Entegra Connection Magazine Summer 2014 | Page 14

CONTINUED: J'S STORY As a child, J was often irritable, but one day, Neal discovered that driving him around on 3-wheelers and quad runners on the family's 70-acres had a strange calming effect on J. As J grew, he liked going faster. Eventually, the family added to their riding toys, buying a UTV and later a Polaris Ranger. When J's sister, Nici, went off to college, the Hangers joined the PRC Ranger Club. In time, they began camping. "As we camped more and more, we realized we were more campers than riders," Neal recalls. The Hangers' first RV was a fifth wheel, but after 2 towable RVs- one being a toy hauler- the family realized they needed a motor coach to make it easier to care for J during the journey. So the Hangers bought an Entegra Coach Aspire. Journeys became fun, but after awhile, the family wanted a larger "We were the Cadillac of all campers," Neal laughs. "Not that we were shower to better care for J. In January, they upgraded to the Anthem trying to show off, but — well — we were showing off." 44DLQ. "The first shower in our Anthem," Neal laughs, "was the best RV shower ever." BUMPS IN THE ROAD Life hasn't always been easy for the Hangers. There have been potholes And while Neal is a fan of the spacious shower, J is fanatical over the in the road — "small setbacks," the family calls them. But there's really coach's many TVs, especially the exterior one, where J can draw a nothing small about the bumps J has overcome. crowd. "He's sort of a lady's man," Neal explains. J has had 15 surgeries, including open heart repair at age seven. Most But then again, maybe he's just like Dad. He likes a little attention recently, he had a colectomy. But with a mother who works as a nurse, every now and then. One of Neal's favorite Anthem memories was and a father who runs an excavating company, there's no pothole too when they showed up at PRC rally for the first time in their new coach. large in this family's way. They've spent every day of their life trying to