Words of reflection and thanks from Robyn...

I wanted to take this opportunity on behalf of our entire family to thank all of you for supporting us over the last 8 months. As you can imagine, our entire world has been turned upside down. In a matter of seconds my healthy husband was paralyzed from the neck down. Earth shaking, mind blowing, heart pumping, yet spiritually invigorating. There is no possible way I can explain my experience of the last eight months in a few short minutes, but it has been harder than and more blessed than you can possibly imagine. From the moment Tommy fell he began praying, the moment I got in the ambulance I began praying, when our neighbors saw the ambulance they began praying and the praying hasn’t stopped. It has not stopped and it is what sustains us to this day. Not only have your prayers sustained us, but your willingness to step forward and help us in very real and meaningful ways has been invaluable.

As most of you know, Tommy grew up in Arkansas and from the day I met him he did not stop bragging about Arkansas. Being from Mississippi, I thought what in the world is the big deal. But then I met his family and fell in love with them. Soon after I began meeting his Arkansas friends in Dallas. Great people. Then we began visiting Northwest Arkansas. I too fell in love with Arkansas’ beauty and the people. We made the big leap of faith and moved here in the summer of 2000. We have not looked back since. We still love our friends in Dallas, and thoroughly enjoy visiting, but Arkansas is home. This community has turned out tremendously for us during this difficult time. The spirit of love, friendship, concern and support is real and it sustains our hope for the future. We will never be able to properly thank you for the impact you have had on us. We just hope to pay it forward some day. I have always considered Tommy a gift and a special man. It occurred to me one day, he is not just meant for me and our family. A gift this good is meant to be shared. Thank you for sharing our lives with us. May God bless you as you have blessed us.

We love you and believe it or not this Longhorn is proud to say Go Hogs!!!!!


And a thank you for "Tommy's Nite Out"...

Tommy and I also want to thank everyone who worked so hard to make "Tommy's Nite Out" an overwhelming success. We are blown away by the generosity of people's time, talent and treasure. The Spirit was palpable at the gathering and we continue to be uplifted by the love of our friends and even of people who do not know us personally but who have reached out to us financially, and with their encouragement and prayers. This has been quite the journey so far with many ups and downs. Our Spirits hold steadfast in the belief that we will overcome this tragedy with hope and blessing. We ask that you continue to support us especially with your prayers as this has been called by many a marathon and not a sprint. Tommy and I continue to pray that anyone who has even read the blog or thought a kind thought towards us let alone reached out to us will be blessed. We would also like to specifically thank Neal and Gina Pendergraft for opening their home for the event, to Tony and Mary Beth Sherman for presenting the idea and then making it happen through their tireless and passionate work, to the steering committee for persevering from a loose band of friends to a dynamite event organizing team, to all of you who volunteered countless hours of your time to make the party so fun and successful and to all of those who came out on that cold night to celebrate friendship and life. We truly wish we could personally thank you, but we hope this will suffice for now and maybe some day we can thank you personally for making a real difference in our lives.

Love to all and God Bless You,
Tommy, Robyn, Ross and Jack Van Zandt


The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26