Thankful Stookey Shows Top Holstein
Published: Friday, July 17, 2020
After undergoing emergency heart surgery in December, Jeff Stookey is thankful to be back in the show ring, and even more thankful to be alive.
Less than eight months after suffering a tear in his aorta, the Leesburg resident was at the halter last Friday when Holstein judge Eric Topp selected his 5-year-old Holstein as the grand champion of the Indiana State Holstein Show in Columbia City.
After all of the picture-taking was finished, the 57-year-old dairy farmer returned his prize-winning Holstein to her stall, then sat down to reflect on his journey.
One day in late December, after coming into the house from doing chores, Stookey felt dizzy and a sharp pain in his back. He told his wife Marla that he thought he was having a heart attack. Marla drove him to the local hospital in Warsaw, and then he was flown by helicopter to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. There, a CAT scan determined that he had what is known as an aortic dissection, which is a tear in the wall of the artery carrying blood out of the heart.
"It's a pretty bad feeling when you're sitting on the gurney and the doctor says, 'Well, you might want to get your life in order, because if you make it to Fort Wayne you might have a chance of living,'" Stookey recalled.
Stookey underwent a six-hour surgery to repair the dissection, and he spent the next seven days in the intensive care unit. Ironically, the surgeon inserted a cow valve to replace his torn aortic tissue.
When he comes back to the hospital for checkups, the doctors remind him that not many people are lucky enough to live through that. A delay of 10 minutes could have proven fatal, doctors later told him.
As Stookey recovered at home, Jeff and Marla's three adult children, Jordan, Maranda and Mallory, all stepped up to keep the farm running. With the coronavirus pandemic causing a lockdown, Marla said it was a "God-thing" that all three children were able to help out.
Jeff said he doesn't understand why this happened to him, but with tears in his eyes, he said he is thankful that God spared his life.
Even after the health setback, Jeff said he was feeling good about his chances on the show circuit this year. But then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing the postponement or cancellation of many shows. Last Friday's combined Holstein and Jersey shows were originally scheduled for mid-June in LaPorte. Fortunately, organizers were able to reschedule the event for last Friday in Whitley County, and that event was Stookey's first opportunity to show cattle since his surgery.
For his effort, Stookey captured several banners during the open show. His grand champion Holstein was also selected as senior champion cow and the best bred and owned animal. Also, Stookeyholm Holsteins was named premier exhibitor.
Sunrose Holsteins of Millersburg was selected as the premier breeder.
The reserve grand champion of the open show was the champion intermediate cow exhibited by Anna Moser of Dansville, Mich. Honorable mention went to the reserve champion senior Holstein shown by Bruce Gingerich of Sunrose Holsteins.
Maranda Stookey exhibited the reserve champion intermediate Holstein in the open show.
In the junior show for youth exhibitors, Courtney Lotter of Berne, Ind. exhibited the senior champion and grand champion overall. The cow is owned by Marcus and Julia Troyer of Noble County. The reserve champion was shown by Maddie Beyer of Columbus, Ind.
In the intermediate division, Maddie Beyer of Columbus, Ind. brought both the champion and the reserve.
The champion and reserve champion heifers, respectively, in both the open and junior shows were exhibited by Kanani Price of Fairmount, Ind. and Allie Kuehnert of Fort Wayne.
In the open Jersey show, the grand champion belonged to Max Bollenbacher of Argos and was exhibited by Ron Mosser of Geneva, Ind. Megan Hill of Bristol, Vt. showed the reserve.
The champion and reserve champion intermediate Jerseys, respectively, were shown by Tricia Gingerich of Millersburg and Hayleigh Geurink of Grand Rapids, Mich.
The champion Jersey junior calf was shown by Megan Hill of Bristol, Vt., while Geurink showed the reserve champion.
In the junior Jersey show, Breanne Freeman of Bremen brought home the grand champion banner. She also had the champion intermediate Jersey. The reserve champion was exhibited by Maddie Beyer.
Lindy Mercer of Jay County exhibited the champion Jersey heifer. The reserve was shown by Tenlee Phares of Noble County.
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