Thanksgiving 2008 is a blur for Rick Massie.

“I don’t even remember if I ate,” the Troup County sheriff’s lieutenant said. “I know I was mostly concerned with having ice on my knee.”

The holiday, admittedly, is not one the rest of Massie’s family remembers, either. It fell just a little more than a month after a crash in his patrol car Oct. 8, 2008, that still has him out of work today. Two days after his crash as he lay in Atlanta Medical Center, his children, Chuck and Tara Lynn, were in a crash with his mother-in-law.

“It’s been a rough year, but if you look around, someone always has it worse,” said his wife. Tonya Massie.

The family will celebrate Thanksgiving at home this year, and Rick Massie is ready to remember it all this time. The house will be filled with family and friends, many of whom came through for the family in big and small ways in the last year.

“We have been blessed,” Tonya Massie said. “We are very grateful for everything everyone has done for us. You don’t realize the friends you have. We have been helped by everybody.”

It’s a cliche to say the Massies are thankful during this holiday, but one would be hard-pressed to find a family more filled with gratitude. They are thankful for Rick Massie’s life, his returning health and mobility, and their children’s health, as well as the rest of their family. Joyce Leford, Tonya Massie’s mother, was released from the hospital shortly after the second crash; the children weren’t seriously injured. Chuck Massie even received an award from Gov. Sonny Perdue earlier this year for his actions to get help after the crash with his sister and grandmother.

Despite the circumstances, Tonya Massie says Chuck’s honors - he also was honored by the County Commission and Rosemont Elementary School, which he attended last year - are a highlight of the year.

“We were able to see the values we’d instilled in him: don’t panic, take care of your sister, come out,” Tonya Massie said.

Rick Massie added, “He was tested and he passed the test.”

Massie still is being tested. Since his crash he’s had seven surgeries, three each on his left ankle and left knee; one of those came as recently as October. Surgery immediately after the incident stopped internal bleeding. That surgery likely saved his life.

He’ll start physical therapy next week - finally - 13 months after the crash. Therapy will last six months and he still doesn’t know when, or even if, he’ll be able to return to duty.

“They’ll evaluate my progress and that will be the deciding factor if I’m a sheriff’s deputy again,” he said.

Massie, 44, has been at the sheriff’s department 17 years. He always was an active man, hunting and taking care of his family. He spends a lot of time these days “wishing he was fishing,” but the crash has given him perspective. He knows he’s lucky to be alive.

“I have a family,” he said. “Every time I look up, I’m grateful to be here for my family. I’ll be able to walk Tara Lynn down the aisle at her wedding one day and see Chuck graduate from college. I’ll be able to grow old with Tonya. My future is uncertain, but at least I have a future.”

Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.