I got home from church on Sunday and received a sad phone call that informed me that Angie, my long time friend and old teaching partner's husband, Garry, was in a very bad car wreck the night before. He had called her and said he would be home soon, but he never showed and wouldn't answer his phone when she called him. She finally got in the car to look for him, and she did end up driving up on the wreck. Thankfully, he had already been taken away, so she did not see him at the wreck-site. As a matter of fact, he had already been care flighted to Memorial Hermann in the med center and was in surgery by the time she found the wreck.
Diagnosis thus far (I'm getting info from Angie's mom and sister, Julie) = He has many broken bones including ribs and his jaw. They are worried about his left arm as the driver's side was hit and a lot of the glass went into that arm. They had to remove his spleen and had to "fix" other hurt organs. (sorry I'm not more specific than that - the list was long and was given to me quite quickly) He had surgery on Monday to repair his bowel and the abdomen was able to finally be closed. No other internal bleeding was found. He is still unconscious, but last night he was able to move his shoulders, jaw, hands and legs. Angie said she saw a tear in his eye when she played their song for him. Today (Tuesday), a tracheotomy was done to prepare for future jaw surgery. That procedure went well. The biggest concern is his head/neck injury. He currently has a halo thing around his head to keep his back/neck straight. Not much more info to give in that area. He is also on a feeding tube. I don't know if he's on a ventilator or if he's breathing on his own... I'll ask Julie.
He remains in the trauma ICU and there is no talk of him leaving it any time soon. They remain hopeful that he will pull through. I have a feeling he will - daddies will do a lot for their families... They appreciate everyone's support and prayers. Angie said she'd talk to us when she was able/ready.
At this point, they do not know much about how the wreck happened. They just know he was hit in an intersection (I believe), and he was struck on the driver's side...
I told the family that we are all here to help and are ready to meet their needs. They said they are fine for now, but they know needs will be changing shortly and will let us know what those are as they arise. Her mom said that money for parking and vending machines (life at the hospital) will soon be needed.
Angie continues to remain by Garry's side all day but does go home at night for sleep. Baby Ashley is continuing to go to daycare this week. They aren't sure what they're going to do with her next week. Right now they are just taking it day to day. Angie requests that no one call her - she just can't handle that right now. Because of this, I will continue to pass along info as I receive it from her mom and sister Julie. I plan on doing most updating via my facebook account, so check there daily for updates as Julie sends me info on a regular basis.
Thank you, Lord, for wrapping your arms around this sweet family during this hard time. We pray that you will continue to speak to the doctors and nurses and hold Garry in your healing arms.
