LDS church news article

here is the article:
After accident family, friends rally

Motorcycle accident leaves young father without use of arms or legs



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


May 27, 2006

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — As soon as his chin hit the ground, Jon Hales knew something was terribly wrong. Though he was traveling at a very slow speed, his dirt bike hit a rock "just right" to send him over the handlebars.


Jon Hales, surrounded by family and friends, reads statement during fund-raiser organized and supported by Church members and others.

Photo by Dacy Nottingham

During a Church News telephone interview, Brother Hales said he felt the pop and crack in his neck. He said his first thought was, "This is what it feels like to break your neck." His next thought was calming: "Jesus Christ has suffered, and through His atonement He knows exactly how you feel and knows your pain."
That testimony and the Christlike service of others have sustained him and his family through the ensuing weeks of rehabilitation since the March 16 accident as he strives to regain the use of his arms and legs, as well as endure continuing pain.
Brother Hales' wife, Christina, said help has been generously given from members of their Orangecrest Ward, their Riverside California West Stake and beyond.
A group of high school students is among those.
Having taught early morning seminary for three years while living in Northern California's Bay Area, Brother Hales was a natural when a class in Riverside needed a replacement teacher in January. A video-game artist by profession, he had served a mission to Osaka, Japan, and graduated from BYU.
Though he taught them for only a short time, the 16-or-so students in his seminary class rallied to his assistance.
Sister Hales said they tended the couple's four young daughters, tore up carpeting for the installation of more wheelchair-friendly wood laminate flooring, helped with yard work, and delivered fliers advertising a fund-raiser for Brother Hales. At the fund-raiser, they did face painting, supervised a "bounce house" attraction for children and helped with food. The youth also visited Brother Hales in the hospital and the young men participated in taking the sacrament to him each Sunday.
That, said Sister Hales, along with similar service from many other Church members, has been a great blessing to the family.
Brother Hales said, "The amount of support that has been forthcoming from the saints has been overwhelming. I know I have thousands of saints praying on my behalf."
Meanwhile, he has earned respect for his faithfulness. He is the home teacher for the family of Dacy Nottingham, and Brother Nottingham said that during a visit to the hospital, his family received a home teaching lesson from Brother Hales.
At the time of the accident, Brother Hales had just left his job as the art director for a game-development firm to start his own related business. As he lay paralyzed, but conscious following his fall, another thought weighing on him was that he needed to recover to make it to a convention the following Monday to launch his business.
That didn't happen.
So it was an additional great blessing when family friend Celesta McGee spearheaded the fund-raiser, with the help of Sister Hales' sister and brother-in-law — Heidi and Matt Robison, and others.
So generously supported, Brother and Sister Hales are moving forward with faith. Though the pain remains severe, Brother Hales has a bright outlook as he has regained some use of his arms. "I honestly feel that someday I'm going to walk again," he said. "I feel extremely blessed already, but I'm going to work hard with what the Lord has given me." — Greg Hill


FRONT PAGE + ARTICLES + FEATURES + VIEWPOINT + NAUVOO
© 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company