God gave us families

I've been thinking about the primary song "The Family Is of God" lately.  I love the chorus that says, "God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be- This is how He shares His love, for the family is of God." I am so grateful for families.  I'm grateful for the family I came from and the family I have now.  The world is a mess right now and a lot of it could be fixed if everyone had a strong, loving family like I do.  

I'm so grateful to have parents who taught their kids in words and actions how to love and serve your family.  My family is so good at being there for each other and serving one another.  Usually it is mom doing all the serving, but this time it was our turn to serve her.  Three weeks ago mom had a really bad fall while she was running.  She called me at 7:00 AM and I thought it was strange that she was calling so early.  She told me she had fallen and was a bit disoriented.  After seeing her I can't believe how with it she was after such a bad fall.  She was able to get herself home and was getting into the house when she called me.  She later told me that she didn't mean to call me.  I think that was a tender mercy from our Heavenly Father because I was in the best position to come and help. Before she got in the house she told me goodbye and hung up.  I was panicked and called Mel so she could run over there. I called mom back and she answered and I was able to hear her go into the bathroom and tell dad, who was in the shower, that she fell.  She was worried because she was bleeding a lot.  I felt better that dad knew and I let mom go and I hopped in the car and headed out there.  Her watch had called emergency because of the fall so the fire department called her to get her address and they showed up shortly after she got home.  Dad isn't able to drive since his surgery so they took mom by ambulance to the hospital. Her chin was cut all the way to the bone and her jaw was broken. 

I rushed to dad's and picked him up and we went over to the hospital.  Mom was in the ER and the doctor said it was the worst jaw break he had ever seen.  A plastic surgeon came in and said that he had looked at the x-rays and they wanted to do surgery that day because they knew she was in a lot of pain. She is so tough, her pain tolerance is so high.  She did finally let them give her something for the pain.  They checked her into the hospital and sent her upstairs to a room where we waited for the surgery.  Mom was hungry, but she couldn't eat because of the upcoming surgery.  Poor mom was anxious to get her face cleaned up, but they were waiting until surgery to do that.  Caitlyn came up after school and took great care of grandma.  She loves grandma so much and would do anything for her.  We waited all day and kept asking about the surgery and finally that evening they told us that she actually wouldn't have surgery until the morning.  We pushed the nurses to get her some food and they had to wait a couple of hours before they got approval from the doctor to change the orders.  I'm so grateful that mom always had someone with her in the hospital because she needed someone there advocating for her!

Tiff came to the hospital and she stayed over night with mom.  Caitlyn and I took dad home and then came home to get some sleep.  I picked dad up early the next morning so we could get to the hospital before the surgery. 

On Saturday morning an oral surgeon came in and explained what he would be doing in the surgery.  He said that they had to wait for him to do the surgery because it was too much for the plastic surgeon that was on the call the day before. Her jaw was shattered on one side and fractured on the other.  He said he hoped they wouldn't have to wire it shut, but they would see when they got in there.  After the surgery he said it was worse than he thought and she would need to have her jaw wired shut for six weeks.  This was not what mom wanted to hear.  She was very sleepy after the surgery and was able to sleep on and off all day Saturday.  The nurses showed us how to feed her with a syringe with a tube on the tip of it. I think mom's face and mouth were numb all day so it was hard to eat anything that first day.  

Tiff and mom didn't get hardly any sleep Friday night and dad didn't sleep much either, so I was glad they all got a quick nap on Saturday. Mom was pretty out of it all day Saturday and kept wanting to get up to go to the bathroom and we would have to remind her that she was hooked up to an IV and oxygen. She was pretty nauseous whenever she would stand up, which was worrisome with her jaw wired shut. Luckily she would start to feel better if she sat down and we got some cool rags on her neck and head. 

I brought my stuff and was planning on staying overnight at the hospital on Saturday, but dad had a bag packed when I picked him up that morning and said he was staying.  I told him that I was happy to stay so he could sleep and he told me that he wanted to be with mom.  I thought that was so sweet.  It's not easy to stay overnight at the hospital, especially with a neck brace.  I debated staying Saturday night, but I decided to head home and try and get some sleep.  I talked to the nurses and they assured me that they would take good care of them and come right in if they pushed the button.  Thankfully the night went well and they both got some sleep, as much as you can get in a hospital. I got there Sunday morning and I was so happy to see mom doing so much better than the day before.  I think all of the anesthesia was out of her system and she was ready to get moving.

I talked to Matt and Lori on Saturday and Matt was asking if he should come up.  We told him that we could take care of things, but we would love to have him, so whatever he wanted to do or could do was fine.  He decided to come up and at the last minute Cody decided to come with him.

Mom was happy to see them.  Mom was feeling more steady on her feet and she was anxious to get out of the hospital. Caitlyn and Jonah came up to the hospital on Sunday.  Jonah and Cody stayed for a bit and then they took my van back to our house. 

Mel came to the hospital too and we all just visited while we waited for mom to get released.  They said the orders were in and they could start getting her released at 10:30 AM. We didn't leave the hospital until almost 5 PM! It took forever.  I figured out how to feed mom and was able to feed her breakfast and lunch. Poor mom was so anxious to go home and she just had to keep waiting and waiting.  Hallee and Wyatt made these cards for grandma. 

Mom was going stir crazy and wanted to go for a walk.  We talked her into taking the walker because she was still a bit dizzy. Caitlyn went with her and they did a few laps while we waited to be discharged.  Mom was cruising, Cait had to jog to keep up with her.  Finally just before 5 PM they had everything they needed to discharge her.  The nurse asked if she wanted to be wheeled out in a wheel chair and she said no, she wanted to walk.  Caitlyn had her car there so Matt drove us all back to mom and dad's in that.

Mel made everyone dinner on Sunday.  She made dinner for everyone the next night too.  It was so good and we all appreciated it.  Tiff and Caitlyn fed mom her dinner. 

I was so grateful that Keith took care of everything while I was gone all weekend.  He invited Lindy over for dinner on Sunday so she could see Cody.

I was so grateful that Cody came up.  The night before mom's accident Jonah came home from work crying.  Izzy broke up with him and he was so upset.  I felt so bad for him, he was devastated.  I hugged him and tried to comfort him.  He called Cody and I gave him another hug and let him talk to Cody.  I checked in on Jonah a lot on Friday and he was struggling, I felt so bad for him. On Saturday night he was talking to Cody and they decided that Cody should come out with Matt.  Cody went and woke Matt up at 1 AM and they booked a flight for Cody.  I can't even describe what it means to me that Cody would drop everything and come out to be with Jonah because he knew he was having a hard time.  Seriously, the world would be a much better place if everyone had family like that.  It meant so much to Jonah.  They had a great time together.  Jonah didn't have school Monday or Tuesday so it worked out great. I was so grateful that Jonah was with Cody so I knew he was being taken care of and I could be with my parents without worrying about him. 

Hallee loved baking with Lindy. 

Mom and dad are quite a pair with their injuries. The physical therapist came in mom's hospital room and looked at dad and asked what happened to him.  She then looked at me and said, "well you look healthy."  Even though it was comparatively speaking I took that as a compliment, I am healthy!

I know this is driving my parents crazy, but I sure love seeing them take such good care of each other. This is what 51 years of a loving marriage looks like, in sickness and in health.  I hope they have a lot of time in health after this!

I'm so grateful for my awesome siblings.  I know Gary would have been there if he could have.  We all love our parents and each other so much and will always be there when anyone needs help.  Mom and dad have been great sports about letting us help out and drive them to their appointments.  I know it drives them crazy to have to depend on others, but we are all happy to help. 

Rockwell came over on Monday.  I loved seeing all the boys playing video games together.

Caitlyn went up on her day off and helped around the house and took grandma shopping.  She is such a sweet girl, always willing to help.  She loved having Cody here too.

Matt and Cody flew home Wednesday night. It was so great having them here.  Mom is healing well and is anxious to get the six weeks over with so she can eat again.  I think she is still in a lot of pain and probably will be until they take the screws out of her jaw.  It's so hard to watch people you love suffer.  I wish I could fix everything for everyone I love, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.   I hope mom has felt the love of her family through all of this and realizes that we all love her and would do anything for her. She has spent her life serving others and I think it has touched her to see how many people love her and are anxious to help in any way they can.