Hello my friend! 

Summer is my favorite time of year!  We have been camping, swimming and whatever else we can enjoy in the sun. There is no doubt, I am solar powered. If I had my way I would live in Arizona or Hawaii but my lovely wife appreciates more of the cooler weather plus Oregon is absolutely beautiful all year around. We love the trees, flowers, mountains, beautiful rivers, and the amazing west coast. Gracie, my five year old, loves the outdoors too and we have been doing some fun planting together.  

The sunshine is a blessing because even though I try to always be “Mr. Positive Attitude”, some days the clouds still roll in.   Does that ever happen to you??  Or is it just me??  J 

The economic challenges Kelli and I face with 24 hour a day caregiver needs for myself  and also raising four kids can be challenging, but challenges have only made me stronger. It is in the toughest times that positive light can shine the brightest. I think the following story demonstrates this fact and I hope it inspires you as much as it did me. 

I received a call from Carl, the school counselor at an elementary school with approximately 300 fourth and fifth graders. Carl informed me that there was a young man in a wheelchair who had muscular dystrophy.  The boy’s prognosis wasn’t good, and he was told that he may not live to see his 21^st birthday.

As you might imagine, this devastating news caused him to go into a deep depression. He stopped caring about school and saw no reason to be excited about life. It was Carl’s hope that I might be able to put on a school assembly and spend some time with the boy. 

Two weeks later I rolled into an energetic gym filled with kids.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my little buddy in his wheelchair, but he wouldn’t even look at me. Students and staff were moved from laughter to tears as they listened to my true stories.  When I was finished, they lined up to view my paintings and I signed some autographs but my mind was focused on trying to find my little buddy. 

I did not see him in the crowd and just when I got discouraged by thinking he had already left, the young man gently bumped my wheelchair with his wheelchair and he asked; “Mr. Heagy would you please spend some time with me?”  I felt a lump in my throat as I looked at this young man’s great big smile and I said “you bet, let’s roll!”  J 

As we were starting to leave, his aid reminded him that it was time for him to go to his special anticipated launch of the rocket he had made in class.  I can’t describe how it warmed my heart to hear the boy say, “thanks … but spending time with Ron is much more important then the rocket!”  

It was great to get to know him better and I even learned that he is an inspiring artist.  I was truly amazed at the detail of his beautiful pencil sketches. He wanted to give me one of his drawings but I asked him if I could buy it instead for $20.00?   A smile as big as Texas came over his face and he looked up at me from his chair and said; “Mr. Heagy you are my new hero!”

Before I left, my little buddy gave me his home phone number and asked me to call his mother because he was now more worried about her than being depressed himself.  Mothers and fathers that care for their children with disabilities need support, so I was happy to call his Mom. If you know of someone with these challenges, I ask you to give them a call. It will be a huge blessing to know that someone cares, and it will also bless you more than you can imagine!

Some of you may want to ask this question; “Ron if you have financial needs, why did you give that boy so many free gifts and $20 for his picture?”    I have three answers:

1)       The smile on his face was priceless!

2)       Buying the drawing gave him a purpose.

3)       I have friends that give me gifts each month and I try to “pay it forward.” 

In summary, if I was in 4^th grade, I honestly do not think I would put spending time with someone like me as more important than launching rockets.  When he chose me, it turned my financial clouds back into sunshine.    When you chose me, it allowed me the opportunity to meet this young man and change his life.  Thank YOU for making this story possible!     

Ron Heagy

PS  Even $5 a month makes a huge difference if you have an army.  J http://rollonron.com/give-now/ 

Jason a 26 year old close friend of mine was on my heart this last week,. My day was a bit crazy so I tried to ignore the voice in my head telling me to call him!  Moments later  I dialed the phone, Jason what's up? I could hear in his voice the presence of doom and dispair. This is one of those times  when you do whatever it takes to be with your friend, so I encouraged him to meet me in my office. The following story we wrote together on that very day, Wow! and i almost let it slip by…

Hope is a bright shining light which keeps darkness at bay, Hope is the gentle cold breeze on a hot summer day…

My mentor Ron, 30 years ago was an all-star football player, dreams of the NFL, 6 ft 3 in 205 lbs of pure muscle, couldn’t be stopped. Girl friends, cool cars, fast motorcycles, popular, good looking, had everything in life going for him. Then he decided to go surfing the day before his 18th birthday, looking out into the California Ocean he saw a wave crashing in, feeling invincible, he said to himself that’s my wave! He ran, dove into the wave and hit his head on a sandbar, his neck went back into his shoulder blades and (cressh), body went limp… floating motionless out to sea he prayed “ God I'm too young to die.”…….

Hope comes when you least expect it

Ladies and gentlemen, 3 weeks ago I had everything. The most beautiful and amazing woman I have ever meet and we’re getting married on Aug 1st. A month long honeymoon in Australia planned. First year in toastmasters and I'm in the world championships. 100K a year job offer on the table at the age of 26. Paid speaking gigs in negotiation. I had two jobs. Lots of friends, I'm physically fit and of course I’m cute!… well that's what mama always told me…

Friends I had everything… 2 weeks before the wedding day, everything planned and paid for, my fiancé comes to my apt one day, looking absolutely stunning then I looked into her eyes, I could see something was wrong… “Baby, she says, I can’t go through with this…”  My legs went weak and I dropped to my knees. Tears pouring down my cheeks. The world had just collapsed. My heart was sick, I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat. I turned down the job offer. Told 400 people the wedding was off, and cancelled my World Championship Speech. I didn’t care about anything anymore. I lost all my hope for the future. My heart hit the sandbar of life, and I felt paralyzed floating motionless into the sea of despair…

Hope comes when you least expect it and when you most need it…

I get a call from my friend Ron he says, come on over I’d like to have a word with you. When I got to his house I fell on the floor, tears in my eyes I said, it hurts so bad I don’t know if I can make it through. He said I’ve got a story for you man… “When I was floating out into the ocean my little brother swam in and saved my paralyzed body from drowning. At that point I had lost it all. Parlayed from the neck down my hopes and dreams were shattered. Then one day I meet a young man His head and body strapped to a wheelchair.

I said to this kid, hey how you doing man, my names Ron what your name? He sat there motionless, drool coming out of his mouth, tubes in his neck, breathing through machines – cuuugh-… His mom standing behind him spoke up, his name’s Kevin. Looking into Kevin’s eyes, and I saw so much life. I said, how bad is it Kevin? His mom replied, he’s was paralyzed from the noise down at birth. Never tasted a candy bar, never drank a coke, never told his mom he loves her. Instantly my attitude changed, I said to his mom, what’s the one the he’s always wanted to do… I'm gonna make it happen. Go to Disneyland? You tell me what Kevin dreams of. She looked at me and said, the one thing Kevin wishes he could do, is smile…how much is that worth…?

Hope comes when you least expect it, and when you most need it, and often times from an unexpected source…

I sat up after the story, wiping the tears from my eyes, and said. So hope comes to us, when we reach out and give out. Ron looked at me and said, “Jason, never underestimate the power you have to change somebody's life.” I jumped up off the ground, got onto a computer and along with Ron I wrote this very speech. I called the governor of our toastmasters district, Kathy, and said, can I still speak? She said, you betcha you can!. 

There’s a great hope in life, and it’s not in football, or relationships or weddings, it’s not in honeymoons, or Australia, money or a new job,   fancy cars or even the American dream. Real hope is found in the heart, and it comes out, when we give it out. Even if it's just a smile. The apostle Paul, wrote these words from inside prison walls… “But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Friends who’s waiting for you to bring a little hope into their life? Are you willing to give out, a little hope? Hope comes when we least expect it, and when we most need it, there's someone in your life waiting to receive it. Ladies and gentlemen, give a little hope. My hope, is that I gave you hope, and that makes me… smile

Thought from roll on Ron:

Friends, I encourage you to take some time to write down your story today.

We all have a unique story that can help somebody through the tough times… not to mention what putting it on paper could do for you.

Now roll on and make it a good day, your life truly matters!

JOIN MY QUAD SQUAD TEAM TODAY FOR AS LITTLE AS $5 A MONTH AND I'LL SEND YOU A FREE SMILIEY PAL ON WHEELS  HELP ME PASS A SMILE ON! 

Blessings,

Ron Heagy

My goal, knowing I can drive, is to go to the salt flats and do a speed of 100+.

I want the hope rod to be the vehicial that brings inspiration to the world that even when things are bad we can find a way to overcome the impossible.

The Columbian recent wrote an article about my quest, click here to see the story: http://www.columbian.com/article/20090604/NEWS02/706049946

February 4, 2009

Hi friend, it’s Ron Heagy.  The reason for this email is that I’m looking for connections for speaking opportunities in the Phoenix Arizona area with Schools, Churches and Businesses.  I will be in Arizona from February 17^th through the 26^th.  I will again be in Arizona April 27^th through May 6^th.  Please see the following proposal….it will make you smile!! 

    June 8, 2008HiI wanted to share this new crazy idea with you, in case you are able to help or if you know of some people that can help make it possible.    I have been on a “ride” for the past 28 years in my wheelchair but I have not had the true impact on our country and youth that I feel God wants me to have.   I have tried to get on some National TV shows to provide hope and inspiration, but I have found that simply typing with a stick in my teeth, graduating college, getting a Master’s degree, becoming a mouth painter, building a camp for disabled children, speaking to wounded soldiers, speaking to almost 3,000,000 kids who have said “thank you for saving my life!”, authoring two books and even getting married and having a “miracle baby” is just not news worthy.  My new idea is to take America on a whole different “ride” to get their attention.   We have kept this idea quiet until we got everything in place but now, as my friend, I am giving you the “green light” to share this idea with anyone you know who may want to help.  The “green light” is a great introduction, because when the light turns green, I will be behind the wheel of a restored classic hot rod!!   I will be the very first COMPLETE quadriplegic to drive a car at least 100 mph with just the movement of my head.  I already have the car donated and I have top engineers working on a way for me to drive it.  My main objective is to bring “hope to the wounded.”  The soldiers returning from Iraq, people with disabilities, and teenagers all need inspiration, motivation, and positive role models.       One of my marketing ideas is to use the phrase from the hit song “I can’t drive 55” and I challenge it by saying; “WHO SAYS I CAN’T?”  In fact, I will DOUBLE it!!  Imagine the headlines: “Quad Drives Rod- over 100mph”!   Other ‘quads’ can drive because they have some movement in their arms/limbs, but I will be the first COMPLETE Quad to drive with just my head.  I even guarantee a tire smokin burnout!!      In my lifetime, I have dealt with many people who have said:  “Ron you CAN’T do that,” but I believe that with God ALL things are possible.  ·        When the doctors said: “You can’t breathe without a ventilator tube”.   I did. ·        Schools told me I could never go to college by typing with a stick in my teeth. I did.·        “You can never paint with a brush in your mouth.”   I did.  ·        “You will never get a Masters degree.  I did.  ·        “You can’t build a camp for disabled kids, you don’t have any money.”  We did.·        “You can’t write a book.”  They were right… I wrote TWO of them!  J  ·        “No one will marry you in that chair.”  She did!  J  ·        Doctors said, “You will never have a baby.”     We did!  J   Our immediate financial need is for $25,000 to continue to get the car updated.  I am asking you to consider joining my Quad Squad team and any amount that you could help with would be a blessing to help us finish the “hope rod”.    I also plan on seeking major sponsorships from corporations and I envision national exposure on shows such as DISCOVERY CHANNEL, MTV and THE LEARNING CHANNEL which will bring great recognition to our sponsors.  In summary, life is about choices.  Instead of just “stepping out in faith”, I am choosing to “roll onto the track.”  I hope that you will choose to come along for the ride and be part my team so that together we can say…..   “WE did it!”  JI will be happy to share more of the details with you.  Please call me personally with your thoughts on my cell at 541-990-7411.  Thank you again for your prayers and support!   With love and blessings~RonRon Heagy Jr.   PS   If you have connections that we can network with, please let me know.    

I will be in Arizona for the purpose of learning to drive a ’68 Firebird Hot Rot.  I will be the first “quad” to drive with just the use of my head.  This is turning into a major media Human Interest story.  The 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th of February I will be with the car to get the technology wrapped around my head to try to get the hang of all this.  Anyone who might have an HD camera to get footage of me getting fitted into this car would also be greatly appreciated.  I’m really hoping to document the whole thing from beginning to end.  Please contact me if you are interested in seeing me drive again after 29 years.

Thanks again,

Ron  

Hear is where Ron can post his thoughts!