Please read. The winner is....

shedhorn

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Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 28, 2009
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Not sure this is the best place to post this but this is my favorite category.

As some of you know Branden with custom gun coatings (AKA short bus) wife Nicole had a stroke last week. She is home and on the road to recovery but sounds like it will be a long hard road. I have been in his shoes and it is not fun. Life as you know it gets flipped upside down. Mom does a lot of work! Then you have the part where a family with two incomes goes to one person working part time. Branden is a great guy and is putting his family first.

So why I am I writing this…. Well I have seen lots of guys on here over the years help people out, give people stuff that they are not using ext. I think this is one of those times we need to step up to the plate and help Branden out. It is hard to ask people for help. I know people can help out in different ways. Money, gift cards, flowers and at the very least send his Wife a get well card.

Maybe a vender will donate some goods and we could do a raffle.

If your interested in helping out and don't have Branden's address you can email me at [email protected] and I will give it to you.

Now have PayPay info for Branden AKA shortbus

Thank you
 
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I have a rifle being built by Mark at Short Action Customs. It is a 308 Winchester built on his action. It is paid for, just been waiting on the stock to complete the build.

I have way more rifles than I need, if you, Frank & Mark could co-ordinate all of the necessary footwork to make it happen, I will put the rifle up for a raffle to help Branden out.

Just let me know.
 
I have a rifle being built by Mark at Short Action Customs. It is a 308 Winchester built on his action. It is paid for, just been waiting on the stock to complete the build.

I have way more rifles than I need, if you, Frank & Mark could co-ordinate all of the necessary footwork to make it happen, I will put the rifle up for a raffle to help Branden out.

Just let me know.


Very cool man!
 
Wow this is great guys! I was not sure how this was going to turn out but this is great!

I now have Branden AKA short bus Paypal info. If your interested in the paypal donation please email me and I will send it to you. my email again is [email protected]

Thank you everybody for help with this. Next step I am going to figure out the details to get some raffles going. I want to raffle off one of Branden's paint jobs, we have catswithguns willing to donate a rifle and Badger Ordnance emailed me saying they would be happy to donate something to raffle off.
 
I have a rifle being built by Mark at Short Action Customs. It is a 308 Winchester built on his action. It is paid for, just been waiting on the stock to complete the build.

I have way more rifles than I need, if you, Frank & Mark could co-ordinate all of the necessary footwork to make it happen, I will put the rifle up for a raffle to help Branden out.

Just let me know.

Thank you!
 
I have a rifle being built by Mark at Short Action Customs. It is a 308 Winchester built on his action. It is paid for, just been waiting on the stock to complete the build.

I have way more rifles than I need, if you, Frank & Mark could co-ordinate all of the necessary footwork to make it happen, I will put the rifle up for a raffle to help Branden out.

Just let me know.

The world needs more people like you sir!

Andrew
 
It's not as illustrious as a rifle, BUT...

I have two Atlas monopods that I will never use. Both are steel bottomed, one is large the other the standard size. Both are quick adjust etc. They are in very good condition. If you wish, please include these in the raffle or some other package offer. I'll cover the cost of shipping to whoever gets them.

Good luck to Mrs. Shortbus and all the best to the great people who are pitching in and inspired me to do something good today.
 
A bump to the top for a good cause, I have often admired Brandens work, I hope everything works out for the best. Catswithguns outstanding gesture, and all others who have donated, I will buy some tickets whenever they are available.
 
Update. Mark @ SAC is still waiting for the stock to show up, then we can get this raffle started. I am thinking the tickets will be around $10 paid via PayPal. The raffle will go for 30 to 45 days. 100% of the profit will go to Shortbus (Branden Burkhart)
 
I had no idea about this thread until I got a message just a bit ago. Haven't been able to really get on the hide much except for a PM here and there, but other than that I have just been juggling the girls, physical therapy appointments, doctors follow up appointments, basketball practice, soccer practice, lemme just say that Mom's do stuff so easily, I wish I had the secret sauce that gives them the skills to do it. If i'm not doing all that, it's laundry, cooking meals (we've been blessed with a family that set us up a thing on takethemameal.com which allows friends, family members anybody really to bring dinner to our house), cleaning the house. Whatever time is after that (which is usually late at night after the girls go to bed) I start painting whatever I can before I get too tired to do anything. If you have a stock here waiting for paint, you've been very patient, and i'm very, very, very thankful.

Nicole is recovering fairly nicely, she is walking without a walker, she made sure she didn't need that by the time we left the hospital, she wasn't having any of that. She is on a staggering list of medication right now, blood thinners, anti-coagulents, blood pressure meds, anti-depressents (they apparently help prevent her headaches), and a anxiety medication to calm her down when she gets stressed out about all this. PT is 3 times a week now, but luckily at the nearest hospital they have a specialist that deals specifically in the PT that she needs to recover from the brain injury that she has received from the stroke. She's extremely nice, very compassionate, and knows her stuff. Her other PT specialist has had the same type of injury that Nicole had, started with a VAD (Vertibral Artery Dissection) which caused a stroke in the cerebellum. His was a much more severe case, but he can relate to what she feels as he's been there. Our girls are handling is great, although they don't exactly know how bad it could have gone, I could be a single father of 2 girls now, but i'm very thankful that is not the case. She had a 25% permanent loss of her cerebellum, and considering the alternative, it doesn't seem that bad anymore.

I'm absolutely blown away by the kindness and generosity of the members of this site. I had never really thought about giving an update on this site for whatever reason, I was mostly just posting updates on the Custom Gun Coatings facebook page, asking for many prayers there. It's exceptionally touching to know that you want to help out so much some guy that most of you only know by a nickname on a forum.

Shedhorn has hit the nail on the head on the first post, our whole world was flipped upside down and shaken around. Nicole, family, church members, and I have all decided that there's no use being negative and asking "why us", we have decided to find the blessings in all this, be thankful that she's still alive, thankful that she can still enjoy her children, be thankful that we have so many great, wonderful, caring people all over that are offering to help out in any way that they can. It is incredibly difficult to ask for help, and we do have the reality check of having 2 incomes turned into one person try to make up both incomes by working part time. Nicole is out until at least Feb 17th, and that's still in the air as she's not suppose to be on a computer right now, she can handle her phone just fine, my laptop for a little while, but the big desktop monitor makes her start getting dizzy, nauseated, and her head starts pounding. She's a web designer, and her work computer has 2 large monitors for her to work on. We're hoping that she'll make it back to work without problems then, as she's tired of being home (with me), but mostly just wants to get her life back to normal.

I can't thank everyone enough for their thoughts and prayers, we've gotten get well cards from all over. Nicole has a wall in the dining room where she's placing all the cards around our plaque of the 10 commandments, it's her motivation to work hard to get better, and recover 100% knowing that all those folks are thinking of her, and taking the time to send a card to tell her so.

Shedhorn, thank you so incredibly much for being so thoughtful, and caring, and organizing this for Nicole, I sincerely wish to return the favor when we get over the hump, and come out on the other side. It's incredibly humbling to know that so many care. Everyone that is donating time, goods, services, money, anything, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you, so very much.

Branden
 
Branden,
I'm glad Nicole is at home and sounds like she is recovering! Shedhorn you are a great example to others in this world who need inspiration. These types of things are evidence that there is a God and he is good….all the time.
 
Update. Mark @ SAC is still waiting for the stock to show up, then we can get this raffle started. I am thinking the tickets will be around $10 paid via PayPal. The raffle will go for 30 to 45 days. 100% of the profit will go to Shortbus (Branden Burkhart)

better print a lot of tickets…..guys are going to be lining up to help out---I'll be in too--email also sent about paypal donation.

Lots of families are far too familiar with exactly what you and your wife are going through--including my own. Its all hard hard stuff. Only way through it is together. Good luck and god bless.
 
Jumping on for details of the raffle. I would definitely be in.

Went through a 3 year period of very poor health with my wife after the birth of our second daughter. I can sympathize with what you are going through. Praying for you and your family.
 
It's nice to hear she's making good progress in her recovery. Stay strong Shortbus and family, can't imagine how difficult its been.

It's very inspiring to see all the support being given to a man and his family when they're in need.
 
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