we are shooting for 1st. Remember, you can vote 1 time a day, everyday. (I'm just throwing that out there, ha!)

So what's been going on? Last week was really busy. My dog may be getting closer to residing at the Griffin house. I had a home assessment to see everything I may need, specific to the house and how cool is this: I really will have a partner in crime. She can help me carry in groceries, bring me my purse (however, I was informed of a 5 pound weight limit) and even laundry. The list goes on and on.

I'm going to look at my hand prosthetics tomorrow so I can give you better update. This process is really fascinating. I'll give you the scoop this week.

Annoucement: I have something very exciting to share this week. I have a few things to do today and tomorrow but will share with you as soon as I can. Sorry to tease but just keep checking!

The Egg: I learned something this weekend. Little Matthew and I were making cupcakes this weekend when we realized we had a little issue. One ingredient: egg. He is not a fan off eggs, almost like me and liver, so we looked at each other and thought, how in the world is this going to work as he didn't even want to try and crack it...heaven forbid the egg get on him!

So, I discovered that you don't need fingers to crack an egg. WOW, I held on for dear life as I turned the egg on its side and started to tap it on the counter to create a small crack.

The crack allowed me just enough of an opening that I could set it in the container we were using to cook and push to release the "gooo". It worked, without breaking the shell into bits. So funny how you can feel like such a kid again but I was on an internal high for about 2 hours.

There are days that I feel as if I am 5 again because of how such a small step can make me feel. But, darn it, I made cupcakes and cracked an egg this weekend! I'm headed out to visit my surgeon and spend the day with my hubby. :)

Have a wonderful day!

Love,

Jen