After a couple of hours at the range this morning TJ is up in a stand as I type this post. I’m very excited for him. Hoping e and TJ (and MD and T!) have a great afternoon. Thankful for friends that invite the boy to do things like this.
*Just got a report that some deer did venture out near their stand but too far out and spooked. I know he was excited to see them!
Dearest Roberta, I sincerely enjoy following your blog site, enjoying your posts and seeing the children involved in their home and scholastic activities-you have done a great job! This morning I was sincerely disturbed that you and E would express delight in thinking that the pre-teen asthmatic boys would feel physically and emotionally prepared to use a high powered rifle to shoot game after two hours at the shooting range. Please know that the hunting, killing and death process of animals is very difficult at any age! What will happen to the dead animal? Will it be gutted and consumed or just left as an unwanted trophy? I hope that you and E will seek other challenging activities for the children for the next few years. Love, Aunt Linda Ormsby
TJ was using an age and size appropriate rifle. It was fired with very long intervals between for cooling down at the range. His asthma was not an issue as we work hard to keep it under control. He was monitored throughout. He has all emergency meds on hand, including auto-injector epinephrine for worst case scenario being about 20 minutes from a hospital. We discussed hunting with his specialist and he thought it was an awesome idea. (He’s an avid outdoorsman himself.) There is absolutely no reason to let TJ’s asthma define who he is. According to his pulmonologist he can and SHOULD do anything he’d like to try. He plans to go out for cross-country next year and the doctor fully supported that idea with a big pat on the back. Your question “[w]ill it be gutted and consumed or just left as an unwanted trophy” left me with my mouth hanging open. You must not understand hunting in a club and what is actually involved. I would think you gleaned a sense of who we were to know we wouldn’t randomly take a child out in the wood to kill a large animal and then just leave it to rot. I’d suggest you do some reading on why deer are hunted. And I think I’ll leave that question at that. (As I shake my head. You must think we’re just big old Alabama red-necks down here… popping a deer, traumatizing a kid, and then leaving the buck there bleeeding out…)
I feel blessed to have men in my life that want to include TJ in this rite of passage that he has wanted to take part in for some time. We have our fingers crossed next time he has better luck!