Friday evening I got a text from my sister Amy saying that my brother and his 6 children were in a bad car accident on their way through Nebraska. They were traveling from Utah, to Kansas City, and then on to their home in Tennessee.
The left rear tire blew, which caused the van they were driving to veer off the road and into a ditch, coming to a stop upside down. During this, my 12 year old niece Jessica was thrown from the vehicle and sustained the most severe injuries out of all of them. She was wearing her seat belt, but it broke from the seat resulting in her being ejected. My brother broke his right hand, my nephew is in a neck brace, but Jessica has a very long road ahead of her.
When I got the first text from Amy, Ivie, Aidan and I were out shopping. We were in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby and immediately stopped and said a prayer for them. As the evening progressed, the text messages from family members continued to come in, and the severity of Jessica's injuries were shared. She was paralyzed from the waist down, and was being flown from Nebraska to the Denver Children's Hospital. I live very close to that hospital, so I immediately went on standby. I called my sister-in-law and left a voice mail telling her that if she needed me to go there even just to hold Jessica's hand, I would.
Around 9 PM, my sister-in-law called and said that Jessica was at Denver Health Hospital, not the Children's Hospital. That hospital is still very close to where I live, and is actually where Aidan was born and taken care of in the NICU.
I knew my kids were in good hands, so I grabbed my phone and charger, and left for the hospital. When I got to the ER, they took me back to her room but said it would be best for me to wait outside for a little while. I saw a friend of mine that works there and said, "Hi Dusty! Oh, I probably shouldn't call you that here." He said, it was OK and then he asked me if I knew her, pointing to my niece's room. I said that she was my niece, and asked if he was taking care of her. He told me that he was, and what was going on with her back and spine. He's a Neuro Surgeon, and was in charge of her care that night. He told me how severe it was, and asked that I keep the information to myself for now, so they could tell my sister-in-law face to face in the morning.
I knew that he worked there, but I didn't put two and two together until I saw him. It was definitely nice to see a familiar face and know that my niece was in very good hands.
While we were in the ER, they were assessing things, getting vital signs, and moving her enough that it was causing more pain. All I could do was stand there and watch, and at some points, let her hold my hand. I told her to squeeze as hard as she needed to. She was so brave and calm through it all. I tried to smile and be positive so she wouldn't get scared, but when I knew she was asleep, I turned away and cried.
They were in limbo for a little while deciding whether or not to take her for an MRI for her back (which would take about 2 hours) or to get her into surgery for her arm. She had a deep gash at her elbow and one on her hand resulting in possible amputation of one or two of her fingers.
Finally it was decided that they would do surgery first, and they wheeled her up to the floor where she would be prepped for surgery. I stood by her bed and tried to just comfort her, and be there for her. I talked to the Doctor that would be performing the surgery, he explained the procedure, and let me know what their plans were. Part of the surgery would be spent cleaning out her wounds, because they were exposed to a lot of mud and debris. They informed me that this Doctor was one of the best in the country and had participated in one of the only hand transplant surgeries, so I knew he was good.
I answered a lot of questions and provided information about allergies and family history. They contacted my sister-in-law for consent, and then finally around 12:30 AM, they took me to the waiting room and she went into surgery.
The nurses took very good care of her, and were gentle and kind. They made sure I was comfortable and got me a drink before I went into the waiting room. They gave me two warm blankets, and I tried to lay down, but the chairs weren't that comfortable and I was still high on adrenalin. Plus, I was waiting for updates from the nurses, so I wanted to be awake. They weren't sure how long it would take, but guessed between 2 and 4 hours.
About 2 hours in, the nurse called me and gave me an update and let me know that it would probably be another 2 hours.
Around 3:30 or 3:45 AM, the Doctor came out and gave me the update and told me that the surgery went well. I called my sister-in-law and gave her the update and then let her get back to sleep. She had a 7:30 AM flight from Utah, so I wanted her to get as much rest as possible.
A little while later, the nurse came to get me and brought me back in to the recovery room where Jessica was. She was sleeping, and they said they would wake her up, but I told them to just let her sleep. At this point I was getting very tired, so I knew that I needed to leave then, or not leave at all. So, I asked the nurses if they thought it would be OK if I left and of course they said yes. I asked them to please tell her that I was there when she came out of surgery.
They gave me some cold apple juice and showed me how to get out of the hospital, and then I drove home. It was about 4:30 AM when I got home, and I cried myself to sleep at about 5:00 AM. I just kept thinking,
'Why do bad things keep happening to my family?'
I was able to sleep until about 1:00 PM Saturday. I talked to my sister-in-law and found out that Jessica was going in for her back surgery, and was asking for me. I told her I would be there whenever they needed me. It was a long surgery, so I wouldn't be going to the hospital until later that evening, after it was over and she was in the PICU.
That evening, Ryan and I went out to celebrate our anniversary. We went to Hacienda Colorado for the best fajitas in the land, and then wandered around Good Will for a little while. (Our typical date, which I love).
Around 7:30 PM, my sister-in-law sent me a text and told me that she was in recovery, and would be moved to the PICU shortly, so I headed out. I wanted to get her some balloons, and I needed to get gas, so I stopped on my way there.
When I got to the hospital, she was still in recovery, so I waited in her room until they brought her up. I sat with my brother and sister-in-law while they got Jessica situated and then we went into her room all together. My brother was exhausted and in a lot of pain, so my sister-in-law got him settled in one of the parent rooms (which had a bed) and then she and I sat and talked for a little while in Jessica's room.
I headed home and fell asleep almost immediately. All of us slept in on Sunday and then we cleaned the house a little bit in preparation for Ryan's sisters and their families to come over.
We had a little BBQ, and visited while the kids played, screamed, and reconnected, then we cleaned up and I headed back to the hospital. My brother needed dinner and a few other things, and I had washed Jessica's blanket for her so I wanted to make sure she had it for the night.
When I got there, Jessica was awake, but not feeling that great. She complained of a headache, and the nurse was pulling tape off her arm where she had deep cuts, so she was really uncomfortable. I could tell she was sad, and pretty much just wanted to be left alone to sleep, so my brother turned the lights off and he and I talked quietly while she slept.
He told me more about the accident and told me that they had let Jessica know why she couldn't feel her legs. I believe that's what was why she was so sad that evening. How could she not be sad? She didn't want to talk about it, so we don't really know how she's feeling about it all.
My brother told me that he felt God's hand involved in so many aspects of the accident. He said that it could have been so much worse, and no one else was involved in the accident. They could have been side-swiped by a semi, or been thrown into oncoming traffic. Miraculously none of them sustained any brain damage, and for the most part, are all doing well.
I don't believe it was a coincidence that the accident happened where it did, resulting in Jessica being flown to Colorado. Liz's brother lives in Fort Collins, so their other children are staying there and I am close enough to help at the hospital or have Chris and Liz come stay at our home if necessary. I also don't believe it was a coincidence that my friend was her Doctor. Knowing that, brought my brother a lot of peace, and that gives me peace.
They are all alive, and for that I am so thankful. Yes, Jessica has a long road ahead of her, but she's still here, and will have a good life. I just know it.
So, dear friends and family, if you pray, can you please say one for my sweet niece? She could use all the prayers and good thoughts possible right now.
Thank you.
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