"Suddenly and Without Warning"

July 11, 2015

It was Saturday. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. We were looking forward to a fun-filled day at the lake with friends.  

Our morning started with a talk with our boys. My husband discussed the fact that often very fun things come with a higher risk of getting hurt.  He stressed the need for self-control, for making wise decisions, and the need to be careful and follow all instructions.

After arriving, we enjoyed a nice hour or so out on the water.  The morning began in the boat with a huge 4 person tube to ride on, the boys and girls had a blast!  The boat ride was followed by a ride on the jet skis. We then went in for some lunch.

Our appetites were all satisfied with a nice lunch of bar-b-Que and yummy sides.  The adults were sitting around the table visiting.  The kids asked if they could ride the golf cart... the adults said yes.  A little time passes and James and I head downstairs.  We spent a bit of time talking to the oldest boy there, a soon to be high school junior.  While talking to him David comes and knocks on the sliding door... we open it... he asks if he can drive the golf cart... And I answered with the one word that changed the course of our life, I told him "Yes."  His face lights up with a smile and he runs off excitedly. I can still see this scene very vividly in my mind... how I wish I could change that one word.  

A few minutes pass and James and I head down to the dock...

Then... suddenly and without warning... Paul runs out and tells us that David has been in an accident.  We take off running, asking for details and wondering where he is.  A man drives up in a golf cart, asks if we are the parents, and says he will take us to the scene.  He warns us  that it is very bloody. I tell him I don't care, I just want to get to him.

We arrive at the scene... the golf cart is on its side, the people on the scene tell us they have called 911.  I see my David... he is covered in blood... his foot is covered with a towel and he tells me adamantly over and over not to look at his toes.  Rebecca is crying in pain, she is still in the golf cart... Paul and the other girl riding are standing by looking and crying.  

I remember not knowing what to do to help him... he was crying in pain, and every so often he would scream that his foot was hurting and would beg us to do something for it.  I felt totally helpless... I did the only thing I knew to do, prayed to our Heavenly Father.

The first to arrive on the scene was a volunteer EMT guy... I really do not know that he did much more than call and tell them we needed an ambulance and for how many...

The ambulance arrived quicker than we had anticipated.  James had been told that he would need to transport David to the hospital, they said it would take the ambulance at least an hour to get to us.  James didn't want to do this, we didn't really know where we were, much less the way to the hospital... but he was willing to do what he had to, so he and Paul run off to get the car.  Sometime in the midst of all this the ambulance showed up, they had just finished a call not far from where we were... God was providing for us.

While David was being attended to it was brought to our attention that Paul was also quite injured and needed medical attention.  When he had run back to the house to get help he had put a shirt on so I had not been able to see his injuries.  Approximately 2/3 of his back was covered with pretty severe road rash.  His elbows were severely scratched and scraped up, and he had a bad cut on the bottom of his left heel.

It seemed to take forever to get David and Rebecca in the ambulance and secure them for travel.  I planted myself in the front seat of the ambulance and began putting outs pleas for prayer.  I posted on Facebook, called my parents, and sent text messages to anyone and everyone that I knew would pray.  We flew to Children's Hospital, it took approximately 41 minutes.  I was angry at every car and truck that would not get out of our way... if you see or hear an ambulance coming GET OUT OF THE WAY!

After David was examined it was made clear to us that his toes were severely injured and were the most pressing medical need.  They took an x-ray and called in the orthopedic doctor for a consult.  Following the consult the orthodpedic doctor told us there was a huge possibility he could lose his first 4 toes, and if that was the case they would most likely recommend amputating his 5th toe.  He really would not know for certain until he was in surgery.  They immediately began preparing David for emergency surgery.  While this was going on Paul was being treated.  His wounds were all cleaned and bandaged... bless his heart, he sat on a stool very bravely while the doctor took care of him, all while James and I were running around trying to listen to the doctors, sign consent forms, and just make sense of what was happening.  I do not recommend having 2 children in the ER at the same time...

So not too terribly long after arriving at the ER at Children's Hospital David underwent emergency surgery.  We waited in the 3rd floor surgery waiting room.  I think the surgery took maybe an hour.  The surgeon came and told us the outcome... David had lost his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th toes but still had about half of his big toe and his pinky toe... We were informed that this was good, these are the toes you need for balance.  This first surgery was just a "clean up" surgery.  They cleaned his foot up really good and then connected it to a wound vac for continuous cleaning and to help prevent infection.  We were informed he would need another surgery in a few days for reconstruction.  We met David coming out of recovery and went up to his hospital room with him... 


 We were experiencing one of the worst moments of our lives... and yet we were about to be humbled and overwhelmed by the love of God and the love, care and concern of His body, the church.  

Word had gotten out... people were praying from Guatemala to Alaska to India.  

Friends from so many different "sections" of our lives came to hug us and cry with us and pray with and for us... friends from our church family and church families of our past, friends from the boys' soccer team, and friends from life and from our neighborhood, and family who dropped everything and drove over from Georgia.

They came to be the body of Christ to us.  They went to our house and brought us things we needed. They provided food for us throughout our entire hospital stay...  so much food that we were able to share with the family of the other girl also injured in the wreck who was just across the hall from us... and they are still providing food as I type this, going on 3 weeks later.  They thought of things we needed that we couldn't think of ourselves and provided.  They provided a safe place for Paul to stay so James and I could stay with David. They mowed our lawn for us. They fed our pets.  They provided books, toys, games and more food!  They provided a computer for James to use so he could get some work done.  

The body of Christ surrounded us with love and prayers.  The body of Christ willingly met every need we had, often without us even asking.  We were and still are overwhelmed by the love and kindness of the body of Christ.  

David had his second surgery the following Monday, the 13th.  They were able to reconstruct much of his big toe and closed the wounds where his other toes had been.  The surgeon told us the surgery resulted in the best case scenario!  

We are currently in the midst of recovery, and we have a long and hard road to walk before our David is completely recovered, but we have been told he will walk again, he will run again, and he will play soccer again (which is his passion).  He will do all these things again to the glory of God.  

So many people have sent us scriptures and prayers that have been so very timely, that have ministered greatly to our hurting and weary hearts and minds.  But I want to share one thing that was so timely that it took my breath away...

My dear friend and prayer partner sent me a text the day of David's second surgery, in it she included a picture of something from a computer screen.  She said that she was strongly prompted by the Lord to send it... This is what it said:

"Most bad things happen suddenly and without warning -

 you can recover;

 Look back only for lessons learned." 

Paul Schmid, James' dad

These timely words were taken from the obituary of my husband's dad, who passed away in February of 2014.  The Lord had led my friend to them the morning of our David's second surgery.  How sweet that the words of his dad were able to speak comfort and hope to my husband's heart, and to my heart, as we were in the midst of the hardest thing we have experienced as a family.

In the days to come I hope to share some of the lessons we have and are learning...  

Until then, seek the Lord, get to know Him through His Word and through prayer, walk closely with Him, for you will need Him when when the bad things happen...