Title: Second time around....
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Blog Entry: I had just spend like an hour typing out this long message, and when I clicked "submit blog", it took me to my sign-on page, and I friggen' lost everything I typed!! How very frustrating this is... My name's Scott Rogers, and I'm fortunate enough to reside in the beautiful, scenic Appalachian Mountains of rural East Tennessee. I'm 40 years old, very happily married to my bride of almost 19 years. We have 7 awesome children together, and life is never dull. I became an amputee following a Memorial Day '98 accident involving a .12 gauge shotgun. (This was an honest-to-God accident. I've heard the horror stories of the wannabe's who intentionally do this to themselves, and it is beyond my scope of comprehension as to why anyone would choose this.) Prior to the accident, I was a Paramedic in Atlanta for 12 years. I loved that vocation, and miss it very much even now. In the time since the accident, I have set about trying to reclaim my life. At the time of the accident, we lived in Georgia, where we'd both been born and raised. Following the accident, I had to sell my home. I had greater than 85% equity in the home, so I took our earnings from the sale of the home, and took off northbound in search of affordable housing near the mountains. I kept searching until I could find something that we could afford to buy outright. We were very fortunate to locate an ancient farmhouse (built in 1901) that's nestled at the base of the Clinch Mountain range in East Tennessee. It's a step back in time, and a really wonderful place to raise a family. In 2003, I made the decision to hike the Appalachian Trail. As a means of preparation, I hiked the Laurel Highlands hiking trail in South-Central Pennsylvania. That was an amazing experience that I really enjoyed. On March 22, 2004, I set foot on the A.T. with the intentions of not stopping until I reached Maine. On November 6, 2004, I had to come off of the trail due to my only brother committing suicide. I was 300 miles short of my goal. I returned in August of 2005, and completed the trail on Sept.21, 2005. When I finished, I had hiked 2,178 miles, and became the first above-knee amputee to accomplish this feat. My next goal is to summit Mount McKinley in Alaska. When I'm not climbing a mountain or hiking a trail, I enjoy spending quality time with my family, attending church, and riding my Harley. Life really is what you make of it. I'm glad to be a part of this group. I'm looking forward to meeting you, and hope to learn a lot from y'all. Warmest regards, Scott Rogers
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