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16 Ag Families-Fall BY RAEWAGONER Like many veteran farmers Rock was working alone in the field when the chopper jammed. It was an older piece of equipment and Rock did what many farmers would do he tried to clear the jam with his foot without shutting off the chopper. He had done the same thing many times before but this time would be his last. It caught one of my legs and cut it off he said. Unfortunately that wasnt enough to free him from the blades and he lost his other leg in the same fashion. Laying helpless he didnt lose consciousness and used his cell phone to call for help. Rock didnt have health insurance but the cost of that decision proved to be high. Between the ambulance helicopter hospital costs and reha- bilitation the bills added up quickly. Rock needed a miracle. The communities local and agriculture-wide started a fundraiser called Keep Rock Milking. Neighbors took care of the crops in his fields and friends from the local stockyard babysat his cows while he used all of his energy for rehabilitation. People I knew and people I didnt just came out of the woodwork Rock said. I try to be the kind of guy who would help someone else out but being on the receiving end of all that help was a real blessing. Two years since his accident Rock has two prosthetic legs and is get- ting around with the help of a walker and his wheelchairs. He has a light- weight chair for regular use and a track chair complete with a flashlight and toolbox for working out on the farm. Rocks wife Karen said she had no doubt that he would recover. The couple got married last fall. When he got that track chair and I first saw him out in the field in it rounding up cows ... thats when I knew he was going to be OK she said. Rock cant say enough about the people who literally helped him get back on his feet. DairyfarmerGaryRockstruckhasbeenfittedwithawheelchairliftandhandcontrolssohesself-sufficient.Rockseveredbothofhislegsduringafarmingaccidentin2013. Hehasbeenregaininghisindependencesincethen.HecantransferfromhistrackchairtohisBobcatwithnoassistance.PHOTO BY RAEWAGONER Just about every life has its ups and downs. Luckily few if any of us will experience the downsthat2013dealtHodgenvilledairyfarmer GaryRock.InMayRocklosthisfatherandJune brought a tornado that wiped out much of his farm. Provingbad things come in threesRock suered a life-changing injury in August 2013 while chopping silage to feed his dairy cows. RockingonMaking it through a hard place