Dreams Take Work

God Created A Miracle For Me

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GOD, Jesus Christ and his angels spared my life in what can only be called a miracle.

The spring of 2010 I survived a life threatening motor vehicle accident, a large farm truck I call it a (semi-truck) full of cow manure slammed into the passenger door of the vehicle I was sitting in. Sadly, the driver of the small truck I was riding in ran a stop sign, leaving me with a life long disability in a matter of seconds.  Before the accident I was trail riding three times a week for four hours, I was happy and physically fit.

This disability has left me with the inability to have any core strength. This is a challenge for sure when trying to ride or do anything physical. I suffer with chronic pain from rib spasms, back, pelvis and my feet go numb. Still I am blessed to be here and write to you. GOD is amazing as my husband and I started the Donkey Whisperer Farm ®  the summer of 2013.

I was flown by emergency helicopter to a critical care hospital in Seattle, WA with life threatening injuries. I remember praying and asking GOD to let me live, I was scared I would die.  My injuries can only be called a miracle from God in Jesus Christ name to be alive.  God is great! God creates miracles and I am living proof of his great work.

Injuries:

Three surgeries and blood transfusions in two days as I was dying

Eight broken ribs right and left side some in three places

Four chest tubes inserted in-between the broken ribs

Collapsed lung – Difficult to breathe

Grade V  kidney Tear – Stint Installed and removed, very painful procedure. Grade 5: Shattered kidney, ureteropelvic avulsions, complete laceration or thrombus of the main renal artery or vein.

Broken collar-bone 

Three large pelvis screws

 Pelvic bone shattered three large screws were surgically installed as the surgeon told my husband he could bend my pelvis up together like a banana.

Things I am grateful for:

I am most grateful to God for his love, strength, mercy and miracle to save my life and provide me with the opportunity to recover, the strength to endure this pain.  I am very grateful to my husband Scott! The team of doctors and nurses that worked on me as they saved my life.  Several surgeons told me I am a miracle and blessed to be alive. One doctor asked me if I believed in God and I quickly told him about deep faith in Jesus Christ. I was in intensive care for at least 7 days and the hospital for 12 days.  Finally I could go home but once I got home my life was no longer the same as I had no ability to do anything without help and twenty-four hour care in our home not set-up for a person in a wheel chair. Please understand I demanded to go home and with this decision took more work. My husband Scott drove me to Seattle four times a week.

I am grateful to all of the people in my life that helped with our farm, my husband and a close girl friend and her close friend stayed with me day and night in the hospital taking shifts to never leave me alone in the hospital.  Food was brought into our home, prayers, cards, calls, text messages, flowers, balloons and so many visits and prayers.  In the middle of trauma God created a unique support system for us one only GOD could create.

I was unable to put any weight on my right leg or walk confined to the wheelchair for almost three months I slept in a lazy boy chair with pillows propping me up for at least four months and then the hard work began, physical therapy moving from the wheel chair to the walker, from the walker to the cane and then finally I could walk on my own.  I am grateful for my relationship with Jesus Christ as I do not believe I could have physically taken the pain without Jesus holding my right hand. I attended physical therapy three days a week for three years. I wore my equine riding gloves to lift weights. Never Give Up! Today my physical therapy is the farm. The body was made to keep moving. The only problem is when we have a disability we must rest and get up and try again. Never give up, never.

It is my hope that sharing this traumatic vent will help you believe in Jesus Christ our savior for all things.  I have a gorgeous sign in my home a gift given to me by my close friend “Expect Miracles.”   I believe that nothing is too big for our God nothing…. This is my testimony for Jesus Christ and his mercy and grace. The car accident has left me with pain and a life long physical disability. Disability is real. Some disabilities cannot be seen quickly, all disabilities are real. I have learned to enjoy my life disabled. Some days are better than others. Each day is a gift from GOD as life is fragile and precious.


Finally I was able to see my horse Miss Lily and donkeys Rio and Rocket Man.

Lily & Melody June 2010

Melody Kissing Rio

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson

https://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Disability

Disabilities teach us how to do things differently

Select Ten Inspirational People

Select How To Overcome Your Disability

DisabledHikers.com now exists, and the first guide is up, with several more currently being written. It is a hefty task – each hike, when taken with the perspective of writing a guide, takes twice as long as usual. The guide takes at least 3 hours to research, write, and edit, and an additional 1-2 hours to format, edit photos, and post on the website. Then I spend several hours promoting the site so people know about the resource. All in all, I spend at least 10 hours publishing each guide.

via Disabled Hikers

Donkeys Can Help People With Disabilities

Select Donkeys Can Help People With Disabilities

Some people have disabilities you can not see. The donkey can see the disability. Please when touching a donkey and working with a donkey stay ON DONKEY TIME. Never drill, donkeys are smart not stubborn.

WWW.DONKEYWHISPERER.COM

Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select  OUR STORE

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Draft Horse In A Nursing Home

Select Draft Horse In A Nursing Home

“Animals are Gods healers” Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select  OUR STORE

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Happy Memorial Day 2016 USA

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GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select  OUR STORE

http://wwwyouversion.com/mobile

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Never Give Up

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YOU ARE AMAZING

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GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select  OUR STORE

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

My Best Friend Is My Hubby Scott Of Almost 23 Years!

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best friend

I love you Scott!

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GOD has a plan, he takes one extrovert with big dreams and one introvert and mixes this together to make Mr. and Mrs. Scott Johnson. Thank you Scott! Thank you for making all my dreams come true. Thank you for not letting me lay in sorrow after the semi-truck accident and cry, thank you for not selling my horse and donkeys.  Thank you for giving me four more donkeys and another horse.  Thank you for stepping out of the city life into the life of a farmer. Thank you for living in this tiny 5th wheel with me so we can build our last home.

You are truly a farm man now! Thank you for not turning me in for a younger healthy model after the semi-truck accident, you stuck with me and help me live with the pain every day.  Most men would have walked away but not you, you stood by my side day after day and still when I cry from pain you hold my hand and tell me you love me. I am so much in love with you, more than words can describe.

I love you so much and I want you to always remember that the best thing that ever happened to me in this world is you! You are my best friend, my lover, my husband and my partner in this thing called life. I am forever grateful for every minute, hour and day we have together. We never know when our time is up, so we cherish the moments we get! You always make me laugh when I want to cry, you always tell me things will get better. You are truly an inspiration to me and you Scott Johnson are the man of my dreams. You are my Rock and I pray I am for you what you are for me.

This is my love letter to you in public! I know we are private but today I needed to say thank you, I love you to the entire world. As the last year has been difficult but great things are ahead. We started a new business together Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC and soon GOD will provide the resources to start growing low sugar/protein hay on our farm. THANK YOU JESUS CHRIST!

We are now fifty-five and going stronger every day!

 

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody Johnson, Donkey Whisperer Farm, LLC

Select  OUR STORE

http://wwwyouversion.com/mobile

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Animals Have Disabilities Too

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GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://donkeywhispererfarm.com/our-store/

http://www.youversion.com/mobile

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Anyone Need A Mammoth Donkey Hug?

Seems some days, weeks, months or years life can go along where I need a Mammoth Donkey Hug more than once a day.  Thank you Jesus I can hop on my 4  X 4 little red buggy (A.T.V) to get donkey hugs. For those of you who cannot get one I am sharing these photos. If this is your first time reading my blog select GOD created a miracle for me to read more.

Close your eyes and imagine Rio’s big head on your shoulder and you are stroking him gently as he looks down at you with his big brown soft eye.  Before the hug I always give him a kiss on the nose and after as he is such a lovey I have been kissing his nose every single day since the first time I met him in 2006, he was nine months old and just a little guy.

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If you are short a mini donkey hug is always another great option as Rocket Man loves to put his head on my shoulders too.  I have to sit down for his hugs. 🙂

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The photo above was taken about a year after the semi-truck accident.  My hair started falling out from the kidney trauma and I had to cut it short, my hair stylist at the time colored it a bit darker than I normally wear it.  My eyelashes fell out too from the kidney failure and well I was having a hard time with pain and sleep.

The last thing I had to endure was the news my front tooth died from the semi-truck accident and it had to be removed.  I had to wear a fake tooth for six months and then have a screw surgically placed up inside my jaw. Now I have a beautiful new tooth thank you Jesus! The screw in my jaw is titanium and does not hurt ever unlike the screws in my pelvis that conduct cold and heat due to the barometric pressure changes here in the Pacific Northwest, Western Washington.  The surgically inserted screws in my pelvis are stainless steel as they are so long (hip bone, to hip bone) that they had to be used as if titanium screws were installed they would break.   

Please remember no hug is as big as a hug from Jesus!

“Please remember you are the most important thing GOD created in our world and you are here for a purpose, you are unique and GOD has a plan for your life.”

Life is precious and fragile we never know when our time is up or when a semi-truck (any kind of trauma) is going to smash into us

No other person in the entire world has your finger prints

GOD captures every one of your tears in a bottle and GOD will give us double for our troubles if we let him

GOD loves his children and he will make good out of evil if we trust him and pray

GOD has given each one of us free will he will not help us unless we make him our Lord and Savior and ask for his help

Select Serenity Prayer for more help. 

GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://wwwyouversion.com/mobile

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Rio’s New Custom Fitted Saddle Australian Saddle

 

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15 minute ride in Rio’s new ausie saddle with no bit, no spurs teaching him 

how to get some steering he has the whoa down 🙂

I changed the crupper to the Britchen. Purchase the Britchen to keep the saddle in place for donkeys. 

 

 

One saddle does not fit each equine or the rider.  The saddle needs to be custom fit for the equine back, withers and the seat size of the rider.  This saddle fits Rio’s back (flat as a board no withers) my husband Scott perfectly and I can ride in it too a bit big is better than too small for the rider.  

“Saddle fitting was something that took me many hours of research and purchasing the wrong expensive saddle leaving my horse with sores.  I had no idea how complicated it could be after all when I was a kid at thirteen it was easy I just got on my horse and took off for rides after school, I was a kid and a bit lighter than I am today.”

Why did we wait until Rio was seven years old to order his custom fit saddle?

Mammoth donkeys are not full-grown until six or seven. Rio stands 16’2 hands he was full-grown at age seven.

What saddle company did we use and why?

We used the Down Under Saddle Aussie Company as I had used this company to fit my short backed quarter horse Miss Lily after a western saddle did not fit.  This company is outstanding at helping to teach how to do a custom fit.  We did wither tracing, photos and talked on the phone before picking out Rio’s custom fit Snowy River saddle.  This saddle fits perfectly sweat marks are complete, no dry areas causing white spots from rubbing.  This company helped me get the crupper and breast collar along with a horn.  If you have never ridden in an aussie saddle you are missing out in long trail rides as they are light and very comfortable.

I highly recommend the down under saddle company for fitting all horses, donkeys and mules as they have excellent return policies and provide amazing products.

A photo of my horse Miss Lily wearing her Syd Hills Ausi saddle ordered in 2009,

saddle weighs 18 1bs.

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Me riding Ms. Lily before the car accident in 2010 

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Photo before 2009 I added a back cinch to help keep the saddle in place trail riding for Miss Lily 

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GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged! Melody

https://donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

Melody

Horses, Donkeys and Mules Are Helping People With Disabilities

Friends of the Donkey Whisperer Farm,

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Did you know that people with disabilities are being helped each and every day by getting to spend time with an equine?

Yes, some can only help groom them, feed and pet them, talk about their problems while others can actually ride even when they can not walk due to being paralyzed.  Equine are healers, sent by Jesus Christ to help us humans navigate this thing called life.

Resources for Riding With A Disability:

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“My number one inspiration is Lauren Barwick Canadian Paralympian, 4 Star Parelli Professional”

Select Riding For Gold

Select Parelli offers 30 days free on-line training

People suffering from PTSD after serving in the war, sexual abuse, assault, and trauma

Select EAGALA  – Select What is equine assisted therapy?

Select Helping Troubled Teens

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GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://wwwyouversion.com/mobile

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer

GOD is Amazing – A Short Ride On Mr. Rio

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Friends of the Donkey Whisperer Farm ®

“On the first day of summer we had some outstanding weather in the Pacific Northwest, Washington upper 70’s.  “I thought this is the day I will slip my cow girl socks and boots on one more time as it’s been over three years.”

GOD is amazing, never give up as GOD will never give up on you! Read God Created A Miracle For Me

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I am happy to share I was able to ride our mammoth donkey in the arena for fifteen minutes.

 Rio is a complete gentleman, we worked on steering as he has none due to the semi truck accident and me not being able to train and ride. I rode Rio with the Parelli bareback pad, rope halter (no bit, no spurs), carrot stick to help with steering, gloves and his legacy boots on the front as he has shoes on the front.  If my body can continue to get stronger and not go backwards I will be able to ride again. 

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Did I mention how tall he is?

Rio is 16’1 at the withers not the ears the last time I stepped up on the steps to get on it was easy now he is way taller than the steps.  Riding him is smooth and easy he is complete gentleman.

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GOD bless you and your family two and four-legged!

Melody

http://wwwyouversion.com/mobile

http://www.donkeywhisperer.com

https://www.facebook.com/Donkeywhisperer