Miracles.

Soooo, this post should have happened last week, but moving is actually taking much longer than I remember. We finally got the majority of our extra stuff moved into storage yesterday, thanks to my incredible hubby, so I am feeling more at home now since I can start decorating and putting furniture in its rightful place and such. Anywhooo, Britney is doing so much better now! It is truly amazing how many miracles have happened in just under a month since her accident. Next time you are in your car, just look at the windshield and see how easily you could fly through it from the backseat without hitting the frame of the car. Miracle. The doctors said she wouldn't be talking for about three months, and I just spoke to her on the phone. Miracle. In a move most unlike her, Britney had taken off her seatbelt to sleep, and that is what saved her life. Miracle miracle miracle!! Who dares tell me there isn't someone watching over us all? When it is our time, we go: when it's not, we stay.

Last week she was transferred to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden and the boys and I went to see her. When we got there she was in Physical Therapy and I was so overwhelmed to see her smiling and in sweats, laughing with her therapist as she did her exercises. More miracles. She doesn't know this (well, NOW she probably does!) but I just watched her for a few minutes through the window and tried to compose myself. The change that had happened in only a week since I'd last seen her was overwhelming. Here are some pics!

Looking lovely in her new set of wheels!

She is a pro on her walker

Hard to tell here, but her legs are still really scratched up from skidding across the Nevada desert as she landed on the other side of the freeway.

More pictures, you say? Well...since you asked so nicely....

Kolton has been saying his prayers for Britney ever since the accident, so he was so excited to see her! (And take a ride on her wheelchair, of course!)

He even gave her a push when she got tired!

Sam was just happy to have a cookie.

They gave Britney this ADORABLE little mug. I had to take a picture. Anything miniature is worth taking a picture of!

Now, she is actually HOME! She's getting around okay in her wheelchair and walker and is itching to get back to life. Thanks to all the little miracles happening every day, I really feel like she will be there soon.

Brian Regan - Hospital

We were quoting this with Britney the whole time we were there. There's more to it if you wanna check it out on youtube. It's definitely good for a chuckle!!

Britney

Wow! What a crazy week it's been! I don't have much time today because I am getting ready to dismantle my computer since we are moving out tonight. I just wanted to recap the highlights of my trip to Reno to see my little sis. When we got there she was in the ICU. I wasn't prepared for the impact of seeing her. She didn't seem very alert and was eating her dinner. She had to eat with her hands because she was unable to use a fork at that time. It was really hard to see her scoop up her fruit with a clawed had and tear her chicken strips apart so she could eat. I hadn't realized until that point just how seriously she was injured. It was like she had regressed by 10 or more years. I could not stop crying as I watched her struggle to do everything herself. She wouldn't let anyone help her. She kept asking about her friends who had been in the accident. When the subject of Bryan (the one who was killed) came up, we diverted her attention, because we knew the pain would be huge for her and she would forget and ask again in an hour or two. Sure enough, she asked again about her friends about an hour later. It was so hard to not just pick her up and hug her to death. Seeing her there and alive was just about the best experience of my life. The second day there, she was transferred out of the ICU and into a new room on the Orthopedics floor. The room was literally three times the size of her ICU room and she was so happy to see all the balloons, flowers, and treats sent to her by friends and family that she hadn't been able to have in her ICU room. By the end of that day, she was eating with a fork and we all celebrated! It is amazing how such a small thing made such a difference to her. Her friends, Jason, Jerry, and Dallon, all came up that night to see her for a few minutes before they had to head back to Utah. She was so excited to have everyone there! That day, she also began remembering the conditions of each of her friends, and we knew it was time to tell her about Bryan. My mom waited until we all headed home on Sunday to talk to her about it. She expressed how sad she was, but that she just couldn't cry. I know it will hit her once her mind is less focused on healing her body and I hope I can be there for her when it does. A few days after we left, she was transferred yet again to the Renown Rehabilitation Hospital. She now had the chance to wear workout clothes instead of her awful hospital gown. She began wheeling herself to and from meals and to the bathroom. Her progress has been so good that at this point they are planning on her being transferred to McKay Dee hospital in Ogden!! It is the only hospital that has all the therapists she will need to finish recovering. It's not quite home yet, but she is getting so close! Her doctors believe she has experienced more brain damage than they originally thought, but hopefully it is nothing that can't be worked out with continued therapy. She is struggling with her fine motor skills and her vision and speech. I am more proud of her than I could ever possibly say. I miss her so much and can't wait to see her again. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to see her and to spend a few days with my sisters, Keli and Cristi, and my brother, Jimmy, while we traveled and laughed our guts out. That's one thing I really love about my family- no matter how hard times are, we can always chuckle about something. Even Britney was cracking up as we quoted her favorite comedian, Brian Regan to her. If I can find it on You Tube, I will have to embed the portion of his routine that had us all laughing. I'm sorry if this post is very random and hurried, but, like I said, my time is very limited! I just wanted to add that the quilt we made her was absolutely PERFECT!! A huge thanks to Keli and JaeLynne, who helped me make it, and to LeAnne, Kathy, Marissa, and the many others who donated fabric and money to help make it. My plan is to make additional quilts for the other victims of the accident as well as one for Bryan's family. The nurses couldn't say enough about the quilt and Britney told me yesterday that she sleeps with it every day and night! Your prayers and love and support have really gotten me through this ordeal. It has been rough on our whole family, but we couldn't feel more grateful. I hope to be on again soon after the move. May the Lord Bless you all! :D

L to R: Keli, Britney, Dad, Me, Cristi, Jimmy (we brought her Apple Beer- her favorite!)

One of many kisses I gave her.

Keli on the way there- Energy drink, anyone??

Jae and I stayed up 'til 3am the night before the trip to finish the quilt. What a lady!!

I hate how dark this is, and the edited version won't post, but here is Brit with her quilt.

Jae with her first Block!

And Keli with her first...

And me with my first!!!

Britney gets out of the ICU!

Britney

This is the driver's side of the car. Don't zoom in if you are squeamish. You can see blood. I'm not trying to freak anyone out, but this picture really impacted me.

Britney and My dad. I love seeing her attempt a smile. This picture shows one of the very few coherent moments she's had.

Our Life:

Not much has been happening with our little family in blogger land lately. Wes was able to land a terrific job (still with Rocky Mountain Power) in Preston, ID which means we are moving back to Smithfield!! To say this makes me jump for joy is the understatement of the century. We are still experiencing some mixed feelings about the move. For one, I. HATE. MOVING. For another, I actually really sort of fell in love with Montpelier and I never expected that to happen. The people are wonderful, the pace is gloriously slow and steady, and the library is hands-down the BOMB. Add living 20 minutes away from Fare Lake (Bear Lake- that's Kolton's special name for it) and the fact that living an hour or so away from family can be really wonderful at times, and we have a full scale recipe for hemming and hawing. Despite all the wonders of Montpelier, though, I feel positively giddy to come back to our old Ward and eventually our home, which is currently being rented out. The move is scheduled to happen on March 26th, but that is likely to change because of something that happened in the wee hours of Saturday morning, March 4th.

My little sister, Britney, and I had the wonderful chance to hang out a little on Friday night and she drove me around to get my car serviced and she and I talked about her plans to take an impromptu trip with her girlfriend, Megan, to California. They were going to leave at 3am on Saturday, the 4th and drive home some time on Sunday (today). After much deliberation and giddy excitement, they decided that sleep wasn't necessary and that they would leave at 11pm Friday night. She slept for a few hours and I woke her up at 9:30 so she could get ready to go. Now, for some background, Britney is 22 and was married at age 20 but her hubby decided that he wasn't jive with marriage anymore and they split up last April, with the divorce being finalized in August of 2010. Since then, she has been working as a waitress and living with my parents. Thankfully, there were no children caught up in this, but she wants to be a mommy so bad, and I hated to see that dream taken from her, even though I know she will fulfill that dream some day. (sorry, the later it is, the more long-winded I am). So, I gave my sweet little sis a hug and butt pat and left to go to our new apartment (in the basement of my in-laws' home) where we commenced to unpack the first of many boxes.

The next morning, Saturday, I received an urgent call from my youngest sister, Keli (age 20) saying that Brit had been in an accident. There is no preparation for that feeling in your gut like you just swallowed a brick. Even though I'm an optimist for the most part, I knew that this was serious. All we could do was wait to find out where they were going to life-flight her to. The accident had occurred at 5am in Battle Mountain, Nevada. Finally, after noticing significant amounts of blood in her urine, they decided to take the faster route and transfer her to Reno, NV instead of Salt Lake City, which would have cost her an extra 15 min. My parents left to drive to Reno and my brother, Russell used his frequent flyer miles to fly out on the first available flight. Britney's condition is considered 'severe' because she has four fractured ribs, a punctured spleen, bruised liver, fluid around her kidneys and lungs, and a crushed pelvis and hip bone. This is what they know so far. They are taking her in for surgery on her pelvis tomorrow and will get some additional x-rays at that time to check for a possible broken shoulder, arm, and femur. If you will bear with me, I will explain how the wreck happened as far as I know from what Britney's friends, my family, and the cops have told us:

Britney's friend, Brian, was driving the car (we didn't know boys were going on this trip- tsk tsk, Brit) and his friend, Stephen was riding shotgun. Brit's friend, Megan was behind the passenger seat and Britney was, for reasons unknown, buckled in to the middle seatbelt rather than the one behind the driver. From what I've been told, Brian fell asleep while driving on the freeway and ran into a barrier that divided the lanes. The impact of the initial hit made Britney's seatbelt pop and she was ejected from the car and flew 140 ft into a nearby area (thankfully, not the road) and the passenger was ejected from the car as well. The car flipped up and landed driver's-side-down on the barrier. The impact killed Brian, and would have killed Britney had she not been thrown. Stephen is, as far as I know, doing okay, and Megan is prepping to have surgery to fix a broken wrist and shoulder tomorrow. My heart breaks for Brian and his family. It also breaks because I know how tough this will be on Britney when she learns of it. Mentally, she is not aware of much at all right now. Miraculously, she woke up tonight and announced that she was hungry! Up til now all she has said is, 'thank you' 'yes' and 'no.' When her friends spoke to her tonight and said they had a care package for her, she responded, "Oh, no! I didn't get anything for you!". I was blessed with an opportunity to talk with her tonight. She doesn't sound much like herself because she is swollen on her face, but it meant so much to me to know I had the chance to tell her how much I love her. To think how close I came to losing her scares me so much I almost can't breath. My family is everything to me and I realize it now, more than ever, how crucial it is to spread that love on a daily basis. My sister, Keli, and I are staying at my mom's house this week to care for my grandma while my mom and dad are in Reno. To keep our worried heads busy, we are going to make Britney a very fun crazy quilt that we can give her when they transfer her to SLC, which will hopefully be within a week or two. If anyone in blogger land has spare fabric to share, please comment and let me know ! Okay, I know I'm officially tired when I type the same sentence twice. Okay, I know I'm officially tired when I type the same sentence twice. Thanks so much for all the love and support and prayers so many of you have already offered on Britney's behalf. I will do my best to keep everyone updated.

Lots of love,

Tab