God is good

November 5th, 2011 started out as a normal Saturday.  The usual sleep in until 7AM, no showers and a start to a normal work day at home of various chores.  Unfortunately our day quickly changed.   It was raining outside, and basically gross.  Davy was getting bored being inside, as usual.  He is an outdoor guy who loves climbing trees, mowing the lawn, rototilling, shooting bow and arrows, using knives, and all manly things.  He and his big brother, Zachary, built a zip line a few weeks ago using a sturdy rope and bicycle handle bars.  All the guys had launched out of the tree several times and coasted down into our garden most of the previous 4 or 5 weekends.  So it was all good.  Davy, clad in Jer's old Carhartt jacket, had just promised me that he would hang on tight and not let go.  But I was worried about it being slippery as this day was wetter than any previous day the guys ran the zip line.  My worst fear came true.  He launched out of the tree with more of a jump than usual and his hands lost hold of the handle bar grips.  We ALL watched as he fell 10 feet, arms over his head, and landed on the T-post at the end of our nectar berry row.  His neck hit the post, and then the collar of Jer's Carhartt jacket held tight to the top of the post.  Davy was kind of hanging there suspended by the jacket on the post, yelling in an awful hurt kind of voice.  Jer was out the door with me and the rest of the guys following right behind.  We of course have seen many bang ups before but we never expect them to REALLY get hurt.  Not like this.  It was just a fear right?  Wrong.  We saw a little blood on the jacket and then on the side of Davy's neck was a huge, gaping hole, 4.5 cm to be exact, plus a smaller 2 cm tear.  I asked Davy if he could move his hands and feet.  With a weak voice he said "no".  Jer was holding Davy and trying to get the jacket off his collapsing body.  As Davy passed out in Jer's arms, I thought he was dead.  I sprinted back into the house, called 9-1-1 and screamed "We need an ambulance now!  Give me an ambulance now!"  Jer carried Davy's limp body into the house and carefully laid him on the living room floor.  He grabbed a clean sock from the clothes basket and pressed it against the hole in Davy's neck.  Thankfully blood was not pouring out.  Davy came to and was scared.  Jer was saying "Davy, look at me.  Look me in the eyes.  Stay with me buddy!  Stay with me!"  Davy was in shock but to our great relief he could move his arms and legs.  Later we learned that an ambulance was on the road near our house and arrived only 4 minutes after I called 9-1-1. The EMT's were great!  They quickly assessed the situation, put in an IV and called for life flight to take Davy to Emanuel Hospital in Portland because the neck wound was deep and so close to Davy's carotid artery.  They pulled Jer and me aside and said a helicopter would be less bumpy, much faster and would give Davy the best chance.  They strapped Davy to a board, stabilized his neck and loaded him into the ambulance.  Jer went with Davy.  The rest of us watched with tears as the ambulance pulled out of the driveway.  About that same moment the life flight helicopter flew over our house.  Davy was taken from the ambulance and loaded directly into the helicopter only 18 minutes after I first called 9-1-1, amazingly fast.  Our sister-in-law, Deanna, stayed with the boys and I picked up Jer from Newberg Hospital and we drove to Portland.

By the time Jer and I arrived at Emanuel the trauma team had already completed a cat scan and Davy was in a room being prepared for surgery.  A trauma doctor told us Davy did not have a broken neck, there was no apparent artery damage but he did have a broken jaw and more test results would be coming soon.  They took him into surgery.  Jer's folks arrived and joined us in the waiting area.  About two hours later the head surgeon told us the surgery was a great success.  They irrigated the wounds, put in deep tissue stitches, glued the surface area and left a drain tube sticking out to let fluids find a way out.  He found no artery damage or nerve damage.  The location of the neck wounds were incredibly well placed.  He said "Davy had good aim."  And for Davy's broken jaw, he didn't wire it shut because the break was in the joint and wiring it shut may cause it to fuse.  He said there may be some long term cartilage damage but only time will tell.  He wants to see how it heals.  Good idea!!

Jer stayed with Davy Saturday night at Emanuel.  I came home and took care of the boys.  Deanna stayed with the guys again on Sunday and I drove back to Emanuel and found Davy in the game room with Jer and Andrew Phillips, a good friend of the family.  Davy's neck and jaw were more swollen but his eyes looked alert.  The drug cloud and shock cloud were gone.  Davy was hoping to come home as soon as possible.  The various doctors signed off and we drove him home Sunday around 4 pm.  We all slept very well that night.

On Monday, Austin and I took Davy to see Dr. Dierks, his surgeon, to have the drain tube removed.  That evening Davy's appetite returned and he ate more pasta than anyone in the family.  He is bouncing back faster than we can believe.  On Monday he said, "I've rested enough!  I need to mow the lawn or something."  Today, Tuesday, he is acting like Davy again.  I'll say it again...God is good!

Thank you, family, friends, and those we don't know, for praying for our #2 son, Davin.  We know God works in many ways, not always how we have planned, but He has a plan we cannot see. And we trust Him.

Also a special thanks to Deanna and James for all the assistance here at our home.  I came home to fed boys, a clean house, clean laundry and dinner on the table.  Some might think that is trivial.............NOT!  It is my job!  And I really appreciate feeling free to leave and not worry about the rest of my boys.  :) :)

P.S.  I almost forgot.  We believe that the the Carhartt jacket of Jer's that Davy  was wearing just might have saved his life.  He had taken to wearing it a few weeks earlier.  About every day that was cold he would wear that jacket out and about.  We didn't think about it until Monday evening when we began to really look at the jacket.  You can see the strike marks of the T-post hitting the fabric and also some of Davy's skin on the inside of the jacket.  Without that old, thick, rugged jacket between Davy's neck and the edges of the T-post we believe he would not be here with us but home with Jesus.  If you look closely at the graphic photo of Davy's neck you can see the brush burn left by the coat.  About 16 years ago when Jer bought that jacket from a friend in Alaska...God knew!  God is amazing!  It makes the brain fuzzy thinking how He can know the future.  I'm glad we don't.

Note to self:  Tell those you love that you love them, give lots of hugs, remember that every day is a gift, and as my dad says "Don't sweat the small stuff."