Praises through the pain

....You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness. The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the Lord. (Isaiah 38:16-20 NIV)

I stand amazed that the above scripture was actually from today's reading! Even more amazing-my eyes were open to read it after a few short hours of sleep.  It has such truth for our family and this valley that we have gone through this last few weeks. I have faith that in the days and years to come Nathan and Lexe will understand how God has led them through this time and praise His name even more for the benefit of the new life He has given Nathan. 

Yesterday, was a very long day, but God and our mighty band of prayer warriors got us through the day along with some awesome doctors. Surgery was scheduled to begin at 1:00, but didn't get started until about 3:30. The doctor came out to talk to us around 7:10 while the nurses we're finishing up. It was another hour and half before we saw him and what a joy to see even if he was swollen and barely awake.  This hospital is amazing and I can't imagine being anywhere else during a traumatic injury. They work in teams and came in this morning to evaluate Nathan with a team of 10 doctors. His vision is better, but still blurry and his face is held together with about five plates and screws. His mouth will likely remain wired shut for about six weeks and he will get nourishment through protein shakes and anything he can blend and get through a straw. 

There will be challenging days ahead, but with such and awesome attitude and so many prayer warriors I have no doubt those days will quickly be behind us just in time for him to welcome his first son.  It will be in that moment that he will finely understand why his momma and daddy have such a crazy love for him! A love that grows deeper with each passing day whether a newborn or a grown man!            

    We are so thankful to this young man for being there to step into action and quickly save 

    Nathan's life. Shep, without your quick response we might not be rejoicing today in such 

    wonderful news! 

    We are also thankful for Nathan's beautiful bride and faithful cheerleader who has stayed

    right by his side and encouraged him along this difficult time.

    And finally, his amazing team of doctors and surgeons, (our favorite one, Dr. Mueller, you

    can't see), who worked hard to restore his handsome face without leaving more scars! They 

    went through his eye and mouth to do all of the work. 

Surgery day

We are on the way to the hospital now. Nathan has to be there at 11:30, so I am assuming they will begin surgery around 12:30-1:00. It will last approximately 4-5 hours and if all goes well he will go home tomorrow. That blows my mind! It is amazing what physicians can do these days! It is even more amazing what THE GREAT PHYSICIAN can do. We are trusting in God to heal him 100%! These are some of the best, well trained doctors  in the area and they will do everything possible to repair all of the broken bones. **Please pray for an easy repair, steady hands for the medical staff, facial nerves to regenerate so we can see that beautiful smile again and a peace over everyone today. 

Thank you!

The details so far...

Here's what we know after two days of Nathan seeing doctors:

1. Doctors are amazed at how well he is doing after such a horrific accident.

2. He will have surgeryThursday morning to repair the broken bones in his face which include (in mom talk, not Dr. terms): the bones around his right eye, above his mouth and all of his cheek bones. He will be off of work for potentially 6 weeks and be on a liquid diet for a good bit of that time.

3. The dr. can not tell us exactly how he will do all of the repairs until he has fully viewed the CT scan, but will try to leave as few scars as possible.

4. He saw an ophthalmologist today and they were very surprised that his vision is 20/20, although he is not moving his eye the way he needs to.

5. Yesterday, was disappointing to learn that the nerves around his mouth were severed and this has caused paralysis around his mouth.  We will pray that the nerves regenerate and all of the feeling returns in time.

5.  Nathan has a huge support group, a very supportive wife and family and a MIRACLE WORKING GOD on his side.  With that going for him we will believe in miracles!

"For all that you've done and all that you're going to do, 

Jesus we THANK YOU!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The power of WORDS

Last Tuesday afternoon I was getting ready to prepare dinner and David's phone rang.  It was one of those phone calls that caused me to stop in my tracks and try to figure out who he was talking to and what was happening.  I pray you've never had one of those, but I know many of you can relate!  It was our oldest son, who was working in California, and had just gotten a phone call from a friend who works with our middle son.  There had been a terrible accident and Nathan had been injured at his job site. Those WORDS stopped us in our tracks and life stood still for a moment as we tried to figure out what direction to go.  I immediately got online to see if we could fly to his location that was a 5 hour drive away.  We would have to wait too long for the next flight so we determined we could drive much quicker. As we threw things into a suitcase,  I called a friend to see if she could keep Lia.  Fortunately, Tia was already at church camp. She wasn't home, so I called another friend.  Little did I know at the time how God had orchestrated that phone call.  When she got to the house within about 10 minutes she reminded us that her husband has an airplane and he volunteered to fly us to the hospital.  Those WORDS brought a comfort to this momma's heart that I can never explain!

Once we arrived at the hospital we heard the WORDS from Nathan's doctor that let us know he would ultimately be ok;  he had many facial injuries, but the CT scan did not reveal any neck or brain damage.  Tears began to flow as I realized the power of those WORDS! Soon after, he went into surgery to repair the injuries to his face and stitch them up.  The true repairs will happen next week. We will covet your prayers through during that time.

After spending 3 days in the hospital we wanted to go to a hospital closer to home for his repair but were having a hard time getting a hospital to accept his case.  It had to be a hospital that accepted a trauma case AND worker's compensation since it was a work related injury.  That was not as easy as we originally thought it would be. He was turned down by multiple hospitals.  I took a break to get some fresh air and as I was returning I saw his doctor in the hall.  He gave me the WORDS I thought we wouldn't hear.  He said, "I found a hospital to accept his case and he can go home!" REALLY did I just hear those WORDS?

So yesterday, we packed up and headed home.  Monday he will go to the new doctor closer to home and plan the next surgery to heal all of the crushed bones in his face. 

During this last week I have had multiple WORDS expressed to me-face to face, through emails, calls or texts.  Everyone of those precious WORDS helped get us through this last week and even if I did not personally respond know that you played a huge part in encouraging us along this journey.

The little saying about sticks and stones as a child is completely untrue.  Our  WORDS can destroy or heal.  I pray that my words can be those that build another person up and not tear them down.

The words of the reckless pierce like swords

    but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 

Proverbs 12:18

This is Nathan and his wife, Lexe. 

The swelling in his face had gone down so much by this picture!

I am ready to see this face again!

Link to Mission trip blog

Since I was the "official" blogger for our China 2014 mission trip, I did not blog here, but wanted to include the link so that it is easily accessible to anyone looking for it.

I have decided it is time to start blogging again. Once I returned home from the trip, I realized how much I missed this type of writing.  So without further ado, I am working on my next blog post to share with you.  Somehow writing messages on Facebook just doesn't give me the opportunity to completely describe a situation.  I find myself scrolling Facebook and not really reading lengthy messages.  On a blog, however; I spend a little more time to REALLY read the depth of the message.  There are some messages that I just need to share and to fully get the details you can find them here soon. Please come back and leave me a comment when you do!

Link to mission trip blog:  

CHINA MISSION TRIP 2014