TARA’S BLOG: RECAP OF 3 DAYS—INCLUDING HALLOWEEN!

November 1, 2007
5:30 p.m.

Hey everyone...I have some announcements. Heehee! That sounded funny. Maybe it's my meds. Okay. No, really, here we go. The guys (and girls?) of Sandhill Ranch in Northern Cali are putting together a race for me and I am stoked. Here is the link to check it out...

http://www.racefortara.com

I hope some of you can make it. I wish I could. I had heard of Sandhill Ranch before I got hurt and had always wanted to race their slalom course. It looks sweet! The race is going to be held on NOVEMBER 17th so mark it on your calendars. They will not only put on a fun race, but they also have a ton of product from my sponsors Fox Shox, Michelin, and Smith to give away.

So I'm finally done for the day and am really tired. Everything felt so hard today. I guess just because every class was either lifting something (usually my own body weight), playing a game which means pushing your chair really fast for an hour, or trying to balance on the mat using your abs the whole time while moving a weighted ball in different directions. Things got so nuts today that my Mom played the game with us on the basketball court and might have broken her finger! Heehee...she's tough though. I could definitely see where I got some of my competitiveness. Oh, and in chair class I did an uphill backwards wheelie for the length of the hallway, which was about 25 feet long! I love the wheelies.

Okay, well I better get off my butt and eat some dinner. Thanks to all of you that write me. Oh, and sorry if some of you have sent friend requests (to MySpace.com/mtbtara and I haven't added you. I just don't have time to go through all of them some days, but I'll try!

Cheers!

t

October 31, 2007—HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
8:15 p.m.

Okay, so before you go to the pic's (on MySpace.com/mtbtara) and check out my costume let me preface them by saying that I was trying to look the part of tough rapper. Not sure if I got the “mean” look down...well hang on, lemme look....yep! yep, I look pissed. heehee.

Anyway, the other pic's are of my therapists. They really go off here at Craig!

Hope you all had a fun Halloween.

Muuuuaaahhh!!!!

t


October 29, 2007
10:00 p.m.

I need to apologize to anybody that has written a message about buying the Road to Recovery T-shirts. For those people wanting to buy them here's how to get them. Please send a check for $25 (this includes shipping) made out to Tara Llanes and PLEASE put the shirt size on the check. Mail to:

4068 Green Ave.

Los Alamitos, CA. 90720

Today was freakin' LONG! However, it was freakin' FUN too!! Jen, Anne, Elke, Matty, Becca, and Peanut came out for a visit, which means good times to be had. I swear when the crew comes down we have a pretty good laugh. Today a few things happened. First, I was told that I was more than likely going to be here at Craig until mid-December. I pretty much already knew that, but when the Dr. says it it's more concrete.

The Second thing was that I got the okay to lay prone, which means on my tummy! WooHoo! I had literally just got off the mat from my third class of the day, PT, but when they told me that I jumped back on the mat (figuratively speaking of course) just so I could lay on my tummy. Ahhhhh...I can't tell you how good that felt. I'm a tummy sleeper so that's a big deal and it's been 2 months since I've been able to so that was the good news o' the day.

The girls and Matty came to most of my classes for the day including the hand bike. There weren't enough "regular" bikes for the ride so we had to improvise. Jen got to ride "Misty", which was a little kiddie bike with tassles on the bars and bright purple. Matty and Anne got to ride a couple bikes from WallMart. I think the brand is NEXT. Hmm...not sure on that one. And then Elke rode the full-on hoopty hand bike with like road bars. That thing was sketchy!! Matty ended up riding that one. Probably so that it got back in one piece since EZE was trying to launch it off curbs. LOL!

Hmmm....what else? Well, my schedule once again is absolutely packed with therapy sessions. From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. I'll be working at either balance, wheelchair skills, lifting weights, lifting myself on and off of mats of varying scary heights, possibly eating, throwing balls around, and playing volleyball (Yeah! Volleyball...I didn't believe it either!), lifting myself some more, and maybe sleeping. :) And I love all of it. Bring it on!! Okay gotta go to bed. Nighty nite.

Before I go though I want to take a minute and say “thank you” to every single person that has either sent me a message, a card, a text, a comment on MySpace, money, etc. I have received each and every bit of love that has been sent to me. Granted I haven't been able to go through the 767 MySpace messages, but I will eventually read each of them. :) I truly feel loved and it means the absolute world to me. I am stoked to have met so many great people. So again thank you to everyone and I appreciate it.

Cheers!
T

Editor’s Note: Tara Llanes is recording her progress in rehab at the Craig Hospital in Denver as she continues to recover from the spinal cord injuries she suffered in a mountain bike race in Colorado on September 1. Below is the latest update she has posted to her MySpace page. She’s been blogging about her recovery since September 23rd. All of her blogs, new photos of her recovery and many, many good wishes can be found at:
http://www.myspace.com/mtbtara
Her family, friends, and supporters are urging those folks who want to help contribute to a special fund set up for Tara’s recovery to visit:

http://www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com

On November 17, a 4X race will be held at Sand Hill Ranch in Brentwood, CA, with all proceeds going to Tara’s recovery fund. For more information go to:

http://www.racefortara.com