R.I.P. Justin

A Fighter I know from working all the local fights, was murdered Christmas night. I had Mc'Gyvered him up during the November fights after he had cut his leg cutting up tape for gloves. Justin was a Huge guy, with hands the size of my head. He could be boisterous and ornery, but was also known to be a gentle giant.
Justin came up to me the last fights, Dec. 12th, and showed me his leg I had fixed and gave me a hug and said thank you for taking the time to fix him up. He said his pants with the huge gash on them were now his lucky pants...he was wearing them the night of the fights.

Please take a minute to read below and say a prayer for Justin and his family, as it has been revealed that 2 young children were in the home at the time he was shot.

R.I.P. Justin

Saturday, December 27, 2008by Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)
15598
Justin Eilers was shot and died shortly after on Friday morning in an apparent domestic disturbance at an acquaintance’s home in Canyon County, Idaho. Eilers was 30 years old. Canyon County sheriffs arrived at the residence at 10:44 p.m. MST, where Eilers was found shot and wounded. "Emergency medical staff took live-saving measures, but they were unsuccessful," said Capt. Dana Maxfield. Eilers was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy conducted Friday released the cause of death as a single gunshot wound to the chest. The bullet reportedly punctured Eilers’ lung before exiting his body, said Monte Cox, Eiler's longtime manager.

Cox said Eilers had gathered with relatives for the holidays, but tensions escalated with an ex-girlfriend, also in attendance. Eilers was asked to leave the residence, but was said to have refused and began throwing dishes and other objects in protest. The home’s owner was then said to have pulled a gun on Eilers and shot him in the chest after a brief verbal confrontation.

Eilers’ ex-girlfriend, mother, and young son were said to have been in the room at the time of the shooting.

James Robert Malec, 48, was arrested and charged with second degree murder in relation with the shooting, said Capt. Maxfield. It is believed that Malec is Eilers’ mother’s boyfriend.

Capt. Maxfield could not confirm this relationship or Eilers' alleged interaction with the ex-girlfriend. Maxfield did confirm that numerous relatives were at the scene at the time of the shooting.

Eilers was introduced to the fight game by close friend and former UFC champion Jens Pulver, who saw potential in the former Iowa State middle linebacker. After a brief tryout, Eilers became a member of the formidable Miletich Martial Arts team. A well-liked figure in the fight community, the athletic heavyweight quickly rose through the ranks and fought for the UFC heavyweight championship against Andrei Arlovski at UFC 53 in June 2005. The fight was stopped 4:10 into the first round when Eilers incurred a knee injury and collapsed to the canvas. Eilers (19-7-1) appeared in the Octagon four times, and went 1-3 in the UFC.

The Boise native reeled off 10 victories in his next 11 fights and got his second title bid for the EliteXC promotion in 2008.

After a second-round loss to the much heftier Antonio Silva last July, Eilers announced he’d be moving down to the 205-pound division. “He was really getting his fight career together,” said Cox, who called Eilers a good friend.

Jeff Sherwood and Brian Knapp contributed to this report.

NINJA....

Sorry it has been a while...I seem to lose track of time and the days all smoosh together and I find myself at the end of the line. :-)

I had fights recently, waiting for my friends (who got AWESOME photos of me doing my thing!!) to get the pics to me to post....BUSY night....lets see-18 fights =36 guys who want to pummel each other. A Full moon, Friday night and Beer....see where I am going with this...hehe
We had broken collar bones, noses, facial bones, knockouts and some that just begged to be done because they were exhausted...it was quite the night. We arrived for pre-fight checks at 5pm and got out of there around midnight.

Saturday was a Cheer performance at 9:45am and then Demi and I tackled the grocery store. Once we were done we chilled at home and TRIED to get things done and Sunday hit church. I came home Sunday and had Women's Self Defense.
YES, I am taking ANOTHER class...hehehahahoho. This one is on going and will be moving from 1 Sunday a month to 2...Thanks Scott, Love ya for it!
Sunday he offered for us to break boards with our forearm/elbow areas. Do you think I tried....YES! I stood my ground and gave that board a hard smack and I really think it hit me back..OUCH. I tried again and still it didn't break. Scott tells me "LeAnne, you are trying to hit the board and slowing down, pretend you are trying to hit me...not the board!" That was all the encouragement I needed. I hit that thing a 3rd time and my forearm went right thru it...I BROKE IT IN HALF!!! Of course my arm lost some skin on the elbow and I have a pretty purple mark, but doggone it, I did it!!! I am a freaking NINJA! ;-)

For all of you who have been praying, THANK YOU....Derek is hanging in there right now. Last update we received we heard that the insurance is making him wait until around Jan. 1st to be on the list. We are hoping he hangs on and things will move quickly once he is approved so a new liver can be transplanted. He has his 29th B-day Dec. 29th....hoping he will be feeling well enough to have a nice dinner with his Girlfriend, Kami.

Well, off to bed. I am so tired and need my beauty sleep so I can get up tomorrow and do it all again!

A Little Weird Around Here

OK...today we had a TOTAL Schneiderville moment around here. :-P
Curtis had gone into the boys room to talk to Hunter about being a typical pre-teen and went over to check on how Rocco (Hunter's Turtle) was doing. Low and behold I hear him holler for me to come upstairs..NO ROCCO! We dug in the rocks thinking maybe he had buried himself to do a little hibernating etc but still could not find him. We got out the flashlight and looked in all the bedrooms. That little turkey (or turtle I should say) made it all the way across the boy bedroom, down the hall and into our bedroom...quite a safari for the little guy. Not sure if he is glad to be back home or if he enjoyed himself out and about. Of course, Hunter's biggest fear was that Skittles or Norman the cats ate him. We decided that ol' Rocco was smart enough to escape, he is smart enough to hid in his shell to avoid the cat monsters!

All I could say the whole time is..."If we can't find him we have to move cuz I am NOT living in a house with a loose turtle or a house with dead turtle stench!" hehe

Can't Even Breathe I am SOOO Frustrated

Got word today, day 2 of Derek supposedly being added to the Donor List for a new liver.

Today the Donor Board called Derek to ask him if he had supplemental insurance. WHAT??...He has main insurance that he has waited 6 months to pass the probation period on, then the old employer switched insurance from Blue Cross to Blue Shield to Aetna, he waited 6 months and when that was almost up the company switch back to BC/BS, causing him to have to wait ANOTHER 6 month probation period (the first one didn't count ya see...)
NOW, the Donor Idiots, excuse me, BOARD...wants to know if he has supplemental insurance as well since the cost could go over $250,000.
When Derek said no, and explained that he is on BC/BS on the Cobra plan, they shook their collective idiotic heads and told him that they WILL NOT PUT HIM ON THE LIST YET.....

I am sorry, but could they possibly get off their collective asses and look at him as a human and NOT a number....he is a valuable life that is dying, yes I said it out loud...HE IS DYING and will not live to get supplemental insurance let alone find a company that would give him insurance knowing he is going in for a transplant.

We are all so frustrated, sad, angry and just in absolute awe of the idiocy that is being thrown in front of Derek that we don't even know what to do.

I have told Curtis family they need to talk to the Media, a Lawyer, anyone who will listen to get Derek's story out there to the public.

I know how Curtis and I feel, I could not imagine how it feels for Derek, or Curt's parents, knowing that one of their children is dying in front of their eyes because someone is worried about the bottom line of a large hospital and insurance corporation. YUCK!