Four years ago today, August 17, 2006 my life changed forever…..I can still remember that it was a warm Thursday afternoon about 3:30pm, my husband was on vacation and out on a motorcycle ride with a friend, my oldest son had just come home from work and was down in his room, my second son was at work and my youngest son was away at football camp.
I was at the computer typing when I heard a dog barking and got up to check it out, I saw a blue State Police car in the driveway and a young officer coming to my door, he asked if I was alone and I told him my son was home, I let him in and remember him saying that my husband had been involved in an accident and was being lifeflighted to the hospital, he told me that the other gentlemen, my husband’s friend, that was riding (on another motorcycle) with my husband had died at the scene. The nurse that I spoke with on the phone could not tell me much, just that I needed to get to the hospital. So many things running through my head, where was the hospital (it was not a local hospital), how to get there, gather my boys, pray……the strange thing is that I remember having moments of racing thoughts than a calm would come over me and I would be able to function, make the call to get my youngest son to the hospital from where he was, make sure someone was with him, call the prayer warriors (he had people praying for him before they even knew what they were praying for) I just called and said I didn’t have time to talk just please pray, then breakdown not knowing what to do……
On the 1 ½ hour ride to the hospital , they called and said he was going in for a CAT scan and that he had a spinal cord injury in the C1-C2 area, I knew that was bad, later we learned it was C4-C5 area. That was the longest night of my life, I was told he would probably not make the night; he had many internal injuries, his BP keep dropping which meant he was bleeding somewhere. I can remember standing next to his bed, looking at him, touching him, talking to him and realizing he was completely in GOD’s hands, I remember giving it all to Him. God gave me the strength that I needed each and every moment and I felt it.
Jump ahead 4 years, my husband is categorized as an incomplete quadriplegic, he went from only being able to blink to respond yes or no, not being able to move anything below his neck to standing. His right side has regained most of its normal function and he is able to do so much more than the doctors ever thought, they didn’t have him making the night and here he is today, a miracle, my miracle!
This photo was taken at our youngest son's last home game (Fall of 2008), just so happens the team we were playing was from the same town my husband and I grew up in so many friends we in the stands. The boys present their mom with a flower and their dad with their away jersey, we thought it would be a great time to share Roger's progress so he stood on the field to give his son a hug........This photo also became our Christmas Card that year, it read ......We Believe in Miracles.
Our family changed that day four years ago, some things we can’t do the same way, but we are stronger because of what God took us through! We are so thankful to have three wonderful sons that He blessed us with to help us when the going gets a little tough. The only way that we were able to make it through this trial to where we are today is because we were carried by the hand of God to where we are today.
We also keep the wife and oldest son of my husband’s friend in our thoughts and prayers today and every day. A year before his death, they lost their youngest son; he was killed by a drunk driver. While we have never met the young man (16yrs old) that was responsible for my husband’s accident, we pray for him too.
There are so many more blessings that God has bestowed upon us , it would take me
