I am back from a whirlwind trip to Florida, where I helped my sweet momma recover a bit after getting struck by a car on April 27. It was a privilege to wait on her, shop for her, shuttle her back and forth to Dr. appointments, clean for her and tuck her in at night. We had some precious moments of undivided time together that I am truly grateful for! I am sure I appreciated it more, since we only get to see each other a few times a year with me living overseas...but even with the extent of her injuries, it could have been soooo much worse. I am thankful that in spite of the reason I had to go, it made me cherish her, my family and this short life we are given, a whole lot more! You just never know what tomorrow holds...it can all change in an instant.
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why,
you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You
are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15
On Saturday April 28th, I got a phone call that no one ever wants to get. I talk with my mom almost every other day, so seeing her number on the caller ID was not unusual. She greeted me like she always does- in a chipper voice, and asked how my day was going. I went on about how I was tired, I was trying to fix dinner and how the kiddos were getting on each others nerves...nothing unusual :)
When I finally asked how she was, I could tell something was different about the tone of her voice and then she said she had been in an accident...
"I was hit by a car", she said.
I immediately assumed that she was IN her car and another car hit her. I can't remember if I asked her if she and her car were ok- but then she said,
"No, I was hit by a car while crossing the street!"
(in the cross-walk with the green light!)
"WHAT happened?!" I asked, as a million questions started racing through in my head.
"Well, I don't have all of the answers yet, because when I was hit, I was knocked unconscious. I do know that I have some fractured ribs (turned out to be ALL 12 on her right side), a collapsed lung and some broken bones in my face that will need surgery to be repaired."
She downplayed all of her injuries and then insisted that I wouldn't need to come and then handed the phone to our Pastor and good friend, TJ Campo.
"T- tell me the truth, is her face smashed in? Should I come?", I asked.
He reassured me that she was in good spirits and that she actually looked pretty good, considering all of her injuries. He even sent me a photo of her, to help ease my mind
.
Over the next 24 hours though, with each new update I got on her condition, Brad and I both felt that I needed to go and be with her. The timing of course was not ideal, with a work trip planned for the both of us in Prague later that week, and then another trip for Brad that following week... but at least we already had childcare figured out.
I arrived in Florida 5 days after the accident to find her in her hospital room, surrounded by flowers, cards, and many gifts! Two women from church, Marilyn and Jody, had been taking turns and she was almost never left alone. Our friend Missy, gathered her important goodies from home and brought them to the hospital. My sister-in law Dede, dropped everything as soon as I called her and stayed with her until we got some more answers, a nurse friend sent me all of her medical reports... and all sorts of visitors came by and literally her cell phone rang constantly. She was so well taken care of by so many- and to me, it was a testimony of how well she had taken care of so many others!
After 7 days in the hospital, I was able to take her home and get her settled. With each day that passed I was able to see her progress. I also got to watch her poor face turn a new shade of purple, green and yellow, as the bruises healed from her surgery. She is still moving slowly, but continues to get better as each day goes by. Her friends continue to rally around her and will be there to provide meals, take out her garbage and get her to any more follow up Dr. appointments. It was hard to leave- but I know that she is being well taken care of.
I returned to Vienna yesterday, to be greeted with hugs, kisses, flowers and a
very clean house! My husband did a fantastic job of holding down the fort while I was away. Thanks to everyone who helped watch/shuffle our kiddos to different places and to those who prayed. We all felt it!
Here she is using her
incentive spirometer while we were out running some errands. She would blow into it whenever we would stop at a light...you should have seen the looks we got! :)
