In the blink of an eye.............

In the blink of an eye.............
That saying is so fitting in most of our lives at any given time, but there are times when the importance and truth of that statement are thrown at us with such force. This happened for our family and friends on this past Wednesday evening. The following is my account of what happened first from my recollection of what was told to me at the scene and then for the next few days that followed.At 9:30 Randy and Conner pulled in the driveway from going to get a few school supplies that Conner needed for his classes. Conner came in, Randy didn't. There was a honk and then Randy leaving quickly, I asked Conner where Daddy was going and he thought to a fire. I told him he was probably right the way Randy hustled out of the driveway. I visited with the boys and then told them they needed to get in bed, Hannah was already sound asleep. Conner brushed his teeth and got in bed. Cooper was finishing something up in the kitchen and I was getting dressed for bed. Around 10pm or so the phone rang and the caller id showed that it was the asst. fire chief. I knew instantly he was not calling to me how much fun they were having at the fire. Nothing was going to make me answer that phone quickly, I just got up and started re-dressing. Cooper came in with the phone in his hand and asked if he should answer it, I said yes. I was told that Randy had fallen at the fire and that the helicopter had been called for him and that my ride was on her way. I told Cooper what I was told and let him know I would call him the instant I knew more and that if Conner woke up in the commotion to let him know what was going on and I would be in touch as soon as I could. I stood in the driveway for my ride with and called a dear friend and said something to the extent of, " Randy's been hurt at a fire, life flight is on it's way, I need you with my kids now." I stayed outwardly calm for the next 14 or so hours but inwardly I kept having to sit down, because I thought I would pass out numerous times, but I tried not to show any panic. My kids needed me to be calm when I reported to them, I needed to be calm so if these were my last moments with my husband I would remember them, the men working to save my husbands life didn't need to have to deal with hysterics from me and lastly I needed to let them know that I was so grateful for them being with him and doing so much for him. When I got to the hospital parking lot, the ambulance had just pulled in, as soon as I got out of the car I could hear Randy screaming. I don't remember if I opened the door to the ambulance or if it opened as I came up, I stepped up in the ambulance and saw his fellow firemen and the emt's trying to get him under control and hold him down so he wouldn't hurt himself more. I knew instantly that it was still Randy that was screaming, but that he was obviously hurt very bad. He did respond with a second or two of silence when I loudly called his name and told him he would be ok, just to let them help him. The EMT said he didn't think I needed to witness anymore and I told him that I would get out of their way so that they could do what they needed to do. At some point in the parking lot I think, I learned that Randy had been up with another fireman on a ladder between 12 and 14 feet in the air, he some how fell and on the way down his helmet came off and he landed on his head. I believe I was told that he went unresponsive and cpr was performed, but even once he started breathing again it was very erratic. I had several people coming up and offering support and it was very much appreciated, one man went and got my wedding ring off my nightstand; I had just taken it off to put lotion on before the phone rang, the same sweet young man gave me some pepcid, because I had just eaten a bedtime snack and that turned out to be a huge mistake. The helicopter arrived along with every law enforcement and firefighter in the area. They were taking care of their own and for that show of support and strength I will eternally be grateful and in awe. It took a while for them to get him stabilized in the ambulance and calm enough to transport. Randy was given a paralytic, pain medicine and anti-seizure meds, because of all this they had to bag him to breathe for him. The men who were not taking care of me, loaded him on the helicopter sometime around 10:45 or so. I was immediately escorted to a police car along with the chief and asst chief, and we were driven to Tulsa, we arrived shortly after the helicopter. I made notification phone calls on the drive up, and tried not to faint. It felt like a constant battle not to faint, that was the only feeling of stress I had; the blessing of comfort from the Holy Spirit is so strongly felt at a time like that. I truly believe that God sent his angels to catch my husband as he fell and to comfort my family until we could all be together again. The flight crew called me as soon as they got Randy in the hospital and let me know that they had arrived and that he was sent straight to CT. He was Ct'd from what I understand from head to toe. By the time we got to the hospital and to the private waiting area, the nurse came in as soon as we set down and let us know that he was in CT and they were checking everything, very shortly after the on call trauma Dr. came in and said there were absolutely no signs of anything broken or out of the ordinary. ( That's a God thing!) They then transported him up to the Neuro TraumaICU. We were told to go ahead a follow him up and as soon as he got settled they would let us go and see him. A few minutes later I went back to see him and the nurses took a brief history from me. After I got done with that and seeing him, I went back out to the waiting room so that the men who had seen way to much could go back and see him. As the night went on we were visited by other firemen and their wives. I stayed in the waiting room mainly, but would go back for a few minutes at a time, I also made sure that everyone that came up could see him, they needed to see him stabilized because they had seem him at the worst. I didn't spend very long at any one time in his room, I would go back frequently and give him a kiss and tell him I loved him. I knew that if I stayed in that room with him on the respirator and basically in what I think is referred to as a medically induced coma, the strength I had would not be enough to get me through what I needed to do, I was also at peace knowing that he was going to be o.k. It's not that I didn't realize how serious things were, I just had been blessed with peace that night and that helped keep the panic at bay. That peace does not come from with in, but from above. From the instant that I got in the patrol car, snatches of the following verse kept running through my mind: Matthew 6:27 ( although I had my mom look it up when she got there to find where it was) And which of you by being anxious can add a single second to his life? Then that would be followed by, "Cast all your cares on Him". I was not looking comfort in scriptures in my mind, I was just trying to put one foot in front of the other, I know that those scriptures were placed on my heart, because that is what I needed to know. Around 4am or so I convinced the men that were holding vigil with me that I was fine and that they needed to go home and rest and be with their families. I then went and got a pillow and blanket and laid on a couch in the waiting room. I dozed a couple of times, but mainly when I closed my eyes, my mind wouldn't hush. I went to see Randy several times through out the remainder of the evening and made sure I was awake to see him once last time before that break in visiting hours between 6am and 9am. I did sleep for about an hour from 6am to 7. Around 8 or so people started coming in to visit their loved ones, the clock seemed to start moving extremely slow. At 9 sharp I buzzed in to go see Randy, when I got in the room he was awake and breathing on his own, they had him sitting up in bed to keep the pressure off of his head. He doesn't remember anything until that point, he just kept saying how much he hurt and there was some panic in voice, because he didn't know what happened. I talked to him and calmed him down some what and told him what had happened, he asked me several times that day what had happened. He sat up in a chair for the rest of the day and was given pain meds and various other meds to help him. The men that had brought me the night before brought the kids to me around noon and our car to us, they were taken back home by a police officer who came to check on Randy. The kids and I all felt better once we saw each other and once they saw Daddy. The men who had seen him fall just a few hours earlier were very relieved to go in and talk with him. He was transported to a regular room right at the 24 hour point of the phone call I received. (THAT'S GOD!) Throughout the day I constantly had to try and get him to stop trying to do things, he was wanting to make phone calls to finish up some football things we were working on and to check in with work, etc. At one point I left the room to go eat and evidently he made lots of calls, he told work he would probably miss "tomorrow" but would be there Sunday, this was Thursday. He also sold 2 program ads, for the football program. I received a text from a friend, that said he doesn't do "nothing" very well. I finally was able to sneak the phone a way from him when the battery got low. On Friday his headache continued and his soreness, he also had several bouts of nausea; these were from the concussion which was the only major injury he suffered. It is a serious injury, but not as a bad as it could have been. We came home Saturday afternoon after they had waited long enough to know that their wouldn't be any swelling of the brain or anything else that would show up. As I left the hospital with Randy, I prayed how grateful I was to be leaving the hospital as a wife and not a widow. The inches/seconds that separated that line are very slim. We will now spend the next few weeks trying to get Randy to slow down and not do too much, it should be fun. So many hundreds of prayers went up for Randy throughout this whole ordeal, and we covet your continued prayers. I also ask that you remember the men and women that were with him that night and can't shake what happened. There is absolutely no blame, it was truly an accident. There is only undying gratitude to them for saving his life. Randy works by himself everyday climbing ladders and going up telephone poles, if this would have happened when he was by himself the outcome would have been very different. You always hear about the family of law enforcement and fire fighters, but until you see it or experience it for yourself when one of their own is down, you just can't imagine.
Our God is an Awesome God!
There are many more details and such, but so many have asked what happened hopefully this will help you understand more.

Freedom-what is it?

This is copied from my Eufaula Cottage Blog

Today I got an email that really got me to thinking. The weblink to the video and website is http://www.donttearmedown.com/ It is about a simple war memorial erected in the middle of the desert many years ago by veterans. Now it seems that this memorial is offending someone who lives no where near the memorial. I know that freedom means that this person has a right to sue, but I have to ask. Is it truly freedom when your freedom takes away someone else's? Is the right of someone who might be offended if they ever drive out a remote road in the desert and happen upon this memorial more important than the people who erected the memorial so many years ago? Do we sometimes get so busy saying "Don't I have the right to....." That we forget that our "right to", isn't always the right thing. I have heard it said, I have a right to be angry! Yes, but do you have the right to yell about it and hurt someone else's feelings? I know that if any English teachers read this I am in trouble. It just makes me wonder, have we all taken our "rights" too far when fights break out every where over every thing?In case you wonder, I signed the petition and absolutely support our veterans at every turn. I didn't want to get up on my soap box and rant about my beliefs just questions about why can't different beliefs co-exist anymore? Why does it have to be my way or the highway, or the court room?

Puppies,Puppies,Puppies!

Daddy Tex!
Baby Tex!

Conner, Tex and the puppies.

We moved their enclosure back into the garage because it started to sprinkle, but then it stopped just as suddenly as it started. Since Abby had just nursed them, this is how excited they were to be out of their enclosure. They will be 4 weeks old on Monday and ready to go to their new homes in 3 weeks.