David and I met in July 2011, started dating in September 2011, got engaged in January 2012 and were married June 16, 2012. We had a wonderful honeymoon in Kauai for 2 weeks. Since David and I were very active people, we enjoyed scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, horseback riding, hang gliding, hiking, and eating shave ice! :)
So happy together: dating!
Engaged!!
 |
| Married!! |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Preparing the apartment for us to live in: painting our bedroom wall with verses: "This is my beloved and this is my friend." and "Heirs together of the grace of life." |
When we got home from our honeymoon, we went back to our respective jobs, attended a church camp, did a kids club ministry every other weekend, played soccer and went to church every Sunday, and went camping with my family. For 7 weeks we had idyllic wedded life. We enjoyed running together after work and stopping to pick blackberries to make a cobbler for dinner, Bible studies together and being husband and wife!
Then on August 7, 2012, our lives changed forever. David was working on a power line. It appeared that his belt slipped over the top of the pole and he fell onto an asphalt walkway 55-feet below. The first responders were on the scene quickly and he was life flighted to a nearby hospital. I was notified at work and I was given the impression that it was very serious and my presence at the hospital was needed as soon as possible. What I did not know at the time was HOW serious the injuries were, and that the most serious part of his injury was his brain. By the time I arrived, he was entubated and on total life support. He was rushed off to the operating room to stop internal bleeding in his hypogastric artery. I sat for hours in the waiting room wondering if my new husband was even still alive. I finally inquired and a nurse told me he was settling into the Neuro ICU. This became a familiar territory for the next 2-1/2 weeks. A few days after the accident, the neuro surgeon told me some devastating news...David had a very poor prognosis because of the extent of his brain injury, which involved the brain stem (the center for life preserving things like heart beat, breathing, consciousness, etc...). David was in a coma and might stay in a coma forever, may not make it, or best case scenario, would be a vegetable for the rest of his life. I didn't want to make the decision to pull the plug or to keep him on life support indefinitely. With the support of my family and David's family, I made a decision: I prayed that God would make the decision for me. I would give a little more time on the life support and if David showed any signs of maintaining life on his own, I would keep on with the life support, but if there were no changes, God would take him. Within the next couple days, he started breathing on his own a bit. I didn't want David to live on with a poor quality of life, but this gave me assurance that God was giving a measure of healing and He was not done with David's life here yet. Slowly, David has regained consciousness and his ability to talk and eat. He was in the hospital 9 months, a nursing home for 5 months and now resides at home with me and our toddler daughter. God is giving bits of healing here and there and we are very thankful for all He has done, which has far surpassed any doctor's expectations! They never know what David will do next, because he is always surprising them with what God is doing in his body.
I hope that this blog will encourage you in your faith in a great God. He is to be glorified!
"Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." John 9:3
Love and hugs to you! It was great seeing you this summer. And what a great picture!
ReplyDeleteI'm soo encouraged! The Lord never ceases to amaze me!
ReplyDelete