Our Journey to Healing Day 39

Isaiah 43:1-2

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—     he who created you, Jacob,     he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;     I have summoned you by name; you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters,     I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,     they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire,     you will not be burned;     the flames will not set you ablaze.

Derek just said, "What's your blog about today? About how depressing yesterday was?" I couldn't have said it better myself. 

Yesterday started out as a hot, humid day in Chicago. As I walked to the rehab facility that morning, I couldn't help but have a little spring in my step! Today was the day we had an ear appointment a whole 2 blocks away from the rehab hospital. If it didn't rain, Derek and I would able to adventure there together in his new electric chair.

After 3 hard hours of rehab, we headed off to his ear appointment. The doctors had also scheduled a CT scan for us to attend after the ear appointment. Derek's heart rate had been consistently running high and his oxygen levels had been a little low. These can be signs of a blood clot but the doctors were doubtful. They felt the levels could be present due to the spinal trauma. I asked the doctor what he would do if it was his son.  He then offered to order a CT scan in order to put our minds as rest.

The ear appointment did not take too long and the doctor determined that Derek has permanent hearing loss in his right ear. He does qualify for a hearing aid and we will be going through a doctor in Indiana once we return. They are not sure if the loss was caused by a fracture in his ear (or the orbital fracture) or just by the impact of the accident.

We then headed down to the CT scan. After about an hours and a half, a nurse came in and said we were cleared to head back the the rehab center. We strolled back and celebrated the news with Panera cheese soup (minus the broccoli due to chewing restrictions) and Wheel of Fortune. Our party was quickly halted when the doctor came in and explained that the radiology department at the other hospital actually did find a clot. We were then ushered back to the hospital via an ambulance.

We spent 3 hours in a downtown Chicago ER in a little room waiting for our officialhospital room. We were both feeling incredibly frustrated and scared but God provided us with some great entertainment via the drunk young man who was right outside of our door. Apparently the cops had been called because he was at the beach with some friends and decided to start tackling random women. Hearing the doctor explain this to him for the first time was pretty hilarious. Young man:"You mean I was tackling the girls I was with?" Doctor: "No sir, you were running down the beach tackling random strangers". Young Man: "O no. I am so sorry!"

Regarding the clot, Derek was and is quite disappointed. Although the clot did not do any damage to his any damage to his heart and has settled into his lungs, it is a decent setback for rehab. They say every day to spend in the hospital is about 3 days of work to regain the strength lost. At this point, we will be here until Monday or Tuesday. Since we were transferred out of the rehab institute to a different hospital, we now have to reapply for the rehab facility through insurance and go through that whole process again. Yuck.

They are placing Derek on a blood thinner for 6 months which should break up the current clot and keep other clots from forming. Obviously clots are nerve wracking. When going through the heart, they can either get stuck there or head to the brain or lungs. Very thankful this guy ended up in the lungs and not in the brain.

For prayers, please be praying for those blood clots and also for the Spinal Cord study. Derek WAS chosen to do the study (yay!!) but it is suppose to start on Monday. We are hoping this speed bump will still allow him to participate in the study.

On the bright side? This hospital room is private and we have an awesome view of the city. Derek keeps saying we need to pretend we are in a hotel for the weekend :)

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 37

Psalm 18:2

² The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;     my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,     my shield^[a] and the horn^[b] of my salvation, my stronghold.

What is it about pictures and songs that move us so much emotionally? For weeks, I have been avoiding using any photo that kills me inside. But finally, I caved. This picture brings me to tears Every. Single. Time. I don't even know why. Maybe it is because this photo was taken a few days before we moved into our first house. Or because it feels "normal" to me. Or because Derek hates selfies and he looks ALMOST not annoyed in this one. Either way, I normally love this picture but am hating it today. I miss the days of eating Chinese and working on a project. I miss getting smoked in Yahtzee while we sip on wine out of a Ball Jar. I miss watching Friends with the doors wide open. I miss cooking him dinner. I miss him walking in the door with his helmet on and me yelling HELLO! because he could never hear me. I miss our tiny loft. I miss our walks around the neighborhood and randomly stopping to talk with our friends. I miss not having to deal with insurance. I miss actually cuddling with my husband.  I miss our life in Indiana. A lot. And there you have it. A depressing intro to a not so depressing overall blog post.

With rehab, Derek has been doing really well. They keep him fairly busy here with around 4-5 hours a day of therapy. His other injuries (scapula, hands, arm, & wrist) have been a little frustrating since they inhibit the amount of bending and weight he can really handle. Overall, the therapists seem very encouraged. We have been getting to know the doctors, nurses, and therapists fairly well. He tends to work with the same group of people every day, which is nice!

We have been given the estimated release date of September 13th! This gives us approximately 8 weeks to figure out how to live on our own :) After he is released from inpatient, we are planning on continuing on with their Day Rehab program. This program is considered outpatient and will allow Derek to still receive 4-5 hours of rehab a day but be able to go home at night. We are currently looking into either subleasing an apartment here in the city or possibly an ExtendedStay hotel. We are trying to figure out what would be the most affordable option and it appears we will be doing the Day Rehab program for at least 3 months. The amount of weeks in Day Rehab just really depends on insurance. We want to stay here as long as insurance will keep paying!

Yesterday, Derek was asked if he would consider participating in a study which helps doctors determine if using a new device helps SCI (spinal cord injury) patients recover nerve function. This device is like a robot on a treadmill. He will be using a robot type thingy that supports his legs and helps him walk on a treadmill. They will then measure his nerves and muscles to see if doing the motion of walking helps his brain connect with those nerves. Also, I am fairly confident I am not explaining this clearly. Sorry! Anyway, he would undergo an MRI soon and then he would walk on the treadmill for the next 8 weeks. He would then undergo another MRI at the end of the study to see if the treadmill helped. They are only choosing one person and he passed the second round of inspection today! We are very hopeful that he will be able to participate and we should learn more by next week.

If you read the first paragraph you have probably figured out that I am struggling a bit on the emotional side. I am hoping and praying this transition gets easier for me and continues to be encouraging for Derek. He has been doing SO well and I am so proud of how he handles this all in stride.

P.S We do have an doctor's appointment tomorrow a few streets down to check out his ear. He has had muffled hearing in the right ear since the accident and the doctor's here are not sure what could be causing the hearing loss. I will keep you all posted!

Please be praying for the study and for "after rehab" decisions that we need to be making fairly soon.

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 32

Matthew 6:26-27

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Hello! It is us! Finally writing to you from the Windy City. Sorry for being so far behind but I am excited to catch you up on a few things that have happened since last week.

Ok. Ready? Here we go:

Derek's lungs really started to improve last week and we were given an ICU eviction notice around Friday night. The doctors felt as though he was ready for rehab and could safely travel to Chicago via an ambulance. After a month in the ICU, we were very excited to be moving on to Phase 2.

As usual, nailing down an actual time and date for heading to Chicago took a lot of negotiation from our insurance, rehab facility, the hospital, and an ambulance carrier. We were told we would be leaving anywhere between Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday afternoon, we then found out we had an ambulance scheduled for 11am Wednesday morning. That night, I barely slept. I felt like a kid going off to summer camp!

Wednesday morning rolled around and we were very excited. We were told Derek would start the discharge process around 9am and the ambulance would leave at 11am. I packed our belongings into our car and walked to Starbucks to grab a drink before we hit the road. That is when we hit our snag. At 10:15, our social worker called and informed us that the insurance had sent the incorrect paperwork and therefore we would not be able to leave until Thursday at the earliest. I was incredibly bummed. I walked back up to our room to tell Derek the news and break it to our families. Side note: The main reason behind the disappointment was because the rehab facility highly suggested coming at the beginning of the week and not the end due to care and evaluations. Hence why we didn't leave the last Friday when we were ready.  Our family was also already heading to Chicago to help us move in.The thought of getting Derek to Chicago and no one to help was overwhelming.

Here is where God showed up and flexed his muscles. 

I went back upstairs and informed Derek of the new time and called our families. I was then reminded that my "Aunt" (my mom's 1st cousin), actually works for our insurance provider specifically for Spinal Cord patients...who are transferring to rehabs in Illinois. WHAT? Ok. So that is crazy, right? She was able to get our paperwork where it needed to go in order for us to catch a 1pm ambulance ride and not have to pay for the previously missed ambulance. BOOM. I drove to Chicago with a huge smile on my face.

We arrived in Chicago safe and sound around 4pm. Derek had an OK ride and was ready for some pain medicines and a bed.  My car was full of our belongings and I was fully prepared to hand off my car keys to my brother-in-law so he could move my stuff into the Ronald McDonald house. We were very blessed to be able to get a room at the RMH and I would be staying there for 6-8 weeks while Derek was an inpatient here. Right before we unloaded the car, a family from my husbands home town called and offered their incredible condo for me to stay in while Derek is at the hospital. I cried. I had been struggling with moving to Chicago and really struggling with living away from Derek. The timing was perfect.

We were able to get Derek settled into his room and then walk over to see my new home away from home. It is BEAUTIFUL and a very safe walking distance from the hospital. I am so incredibly thankful for God showing up and spoiling me through this families generosity. That evening, I took a hot shower and slept in a bed instead of a chair for the first time since the accident.

Rehab has been great and also challenging. This new phase has brought up more fears, emotions, more clarity (which has caused some of the fear), excitement, laughs, and prayers than the ICU phase. Derek has therapy sessions for at least 3 hours a day which includes learning to balance, transferring himself, and  working on gaining strength. With a lot of upper body breaks, he will be using an electric wheelchair until his hands, wrists, and shoulder recoup.

Yes, I said hands. 2 weeks ago, he had been complaining of wrist and hand pain in his right hand (his good side). I asked a doctor to check x-rays and see if there was anything we could do to help with his pain. I then was told that they didn't actually x-ray anything on his right arm/hand. They ordered an x-ray and discovered he actually broke his right hand. The break had already started to heal and they opted not to re-break. He now is wearing a soft cast to help. Pretty frustrating but we are glad the break should not cause any permanent loss of use except until it heals up. So that takes the break count up to 7.

How can you pray? Just pray for us as a couple as we learn to love and embrace this new lifestyle. There is a lot of information being thrown our way and trying to absorb it all can be very overwhelming. Please pray for Derek's bones to heal quickly and that his neck pain will become more manageable.

We appreciate the support!

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 25

Isaiah 40:31

³¹ but those who hope in the Lord     will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;     they will run and not grow weary,     they will walk and not be faint.

On July 9th, 2010 the above photo was taken. Can you spy us? At the time, we actually didn't even know each others names. Well, that is not entirely true. I had known his name for about 10 minutes because my roommate (in the Kansas jersey) whispered to me when he walked in the door, "O my word LeAnne. I can't believe I have never thought of this. You need to date Derek Lavender!" I then proceed to ask who Derek Lavender was and she pointed out the cute guy in the Bulls jersey. Derek went home that night, added me as a friend on Facebook, and the rest is history.

I got teary eyed this morning (which is not an uncommon thing now days) thinking how much God has brought us through in our short 6 years together. This event may take the cake for the most challenging, but we have also had so many wonderful events happen. Over these past few weeks, I have realized just really how thankful I am for Derek Lavender. Even in his suffering, he continues to make people laugh, encourages those around him, and quietly takes this all like a champion. His attitude and work ethic have made hospital employees notice that there is something different about him. There is no way he (or I) could do this without the belief and trust that God has given us this hurdle for a reason. Although we are still grieving the results of the accident, we are thankful for the opportunity to show our faith to others.

With healing, it seems as though the "Is he going to make it?" part of this journey is over. Now cue the "Patience is a virtue" part of our trip. He has been coughing a lot which is a good sign but also very annoying for him. He has been getting to do little bits of rehab in the morning and it has been neat to watch his determination. From learning yoga positions, to putting on socks, he has been quite the trooper.

Many of you do not know that Derek is actually paralyzed from the chest down. Today he informed me that he thinks he can feel one ab, but that is about as far as it goes. Not having the use of your core can make a lot of these rehab sessions very tricky. On the positive note, he does have use of his diaphragm (which he was incredibly close to losing), so we are so thankful he is able to breathe on his own and can move his arms around at will.

His fever is officially gone and so is the pneumonia. As can be expected, he is still sore and his neck has been really hurting him these past few days. He spends most of his day sitting up in a special chair hanging out with me or our family. He smoked me in Yahtzee yesterday and we have started reading a John Grisham book.

In closing, I wanted to share a little conversation we had two nights ago. Derek quietly told me that when he was little, he used to pray that God could give him a heavy burden if it would spare someone else from dealing with pain. This too brought tears to my eyes. I then confessed that as a child, I was praying for an attractive husband.

Looks like God answers prayers.

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 23

Genesis 50:20

²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Throughout the last few weeks, we have had a lot of friends and family reach out to us in order to show their love and support. I have been blown away with amount of people who CARE about Derek and I and truly want to help.We love and appreciate you all! This afternoon, Derek and I got to spend some time just opening letters & care packages. We are blown away by the support we feel from all over the country.

Along with the support, many people have mentioned that I don't need to be scared to open up or share my true feelings about this accident. So along those lines, I wanted you all to get a little peak into how we have both been coping since June 15th @ 6:25am.

The truth is, the first week I felt fairly strong. I was here to support Derek, be his advocate when he couldn't be one for himself, and focus on helping him have the best recovery possible. My blogs have been a great way for me to get in a few facts and feelings on paper before I forgot what that stretch of time felt like.

This past week has been incredibly difficult. Realities are starting to sink in and my heart feels like a little plastic bobber stuck in a hurricane. It really all started this past weekend with the idea of moving to the rehab location and leaving our little house behind. Our house has been a source of so much joy, hard work, and love for the past few years. Unfortunately, the layout of Bunker will not allow us to live there any longer. We were able to rent it out to a wonderful couple that we know will cherish it, but it still makes me sad. Packing up our belongings and stuffing it all in the back of my car did not help me keep the tears at bay. I know. Silly right? In sad situations, there just seems to be something that triggers pain, and Bunker is the pain trigger for me. It is just a house and I feel confident we will make memories in whatever house God provides for us in the future.

Emotionally, Derek has been coping well. We are learning how to work through this new hurdle as a couple and are finding joys in small things. Such as the fact that he can now cough on his own, the nurse saw noticed nerve movements in his toe (yay!!!!), and it was Shark Week last week.

Physically, he is healing! He started to actually be able to talk a few days ago and it is so nice to be able to have real conversations with him. He got his first sip of water on Tuesday and officially passed his swallow test today! He is now on a liquid diet but will still keep his feeding tube in for at least a few more weeks. His lungs are healing up nicely but he still gets very short of breath very easily. We technically could be ready to head to rehab by tomorrow or Saturday, but everything slows down on the weekend. With that in mind, we will be heading to rehab on Monday or Tuesday.

Yesterday, they did surgery to remove the blood clot filter they placed 2 weeks ago. This filter was placed to keep blood clots away and help his lungs heal. When they removed the filter, they found a blood clot! We are very thankful that filter was placed in order to catch those guys. Since we are 3 weeks out from the injury, his chance of a clot has drastically decreased.

Our goals this weekend are to see some friends, relax, and let him drink all the Sprite he wants.

PS. Our respiratory therapist came in this morning and explained that her mother-in-law has been following our story before the accident. When the accident happened, she told our RT and her husband about the accident and they have been praying for us for weeks! They had no idea we actually lived in their state and we were at their hospital! Our RT shared us this story and then prayed with us. Man, God is so neat.

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 18

Isaiah 41:10

¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you;     do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;     I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Our Saturday morning has shaped up to be me wearing a Hazard mask (I'm getting sick), drinking fairly decent cafeteria coffee, watching HGTV, Derek snoozing about 4 ft away, and me praying away an infection that is trying to make its way into Derek's body.

The past 2 days have been a bit more up and down. Nothing as scary as Monday, but still not ideal. Thursday was a great day. He had a great night sleep and was feeling good all day. We had a few family come by and I even got to sneak out to grab pizza with some friends and family. Friday morning was also a good morning but then those therapists just had to stop by around eleven. We have been reeling ever since.

Around noon on Friday, they actually took him off the vent (what is helping him breath) and allowed him to use an oxygen collar. This oxygen collar is blowing air into his trech but he really is just breathing on his own. This concept seemed to make him nervous (how would you feel if they took you off the machine that was keeping your lungs open?!) and his heart rate shot way up. They ended up putting him back on the ventilator and moving him back to bed. This whole process seemed to discourage my man and it has been breaking my heart.According to the nurses, the anxiousness is very common and they say he actually did quite well. He finally was able to calm his breathing down around eight last night.

Last night was more on the rough side. He did not sleep a wink and my amazing mom stayed up with him to keep cold wash clothes on his head. His fever got up to 102 but broke early this morning. They just finished take a lung culture to see if the pneumonia is back. His breathing is more steady and he also got the staples taken out of his arm. I actually think he is a little disappointed. He's been showing off the cut and staples to nurses and visitors all week :)  They are also planning on removing the staples in his back this afternoon.

His missing contact fell out of his eye (don't get me started) a few days ago. We are so thankful it did not cause an infection. He also pulled out his own tooth on Thursday night. The tooth fairy will be visiting tonight and will bring adult money since it is an adult tooth. Derek has also lost 20 lbs and my brother-in-law joked that he is on the most expensive diet in the world.

We have started making plans for our new future. I went and saw a house last night (which was hard without him), he is looking at vehicles, and we are so excited to get outta here and head to rehab. Doctors think 1 more week and then we will be on the road!

Have a wonderful 4th of July. With luck, the doctor said we may get to take Derek up on the roof to watch the fireworks! Be still my heart.

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 14

2 Peter 3:8-9

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

It is Wednesday Thursday morning, which means Monday morning happened 72 hours ago. It also means that there is 72 hours between us and Monday mornings incident, so I am ready to write about it.

As many of you know, we have been having issues with Derek's left lung. It was badly bruised during the accident and just was not healing at the speed they were hoping for. Monday morning around 1:30am, Derek really started to struggle with his breathing. Above his head sits a monitor which tells me what his oxygen level is at. 100 is the best and anything below 70 can potentially cause brain damage. I was told those levels really need to be there for about 15 minutes for there to ever be permanent damage. I usually just stare at the monitor anytime he starts really having a hart time catching his breath.

Monday at 1:30am was no different.

He started to lose his breath and his oxygen levels started dipping. Before I knew what was happening, there were lots of medical helpers in the room trying to get those levels up. For about 5 minutes, the levels were hovering in the 50-60s. Since trying to help him level out his breathing was not working, I just put my hands on his shoulder and started praying out loud. Within 5 seconds, his oxygen jumped up to 95. Now, I am not one of those people who runs around laying hands on every sick person I see but I just cannot get over this moment. The Respiratory Therapist stopped dead in his tracks and asked what I just did to make it jump back up. Go God.

Around 2am, he was able to get his breathing down and go back to sleep for a few hours. At 7:20am, the attack happened again. This time, those levels were not popping back up and his left lung had collapsed.  Our room quickly filled with doctors, nurses, and just people standing in the hallway wondering what was going on. They used a "bag" to help manually inflate his lungs while they prepared a bronch. A bronch is a little scope that will go down into the lungs and check out the situation. It also allows the doctors to suck out any secretion. that may be building up in his lungs. Also, I am not in the medical field, so no judgement on my descriptions. 

After signing a consent form, they did the bronc procedure which really helped clear out his left lung. They sedated him for the rest of the day and allowed his body to get some rest. Monday morning has seemed to be the turning point for us. His lungs continue to look better and better every day. It sounds as though we will be able to head to rehab within 10-13 days. We are praising God for his turn around and no known brain damage. Derek is taking this whole thing in stride. Obviously, we are sad but we are hopeful.

So, a brief peak into our marriage.  Derek hates the phrase "It's no big deal". I have said it a few times but quickly learned that those string of words only make him more upset and do not calm him down. We have had actually disagreements over that phrase. I dump salad dressing on my new car seat.. "It's no big deal". I forget to pay a medical bill.." It's no big deal".  Over the past 2 nights, we have been processing this accident together right before we head to bed. I finally was able to say the words my heart has been feelings for 2 weeks. It's no big deal. Derek belly laughed, I giggled, and we both realized that this really is No Big Deal. We've got this.

Thank you again for all your prayers, support, cards, gifts, and love. We feel so supported because of you all!

With Love,

The Lavenders

The Accident

Jeremiah 29:11

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Curiosity actually doesn't kill cats, so therefore I want to talk about the accident. I know the top two questions most people have in a situation like this is "How is he doing and how did it happen?".

For those of you who do not know my husband well, you do need to know a few things about this great man. He has his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and graduated from law school in 2014.  He worked for Harley Davidson's test facility for 4 years during his undergraduate degree and is now a patent attorney. He is a smart, intelligent, professional man who has always loved a great motorcycle. He is a guy, so obviously can be a bit squirrely but he has a strong head on his shoulders. He has a dry sense of humor, loves his niece and nephews (who call him Uncle Dizzle), can create or fix anything, and has a passion for pleasing God and helping others. He is seriously the best.

On Wednesday, June 15th at 6am, Derek left for work and drove his Ducati "Bison". We have a deal that he always will text me when he arrives to work safely. Around 6:45am, I sent him a text asking if he made it safe. At 6:50, I sent another text. At 7:13am, I received a call Derek's phone but it wasn't Derek. It was a man named David and he informed me that Derek had been in a serious accident and I needed to get downtown to the hospital as soon as possible.

The next few hours were a blur with them informing me of his injuries and then rushing him off to surgery within an hour of me arriving. Of course, I had the same question everyone else had. What actually happened around 6:20am?

Unfortunately, we don't really know. He takes the interstate to work each morning and will then exit off the interstate at an exit we all refer to as the Toilet Bowl. It winds around and people are merging on as you are trying to get off the exit. They received a 911 call and found him in the grass at the end of the exit. I know. This is confusing. But believe me when I say most people in Indy know what exit I am talking about because it is confusing and you go from interstate speeds to 40mph fairly quickly.

They believe he lost control of the bike (no one knows why), hit the concrete underpass, and then landed in the grassy area near the underpass. We are not sure if someone cut him off on accident, if he took the turn too quickly, or if the bike malfunctioned. He was wearing a helmet and protective gear which certainly saved his life.

So, why am I say all this? I suppose just to kill the stigma that all motorcycle accidents happen at high speeds and because the drivers are being reckless. Derek doesn't remember the accident but he was completely awake and aware when the paramedics arrived. He was able to give them him cell phone password so they could call me. We may just never know what exactly happened that morning but I am praising God for sparing his life and his mind.

Want to know something crazy?  They just closed the exit on Friday to redo it. 1.5 weeks too late.

Our Journey to Healing Day 10

Romans 8:28

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.

Our Saturday morning routine usually consists of sleeping in until around 8:30am. We then climb out of the tiny loft and make some french press coffee while watching Doug on our television. I then prepare a gourmet breakfast of fresh fruit and Eggo Waffles. We sip our coffee and discuss plans for the day. Boy, I miss those Saturdays.

This Saturday morning looked a bit different. He had a terrible night of sleep with a couple anxiety attacks thrown in there. I tried every trick I knew to make the hospital room anti-anxiety feeling. I brought his fan, radio, and even essential oils! None of this helped. Instead, we discovered this morning he may have a  blood clot in his lung (hence the uncomfortable nights rest) as well as pneumonia. They will be doing a procedure sometime today to help break down the clot and also prevent other clots from forming.

Yesterday he was able to go to the outdoor Sky Farm for about 5 minutes and get a little fresh air. There was a therapy dog up there and it put a huge smile on his face. The dogs name was Aladdin. Later that evening, Courtney asked the dogs name and he kept mouthing "Prince of Persia". Clearly he still has his sense of humor. He also asked me to take a picture of him...which he has never asked ONCE in his entire life :) Still no talking for a few days but I am getting pretty good at reading his lips.

We are starting to create plans for rehab and what our life will look like for the next 6-8 months. As of now, it sounds like at least another week in ICU and then 2-3 weeks in a step down unit. We will then head out of state for rehab. Rehab will be around 4-6 months. We will then take it a day at a time and determine where we want to go from there. It is going to be a wild ride but I am so thankful to see little signs of improvement each day. We are not out of the woods yet, but I feel confident that since God brought us into this woods, He knows his way around just fine.

PS. Derek loves his cards. I have a bag full by the bed and gave him a few yesterday to keep him entertained for awhile.

With Love,

The Lavenders

Our Journey to Healing Day 8

Psalm 91:4

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,     and under his wings you will find refuge;     his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

It is amazing what a good nights rest will do for your body and soul. The last 2 days have felt as though someone was taking my heart and wringing it out. I have felt grief and pain before but nothing compares to watching my man learn of his injuries for the first time. I am in tears just typing these words and am praying today for peace and wisdom. This morning feels fresh and I am hoping today goes a little better.

Let's see. Tuesday and Wednesday were the first days Derek started to come out of sedation and was a bit more with it. Yesterday as the doctors made their rounds, they were able to let him know exactly what had been broken and the implications of those injuries. We do have great doctors but some of them could work on their bedside manner a bit. I felt a bit discouraged after a doctor just blurted out to him that he would never walk again. Later, I was given the chance to explain to him that the doctor was incorrect and we were told by the spinal surgeon that he does have the chance to walk again.

I am over here balancing that fine line of being optimistic and realistic.

As far as other healing, things are going OK. We were originally told up to a week in ICU. Now it seems we will be here at least 17 days before moving to the step down unit. His lungs are really beat up and are still healing. Yesterday, they did find some fluid in his right lung. They were prepared to go in with aneedle and pull the fluid out. Once they got the ultra sound set up to find the fluid, they discovered if wasn't near as much as they thought and were able to avoid going into his lung. Derek was very relieved!

Sleeping has been rough. On Tuesday night, he literally only slept 10 minutes. Mybrother-in-law is incredible and stayed up with him reading an entire book about Kentucky Bourbon. They had a little slumber party :) Last night was much better and he is actually still snoozing as I type! We are working on getting his days and nights back on track.

The medicines seem to be making him a little loopy and his questions are getting harder and harder to guess. Two days ago they were logical requests like wiping his eyes or helping him breath better. Yesterday he asked me to call the "hospital store" to get him a wheelchair so he could leave. He also asked Caleb to buy him a wheelchair on Amazon Prime. Derek loves Amazon Prime. He is so sweet and his heart is just hurting.

Please be praying for him specifically today as he wrestles with the information and pray for me that my words will be calming and also make logical sense.

Happy Thursday.

With Love,

The Lavenders