One Accident...

I started this blog over a year ago. I remember when I was struggling to come up with a title for the blog...

One accident can change everything..

Melissa MacKenzie Zarn did truly change my life drastictically. I am not sure there is one part of my life that did change in some sort of way from this accident. To think I wasn't even in the vehicle, I had no physical damage to me, I do not have any nightmares about the rolling of the car, and I can't even tell you what road they were on for sure.

All I know is that my life has changed in good and bad ways.

Kenzie may never know how her accident some how improved my life. I was going down a path of not caring about anything and making bad choices. No I wasn't doing drugs or anything crazy.

I go through life realizing that things could really be worse. When I think its gotten to be so bad I think how selfish of me to think that. There are so many more people out there that are worst off then I ever will be. I have learned to really care and grow a passion for something.

People say "everything happens for a reason" I am not sure if I believe that yet or not. But I do know, that everything you do will some how effect the rest of your life whether it be small or big.

I knew I loved Kenzie since she was a small child. I never realized that she would have such an impact on my life.

Sometimes I feel guilty for the life I live while she is where she is.

My biggest wish from the accident that is other people learn from this..

Shake It For Kenzie 2012 in the books!

Well, if you didn't make it to Shake it For Kenzie, you really missed out on some great music, weather, and a great time all together!

Shake It For Kenzie was an event that I spent months and months of planning. Stressful? yes! Worth the time, stress, and whatnot. Must of been because I am already working on next years event. I am hoping to be making a HUGE annoucement sometime this winter about a BIG Perfomance. So Get ready to mark you calendars because Shake It For Kenzie 2013 is something you do not want to miss

Thank you to all the musicians that came out. I can honestly say that I had some of the best music in Billings!!

Thank you to The Brain Injury Association of Montana for helping with all the great information for people!

We raised over $2600 when it was all said and done. Most importantly I hope we educated people about the importance of protecting yourself from a brain injury. here you go here are some photos! If you want to see more of the fun check out the photos on facebook

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Its almost been a year. Next Wenesday it will be a year since the accident.

I can still remember the night like it was yesterday...

A year hasn't it made it eaiser. If anything a year has made it harder. I have learned to keep a smile on my face as I tell the story. I have learned to recite the accident over and over again. I have learned how to answer the same question over and over again without crying or getting frustrated.

One accident can change everything..how true that statement is.

My life choices have changed. I have grown up and realized that I need to make not only smart choices for myself but for my loved ones.

I think that bad things happen to everyone. I do not think my familys story is any worse or any less than anyones. It breaks my heart everyday to think of the life that was lost. To think of the possibilities there were for McKenzie. She was barley 16 when the accident happened. She barley had started her life.

But again you all know this..

A year has gone by and the number of people Kenzie's story has touched is heart warming. I still meet people that tell me they Pray for her. The support from complete strangers has really made me want to be a better person.

With all that said I would still stop the world if I could,just to have her back. To have her long brown hair, to see her in her cowboy boots and to see a cheesy grin on that freckeled face again.

A year has gone by and I think I miss her more than ever. My heart is very heavy this week and it seems like a struggle to put on the brave face I have tried to have this past year. It being a year all the feelings of that first week come back. The nights where I cried all night and would call her phone. The feeling of not believing it was really happening. The thought of thinking she was just going to wake up and be ok. The day I realized that was not going to happen. I can still smell the ICU room, see Nurse's facial expression, and I can see her there with wires everywhere. This makes me dizzy all over again and my world seems so tiny again.

My world has changed and I have learned not to be such a selfish person. This hasn't been a "I have found God" expeience. This has been a I want to be a better person experience. Maybe God was never lost in my life?

If I could give you one honest and simple piece of advice it would be this. Next time you are about to make a bad decision...whether it be riding a bike (motorcycle, bicycle..ect) with out a helmet, get behind the wheel after a few drinks, don't put on a seat belt, speed, drive tired or anything else...think about your loved ones. Think twice!

To put someone through this pain in awful. I would never in a million years wish for any mother or father have to make a decision to keep their child alive or not or any family member/loved one for that matter. Don't think about you as you make a selfish simple choice next time. How would you feel if they were the ones that did not make a smart choice and you had to deal with the consequences? Be safe and smart and make good choces. Accidents happen make the right choices so they aren't deadly.

The girls made two poor choices that day to speed and not wear a seat belt that day. Something awful happened and more than two lives were affected that day.

At first it was about raising money to help my family. Raising awareness for the cause has become so dear and close to my heart. It is something that I am very passionate about. This Shake It For Kenzie fundraiser at the Zoo next Saturday is just the start of helping raise the awareness for something affects millions of families. I meet someone at least every other week that has a story. I am excited to be giving back and spreading the word. Here is the organization we are donating too

With that being said I hope to see you all out at Zoo Montana in Billings on July 14th! We have 7 (possibly 8) live acts! and we will have food and soft drinks from Qdoba. And some Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company Beer there and some yard games families can play. This all kicks off at 3 pm. look forward to seeing you all there!!!

if you want to purchase tickets you can purchase them through me Katie (4068604190) I accept checks, cash and paypal. or you can stop in at the Zoo or at Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company here in Billings! I will be out at Dehler Park this Sunday (July 8th)starting at 5:30 selling tickets and just chating with people about our cause at Koncerts For Kidz. Its a free event for the whole family that is put on by the Brain Injury Support Group of Billings. Come check it out and say hello to me!

Summer Fun!!

I have been sucking at blogging but I have also been super busy. I actually should not be sitting here writing this but what the heck!! I literally just got back with meeting man that had a traumatic brain injury who does a lot of fundraising. He blew my mind!! Not only did he get a brain injury but he also has was stabbed last summer! What!? Yeah, totally serious. This mad has a heart of love!! He told me that his accident was really a blessing. What a gem!! Anyways, I been so busy with sooo much mostly the Shake It For Kenzie event. Can you believe it we are only just a little over a month away. We have 8..yes that is not a typo we have 8 musical acts!!! Yellowstone Brewing Company will be supplying us with some delicious beverages! We have a photographer, face painting and sooo much more. you will have to come out to check it out. Tickets are $10. You can buy them with me 860-4190, Zoo Montana, or Yellowstone Brewing Company. (tickets will be available next week!) Also we are raffling off entries to the Dirty Dash. If you want to go but don't want to go and have been fighting with yourself. How about you buy a raffle ticket and if you win then heck you better go. Raffle tickets are $1 a piece or $5 for 6. We will be raffling them off at the end of the month we have five pairs to raffle off get them now. call or text 406-860-4190! I think that is all I need to update for now. I am sure I forgot something..so until next time remember to be smart and safe and not dumb and unsafe. You only have one brain use it wisely!

A Starry Night-Roundup Adult Prom 2012

First I'd like to thank some people for all the help! Thank you to my friends and family that had to deal with my crazy self and the silly ideas I tried to come up with. Thank you to Amanda Turley for pretty much anything I asked for. Thank you to Jessica, Rebecca and Jeni for making my balls.Thank you to my sister Heather for doing all my errands Thank you to everyone. When I first got this idea for an adult prom I had no idea what to expect. I did a ton of research on DIY decorations and just how to throw a sucessful prom as a fund raiser. I found these balls that looked like they would be simple to make. After a month and 56 balls later, I know think I was part crazy. I wanted people to walk into the gym and say wow. I am not sure if that is what happened. But I was pleased with the lights, center pieces, and the balls. I've decided to just keep doing the same theme. it will save me money and time. Setting up took about 11 hours to do total. My poor brother-in-law probably wants to kill me. He had to do the majority of the work along as he was the only guy and the tallest person there. Thank you Jack there is no way I could of done it without you! The day of the prom as I was setting up the "Kenzie table", reality hit me again. I took a moment to take everything in. I sat there and thought about how far we have come. How far Kenzie has come. How I have changed as a person. Sitting there all alone I cried for a minute and let out of all the emotions and exhaustion out. I loved watching everyone show up in their dresses, tuxes, crowns, and everything. Everyone looked beautiful and everyone seemed to have a great time. My goal was for everyone to dance and have a good night. At one point literally everyone was on the dance floor for the last few songs. Thank you for those that came expecially the people that traveled there. Thank you to my family that came to support not just Kenzie but me. I really do appreciate all of you even the people I did not know there. A few favorite moments from the prom. -Charlie and his sense of humor. If you have never met Charlie Gairrett or seen him dj/karoke you really are missing on a fun expierence. If you have an event that you need a dj contact me and I will put you in contact with him. -Pictures with Ashlie Tate. I can not even begin to say nice enough stuff about Ashlie. She did an amazing job with the back drop and her prices wereso affordable. People loved being able to get a prom picture done1 Thank you Ashlie for all you have done! -The "dancers". We had a group come and they won over the dance floor. I think everyone was a little intimidated at first. My sister got asked if I had hired professional dancers for the event. They were amazing dancers and really fun to watch! They were also very sweet and kind and beautiful! -Prom King and Prom Queen went to Matt LaPierre and Ryan Biggs -The dancing. It was fun. I had a super blast Thank you to everyone that came out.

Next Stop Off the Crazy Train..Is Katies Mind

I decided to write a blog so I could try to stay awake to switch laundry. I am fighting myself to stay awake. I feel like this week was such a waste and I got nothing done that I am suppose to get done. There is not enough hours in a day, and there is not enough Katie to go around anymore. I am getting to my breaking point. Which for those of you that don't know me, just really means I am overly tired. My brain can no longer function. Which in turn makes for a dramatic, senstive, emotional, and crabby Katie. In other words I am a girl in junior high. Just kidding. I can joke like that because I WAS a junior high girl at one point in my life. This week I moved out of my house into a new house while working 8 hours a day, going to gym for at least an hour and half, and trying to keep on track with the fundraiser. I feel like I accomplished nothing. And now here I sit blogging at 1030 at night so I can get laundry finished because if I have to unpack one more thing I will go crazy. On top of all that I have a baby shower to plan and trying to help with the family reunion I started. I am having a hard time remembering everything and remembering what I told people to do or not to do. I finally got my thanks your made and letter wrote for the paper. Yah, it almost took me a whole month but at least it got done. I am getting phone calls/emails made for the bar catering portion of the Shake It For Kenzie event. The food is up in the air but I think I have a back up plan now. I honestly just want to get this stuff out of the way so I can enjoy my summer a little and not stress too much. I am still looking for an emcee, who knows maybe I will have to do that. Which means I will have to at least have a drink of vodka and a shot of fire ball..Just kidding. I will find someone. I am way better with the bands now. I feel more confident in it. And thank you to my Cousin Tyler for agreeing to do the sound for the event. That is a huge relief for me!! :) I have a ton of people that want to do certain things for the event. And I apologize right now if you are reading this. It takes time because I have to get everything approved from the Zoo because I can put an ok on anything. Rules are rules..and for some reason I enjoy rules. This blog is turning into a little to-do list for me. I hope you are enjoying being inside my head. When we were doing the prom..I couldn't sleep because I was dreaming of the Shake It For Kenzie fundraiser. This fundraiser is a HUGE deal to ME! not really my family or anything. This is a challenge for me and I feel like this is going to tell people whether I can really do something or not. This is terrifying who wants to fail infront of your friends, family, and the public. Not I! This can eventually change lives. Not only am I wanting to raise money but to raise awareness of how this can be prevented. There is reasons we have seat belts, helmets, speed limitis, laws and regulations. These were not invented to make peoples lives more complicated more to save them and protect them as best as possible. Accidents happen, and sometimes things can not be prevented. But, in most cases they can. Next time you get ready to make some poor decision think about your family and friends. Think about you would feel if you lost them and would you want them to put you through that pain. If the answer is no, then do them a favor and treat them with the same respect and don't make that poor decision. Like if you want to go ride your mortorcycle, do not go without a t-shirt, closed toe shoes, a HELMET, and don't have this attitude that cars need to watch you. That my friend is both of your responsibility. Remember think smart and treat people with respect.

Shake It For Kenzie..the to-do list and how you can help!

The Adult Prom is over (yes I have a blog I am just waiting for more pictures so I can add them) and now its time to move on to the next event. Yes I gave my day to relaxe. :) The Shake It For Kenzie event is going to be a HUGE event. You do not want to miss out on this fun summer event. It's going to be super cheap for the fun enertainment you will get! $10 to get in. Things we are working on right now. We are working on getting sponsorship for the event. We are looking on getting food for the event. We would really like to help out an orgnaization that is either close to Kenzie or a non profit organization (you know spread the wealth, right). We are looking for people that like to do face painting and sorts. We are trying to brainstorm other fun activities for kids and family. We already have a fun photo booth booked with the amazing Ashlie Tate. Search her on facebook to see her work. She really in amazing and has a huge heart! Bands/solo acts if you are interested or plan on performing I need to know by mid May I will be get posters and tickets ordered so we can sell at the end of May. So if you would like you name out there I need to know then otherwise well I don't know what to tell you! I am also looking for someone to help with inbetween the acts you know keep the crowd going. I'd love a comedian or something to get people laughing. If you have any ideas, advice, questions, or anything at all please contact me. best way to get ahold of me is e-mail. From there I can give you my phone number. Please share this blog with all your friends. the more people that see this the bigger we can make this and the more we can raise awareness and money for Kids with Traumatic Injuries!! e-mail is ktzarn@gmail.com