Accident Recovery Update

We praise God for the past eight days of healing and for the multitude of prayers that have been lifted up to heaven on our behalf. Countless numbers of people have written from all over the world sending their love and letting us know that they are praying. To all who have sent love, prayers and encouragement, THANK YOU!

This week has not been without challenges and a wide variety of emotions.

Dad was on some pretty heavy pain medication for six days which had all kinds of effects on his body and mental state. This was my first experience with heavy medication and until doctors told me that “it’s the meds” I thought that my dad was loosing his mind:) One doctor advised us to go completely off the pain meds to let it get out of his system to clear his mind up. Sure enough, he didn’t have any pain for 36 hours, that’s how long it took to clear up! My dad “is back” now and we are so thankful!

Anna checked out of the hospital on Thursday and Georgia and Todd joined us here in Pagosa Springs (CO) later that evening. It was so exciting to see Anna get out of their van and walk so excitedly into the house! Anna was her old self, excited, fun and cheerful. With the exception of her brace, she’s the same little girl that we love!

Yesterday, before Todd and Georgia took their family home to Colorado Springs, we had a good family worship and prayer time together. God was so merciful to us. The accident could have been so much worse. Why it wasn’t, I don’t know. But we receive His mercy as a gift. A gift that blesses and changes who we are. A gift that He wants us to receive and then give to others.

Tomorrow Christine, the boys and I along with my parents will begin a two day trip to Ft. Worth. We’ll spend a few days there getting Christine and the boys packed and ready for their return trip to Rwanda on Friday. Saturday, I’ll drive my parents home to Searcy, AR were I’ll spend two weeks helping them make and get to doctor’s appointments as well as provide any help they need with care and logistics. Then, I’ll return to Rwanda towards the end of August.

Here are some specific prayer requests for Anna and Dad:

• Pray that every cut, scrape, bruise, fractured and broken bone will heal completely…
  • Dad has a double break on his left arm, a broken rib and sternum as well as two fractured vertebrae in his neck. Also, he has serious black and blue bruising on his left shoulder and legs as well as cuts and scrapes on his shins. His ear, with 32 stitches, is looking good and we have an appointment Monday morning with a doctor in Pagosa Springs to get the stitches taken out.
  • Anna has 6 fractured vertebrae in her back. We are praying specifically for T5, that it would slip back in place and heal properly. T1, T2, T3, T4, and T7 are also fractured but are still in place. Her brace keeps her back straight so that the bones can heal but still gives her tons of mobility. She has some minor cuts and scrapes on her left arm and leg and a pretty serious cut on her right leg that are healing day by day.
• Pray for emotional healing…
  • For several days after the accident Dad had dreams (generic in nature) but still about the accident. He still doesn’t remember anything from the beginning of the accident until the time they put him on the plane. Another thing that is heavy on his mind is the question “What happened?” We still do not know the cause of the accident and although we have reassured him time and again, he can’t help but feel responsibility because he was the one driving. He would like to have “some answers” to the whys and hows of the accident but I don’t think that we will ever know for sure. Pray for peace in his heart about that.
  • One comment that Anna made in the hospital was that “they say that I’m being brave but inside I’m screaming”. She’s been nervous about being in a car, especially when making “turns”… she just wants to go straight:) I can’t imagine the trauma that she’s gone through. She will probably go in and out of anxiety about a whole list of things. The two days that I was able to spend with her though were wonderful and she seemed to be doing great!
  • Mom, Georgia, Christine, Todd, myself are going through all kinds of emotional swings as we process the accident as well as do our best to take care of Dad and Anna. It was especially scary when dad was having some reactions to his pain medication (but we didn’t know that it was the medicine). Now that the meds have worked their way out of his system and he’s doing better, our stress levels have gone way down.
  • There is still some fear in my heart about the “unknowns”. Did the doctors discover everything? Are there any more internal injuries that we don’t know about that haven’t manifested themselves yet? How is this going to change my parent’s “care” needs. This may seems trivial, but who’s going to take care of their lawn now? It’s like $120/month to have someone mow their grass every two weeks and I don’t think they can afford that and I’m not anywhere close to take care of it for them. Do they need to move? Downsize in house? What other changes need to be made, etc??? There’s a whole list of things on my mind like that.
• Pray for strength…
  • Strength for us to provide Anna and Dad the care that they need to heal and recover.
  • Strength to sort through all of the emotions from the accident.
  • Strength to encourage each other when times are difficult.
• Pray for safe travel…
  • Monday and Tuesday we will drive to Ft. Worth, Texas
  • Friday, Christine and the boys will make the return trip to Rwanda.
  • Saturday I will drive my parents back to Searcy, AR.

Thank you so much for your prayers! God is listening and He is answering!

I have a password-protected post with pictures of the accident. If you’d like to see them, let me know by email:  murphy @ audienceofone . cc and I’ll give you the password. When you see them, you will again know that God’s angels kept them alive…