This is John; nothing has been posted on here in 18 or 19 months. There's been a lot of ups and downs that are typical in life and recovery processes, but yesterday, I did something that feels like the end of a chapter/start of a chapter, and given the support of so many who are all over the country/world, who I may or may not know, who I may or may not see regularly, I felt the need to give some closure on this chapter and say thanks one more time.

Since the last post, there have been some ups and downs. A 15 month period of chronic neck pain, re-starting PT to retrain neck/shoulder muscles, various health things with parents/in-laws, work going well but being busy, etc.; basically, life was life and fortunately, I had support and had recovered enough to handle it. About 5-6 months ago, the retraining broke through and the stabbing pain went away. With Amy's support, I decided to work to accomplish the final long-term goal I'd set before leaving Shepherd Center 2.5 years ago. I competed in and completed a sprint triathlon... 144 weeks after my accident, I was able to compete again. It was an amazing feeling and so worth doing. Not sure if I will or won't ever do another, but I was able to check that box, which I just needed mentally.

I just want to say thank you (again) for the support of so many. I could literally never name everyone and I know a lot of folks who followed for a while haven't necessarily seen some of the ups and downs, but the support my family and I received  throughout this process was beyond humbling. Folks from current and former churches, current and former co-workers, family, friends, former teammates who I may or may not have seen in years, people who my parents have known since high school, people who just heard my story from friends or saw it on the news... it's just humbling and the support was so varied. There was medical support, therapy, help with the kids, vacation/monetary donations, prayers, thoughts, words/notes of encouragement, so on and so forth. I just want to say one last time before I let this page rest, and hopefully don't ever need another page on this site (God willing), thanks so much to each and all of you. I'm so grateful and so appreciative. I couldn't ever actually communicate it well. But I just wanted to say it again, and share how well things have gone and how special yesterday was as an opportunity. I may have been the one recovering, but this was such a team effort, and I'm so humbled by the team/community I have had around me.

Thanks, War Eagle, and God Bless!

John Snyder

Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give you a hope and a future."