Many of you already know this, but just in case you missed it - yesterday (Thursday) our Mom fell on the driveway after getting up from her rocking chair and broke the top of her femur (the largest bone in the body... and reportedly one of the most painful things a person could ever experience). Our Dad was a few feet away & saw the whole thing. My parents are surrounded by phenomenal neighbors that are always watching out for them. Tom & Cindy immediately came across the street to help Mom. Dad called Traci, Laurie, and me, and we rushed right over. Mom communicated that she had pain in her left leg & hip area so they got her a couple of pillows to help comfort her while we were in route. Mom is such a strong, selfless, and funny woman. She may have broken her femur, but her funny bone was undamaged. The first thing she says to me is, "Doug, what are you doing here? You should be running your trip." Then she asked if everyone had already eaten because she didn't want anyone to be inconvenienced. When I called 911 she told me to tell them not to come with their lights & sirens on (LOL!)... she hates being the center of attention and gets embarrassed easily. The whole time she was caring for all of us who were there trying to care for her. She cracked little jokes here & there, posed for a picture with a beautiful smile, and just really wanted to get up and go get an ice cream cone LOL! That is, until she tried to move. That's when she really felt the pain! The EMT's arrived and carefully got her onto the stretcher, but each movement caused her great pain. I rode in the ambulance with Mom, Traci followed behind, and Laurie stayed with Dad who was pretty shaken up by the whole thing. On the way to the hospital Mom was asked what level of pain she was in on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the worst pain she has ever experienced). Without hesitation, she said, "10". Mom was in the ER for a few hours before an ER room was available. We weren't allowed in with Mom, but praise God, one of our greatest volunteers in the history of GTD (Jenn) "happened" to be working in the ER that night (she is a traveling nurse, and I haven't seen her in several years). She was able to take great care of Mom and text us regular updates. It was a huge blessing and relief for all of us! X-rays showed a broken femur. Today (Friday) Mom had a successful surgery that included inserting a rod & fastening screws in her femur to help repair the damage. My awesome Sister spent all of today with our awesome Mom by her side. I have an event to run tomorrow (Saturday) so Traci is covering Friday & Saturday, and I'll be covering Sunday & Monday. So far so good. Our huge thanks to all of our family and friends for your prayers and encouragement!! They mean the world to all of us! And our unending thanks to our first responders, 911 operators, ER nurses & doctors, hospital staff & administrators, and everyone who plays a role in saving lives and mending broken bodies... we are forever grateful!! We are now entering a new part of this journey that we knew was inevitable. Thank you for your prayers for Mom's recovery & upcoming rehab! Please also pray for our Dad too... he has to have a pacemaker implanted next week. Of course, Traci, Laurie, and I are all running on empty so we covet your prayers as well. But hopefully we can all have some ice cream cones together in a few days and all will be good again =)
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