Set the Record Straight

Wow...I've been out of the bloggin' "business" for a long time now. Some of you know where I've been. Some of you don't. Some of you have missed my stories and antics from our family. Some haven't even noticed my absence.

But, this is my blog. This is about my family and what has gone on the past month has become one of the biggest, life-changing events we have gone thru. So, let's get to the story. (Sorry, no pics of the kids today...so if that's why you're here, go ahead and close out)

Mother's Day was different this year. Travis, the girls and I all packed up and headed to DeQueen to spend the weekend with Travis's Mimi. Sunday evening, we got home with lots of laundry and no groceries. Travis and I were outside trying to figure out how to tackle the mess and I decided I HAD to go to the grocery store. (I mean...we were out of milk people! In our house, that's a travesty!)

I hopped in his truck and thought, "While I'm gone, that boy can clean out my car and empty the bags from the weekend out." So, with the truck in reverse and my right foot on the break, I opened the door and put my left foot on the ground with the intentions of tell T just that. (I have done this a MILLION times. T's truck has crank windows and I am lazy.)

I called Travis's name and he, apparently, turned around. A moment after I called his name, my right foot slipped off the break. I held on to the steering wheel as the truck began to roll down the driveway. I remember calling Travis's name again more in a "please help me" way. I couldn't hang on and pull myself into the truck. As my hands slipped from the steering wheel, I felt a pedal under my right foot again. THE BREAK! I stomped the pedal and the truck engine revved as I was jerked out of the truck and rolled under it to have my left side run completely over by the truck. (What I thought was the break turned out to be the gas pedal.)

Travis ran screaming towards me. Emma and Hannah had been inside. They heard Travis and came out. Catherine fortunately stayed in the garage. But, Travis, Emma and Hannah stood screaming over my twisted, broken body. At this point, something took over in me.

I looked at Travis and calmly told him, "Stop. Everything is going to be ok. Please calm down." I got him calm and told him to take the kids inside and get them away from me. Emma was hysterical. I grabbed her leg and said, "Emma. You stop this. Mommy is going to be just fine. Doctors are coming and they will fix me just like new. But, you have GOT to calm down and go inside with your sisters." The whole time I was just as calm as I am typing this.

Some people say I was in shock. Some people say my body blocked the pain of the broken femur, head wound, road rash and internal bleeding. But, I know what was really at work from the time it happened until the moment the ambulance came (at which point, I lost it. I was crying and hysterical and realized how twisted and broken my body actually was).

Until the ambulance came, I was only able to calm my family down by God's Grace. From the moment I was run over by the truck, I started to pray. I prayed every second and He was there. He was there with me to keep me strong for them when they couldn't be. Only by God's Grace was I able to direct Travis and the girls on where to go and what to do. By His Grace, I was able to endure the pain until I was put into the ambulance closed safely from those that didn't need to see. God's Grace was enough. It was enough that even in that painful, drastic moment, I felt safe, calm and at peace. It was only by His Grace that I could feel that way.

Amazingly enough, not only was I praying, but Travis was on his knees in the street, head and arms to the sky begging God to save me. Travis thought he was losing me. As word got around of my accident, prayers were going up specifically for me and my family all over. HUNDREDS of people were praying for us (that STILL blows my mind). People we have known all of our lives and people we didn't know at all sent prayers to heaven for us, specifically. We were on prayer lists in multiple churches across the state. Prayer is so powerful and I am living proof.

I had 4 surgeries, the first of which the doctor told the nurses the goal was to "just keep her alive". I made it thru the night with excessive internal bleeding only to wake up the next day to the bleeding almost completely stopped. I lost a kidney, but have had NO issues from it at all and my spleen was saved. I have a rod in my thigh that will stay there forever, but I can walk. I have three broken vertebrae and six broken ribs, but those are all so mild that they will just heal themselves and need no further intervention. I had 15 staples in the back of my head, but no sustained issues from that. Every thing has gone as well as it could possibly go.

Some believe it's been the amazing medical intervention that I've had (I am now a case study, so look for me in a Medical Journal someday! ha!). I don't deny that I've had three AMAZING surgeons and multiple great nurses that have helped through all of this. But, I believe that PRAYER played a more important role. (Before my first surgery, the doctor and nurses prayed over me...) So, I thank you all for your prayers. Without them....who knows?

(This is the end of what I have to say about the day of my accident. It was VERY hard for me to type as I remember every detail since I never lost consciousness)