Monday, August 16, 2010

Special Thanks!

There has to have been many, many people responsible for helping me, from rescue, to lab, to hygiene, to surgery, to cleaning my room, to recovery, etc.. I cannot possibly adequately thank all who have been so very kind to me. All I can really do is to say thank you and hope my small words will somehow convey the depth of my gratitude.
I also wish to thank all who visited, sent cards and letters, flowers, and balloons, and who made phone calls. And to all who prayed for my healing. The halo came off in 6 weeks instead of 8. And I set the goal to go to church in my own ward on July 11th, 2010 and we made it! I love you all and thank you so very much.

Random Things I Don't Want To Forget About The Accident

- Part of my face is numb, about the size of my fist. The area is just on the left side of my nose and goes from my eye down to my upper lip. It's like the novocaine hasn't worn off, or, like there's something on my face.
- I feel disconnected from my body because I can't look down and see myself. Since I have to keep my head in this upward position, I have to look in a mirror.
- I'm grateful for hospital gowns and cut T-shirts that come between me and the lambs wool lining on the vest portion of my halo. At first I developed a terrible allergic rash. A couple of weeks before I got the halo off, someone I never saw dropped off 2 thin foam liners to replace the fur. That also greatly helped me endure the Summer temperature.
- I miss familiar food. And pain pills are nauseating. It's so hard to eat, even when hungry. Capsules of herbs also add to the nausea, but I'm making myself take the 25 BF&C, 2X a day with meals. I want to do my part to facilitate a quicker recovery.
- My room mates have been wonderful! 1. Rusty Snow; We laughed and cried together as we shared our stories. She was also in a car accident. She flew home to Seattle after I was there only 3 days. 2. Kathy Herrera was here almost 2 weeks and we got along so well. When she went home to her mother's in Winemucca I was happy she got to go but sad because I knew I'd miss her. We became sisters as we looked out for each other. 3. Peggy was my last room mate. Her husband spent much of the day with her and we didn't get to know each other quite as well, but I enjoyed her company.
- They come and change the dressing on my hip (the bone graft site) almost daily. I sure hope it doesn't delay my ability to go home, but I also don't want to have to run to the doctor for it either.

Reflections

- It has been open season on blessings and miracles in my neighborhood. One in particular is that I have experienced very little pain.
- On looking back at the time I was trapped under the car, I know that I could feel the effects of people's prayers___prayers that hadn't even been said yet. Prayers are retro-active.
- Being trapped under the car was the most terrifying experience of my life. One of our Gospel Doctrine teachers in Turlock, Brother Morris, said that he asked in his prayers how Jesus could truly understand everything we go through. He was taught that in Gethsemane Jesus experienced each of our lives as though it was himself. I now have a profoundly different appreciation for the Savior! Taking the Sacrament will never be the same.
- When you hear a siren, pray for them.
- It is a sweet privelege to help another person to take care of themselves; a great act of charity. I used to think I would resent serving in this way, but I have felt such love and tender appreciation towards those who have helped me.

What I Missed List

Even with all the blessings and my gratitude for them, I was sad to miss some very important events because of the accident.

- The last 2 weeks of Seminary
- The Seminary Bowl
- The final Seminary Breakfast and Movie
- The Seminary Auction
- The Seminary Graduation
- Garrett Yentes' and Michael Bell's Eagle Court of Honor

- Garret Nickell's birthday party and family zoo trip
- Multiple visits with Sam
- Our wedding anniversary
- David's and Dawn's birthdays
- Father's Day

Expect A Miracle!

With the halo on I was unable to get into a car so when I was taken to Dr. Bauman's office to see if I was ready have it removed I went by hospital bus. As I rode along I thought about whether I should think on the positive side or if I should be prepared to handle disappointment appropriately. I prayed and asked Heavenly Father what I should do and as soon as I finished my prayer I looked out the window and saw a car with an advertisement covering the back window and right there in big letters it said, "EXPECT A MIRACLE"! And sure enough, the halo came off that day.

Healthsouth Rehab

I spent 3 days in Intensive Care and then 7 more days, at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. On May 27th, our anniversary, I was moved to Healthsouth in Sandy. I was there until July 3rd, three days after they removed the halo and replaced it with a hard collar. Independance Day!
I wrote all of these journal entries on June 23rd.

My Physical Therapists - Laura and Shasta (a student),
and my Occupational Therapist was Charlene.

Charlene has been wanting me to go outside. I envisioned myself walking down a busy street with cars piling higher and higher as people turned to stare at me wondering what was up with the headgear. But, in actuality, we walked on a very quiet street to a little coffee shop where we ordered smoothies and sat outside enjoying our hillside view of the Oquirrh Mountains. It turned out to be delightful and I was able to explain just a bit to a little girl about this halo. It was not the fiasco I anticipated at all.
It was a sweet experience to get to know these therapists and to spend time with them every day. We were able to develop very nice friendships.

Hospital Humor

We've had some fun times here, too!
- On one occasion they wheeled me downstairs for some tests. I could smell open bottles of rubbing alcohol and they had country music playing in the background and I gave them a hard time about their "wild parties"!
- I guess at one point I had so many tubes in and around me that it reminded the nurses of Christmas lights, so we decided I should be decorated like a Christmas tree. They arranged my "lights" and then they used my catheter bag for one ornament and my IV bag for another! Yuck!
- Over at Healthsouth Rehab Hospital one of the Physical Therapists reminded me to lean just a little more to the left or right for better radio reception!
- On June 30th my halo was taken off and replaced by a hard collar. There were some who supposed I was a fallen angel because of stiff-neckedness! Even Dr. Mark Johnson said so! (haha!) He sent me home 3 days later!!

Halos Are Not Just For Angels

Doctor Bauman came in and explained that he wanted me to have a "halo". My head would be bolted to a frame that would hold my neck in place while it healed, allowing me to get up and move around, walk, etc. - I envisioned the Bride of Frankenstein with huge screws coming out of my neck! Ha! But the thought of it scared me and I didn't want to do it. I called Sheryl and she looked up info about it on the computer. She said if it was her, she'd do it, AND, I was told in a Priesthood blessing that I should trust the doctors, so I went with it. This has proven to be a huge blessing. Without it I'd have to be in bed for at least 8 weeks, unable to move. But as of this writing, after 5 weeks I can do almost everything for myself. It's interesting how we take for granted our ability to do everyday little things like eating, bathing and dressing. I have become so increasingly grateful as my abilities increase.

Heavensong

Before the accident, when we were at the Church Distribution Center, I saw a CD by the Tabernacle Choir. The title, as I read it, was "Heavensong, Music of Comfort, Healing and Hope". David bought me this soon after the accident when I was in Intensive Care. It eased my pain and helped me sleep better. Later I read the title as it really reads on the cover, "Heavensong, Music of Contemplation and Light".

Tender Mercies

I remember hearing a woman speaking to me with a Nigerian accent. She reminded me instantly of Abigail Essuman who was my Visiting Teacher for many years in Turlock, and who is from Ghana, , and I could feel her love for me. As I have been in the hands of many different people, the Lord has comforted me by sending those who would remind me of familiar voices, faces or personalities of friends and loved ones, even celebrities, so that my fears would be calmed and I could feel their genuine care for me.
My Nigerian nurse's name was Ebby. She was the first one to help me brush my teeth. It was 3 days after the accident and it was so refreshing! Several hours later that day, 2 young ladies helped me bathe for the first time. It was so nice to be clean and I slept so well afterward.
My emotions have been so close to the surface and I am so full of gratitude for the goodness of God. Everywhere and with everyone I have wanted them to know how much I appreciate what they are doing for me. One person responded with how they are paid to do these things but I told her that it's the attitude that makes all the difference.

The Car Accident

"The Lord is good to me,
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need:
The sun and the moon and the appleseed,
The Lord is good to me."
~From the Johnny Appleseed song

Job has become a newfound hero.

This last May 16th we had a car accident. I was the driver. My first and greatest gratitude is that no other cars were involved, that David's injuries weren't worse than they were - a fractured rib and a cut on his hand that required stitches, and that Mark walked away with minor cuts and bruises. Thankfully my own were the worst. I don't know that I could calm the guilt otherwise.
I have a broken neck, a broken back, my shoulder blade was broken in 2 places, a broken arm up at the ball and socket, a fractured bone above my eye with a cut that required stitches, a 3 1/2" gash on the back of my head where they put 12 staples, and some pretty serious "road rash" on the broken arm. In addition, after looking at the x-rays they determined that a bone graft was needed in order to fuse on of the breaks in my neck in order for it to heal properly, so they surgically removed bone from my hip.
What I remember about the accident itself -
I was tired. I passed up 2 off ramps because I was looking for a rest area where I could walk around and wake up, but I fell asleep instead. I woke up to the tires rumbling over the grid at the left of the lane. I remember David reaching over to try to help me correct the stearing but it was too late and the car rolled 4 1/2 times.
When the car stopped rolling it was upside down and I was pinned between the frame of the car and the ground where the windshield had beenand I could feel the ground under me with my hands. My head was lodged and I couldn't move it. There was a lady there who encouraged me to just keep breathing and I remember being frustrated and thinking that I was trying to but air was hard to find. At the same time I realized that she was saying exactly what I would have had I been in her place. I also got a bit of a laugh because only once at the first did she say I was going to be alright, as though she might have had second thoughts about that!I must have looked rather doubtful. It was hard to breathe. I had to keep looking for pockets of air as I was lying in a pool of blood and vomit and my denture was in the way.

After about 45 minutes I couldn't find any more air. I knew it was gone and that I had done all I could do. It was at this point that I stopped fighting. The only thing left was to "let go and let God". So I breathed my last breath. I felt calm and peaceful and I knew all would be well whether I lived or died and I was okay with that. And things went dark.
After a short time, I heard those big clamps cut the car and someone pulled me out into the sunlight. Ordinarily I'd have been annoyed at having the sun in my face, but not this time! I was limp as a rag and I could hardly open my eyes, but the man said, "We need you to breathe!" and, realizing that this was now possible, I started breathing again. I was placed on a hard, smooth board and I was glad not to be on the ground in the dirt anymore.
We were taken to the emergency room at the hospital in Cedar City, Utah, where they cleaned me up, picked glass out of my head and stapled it and took all the first steps. I was then air lifted by plane to Salt Lake City and checked into the Intermountain Medical Center Trauma Unit in Murray. Because of swelling I couldn't open my eyes for 3 days, but when they put me into that hospital bed I saw the softest, whitest blankets and it felt luxurious and so comfortable...