In the Blink of an Eye

Life can change in the blink of an eye. I've heard that tons of times before, but I couldn't relate to it. Now I can.
On Sunday afternoon, Derek was hopping out of the shower and I was playing around on the computer (putting off my grading and lesson planning for a little while longer) when my cell phone rang. I will never forget that moment for as long as I live. I was caught off guard because I saw my mom's name pop up on the caller ID, yet I was hearing a southern man's voice asking for my husband. Confused, I handed the phone to Derek. The look on his face went pale in an instant, then I heard the word motorcycle..and I just knew. I didn't know any details, but I just knew it wasn't good. I started sobbing uncontrollably as Derek spoke to the EMT that responded to my parents' motorcycle accident, and then I heard my mom's shaky, terrified voice trying to explain to Derek what had unfolded moments before.
It was a beautiful afternoon in Georgia, and I had talked with my mom late that morning. She told me that she & Daddy were going to go for a long ride on the motorcycle up to North GA. On a road in the middle of nowhere, a deer jumped out in front of them. My dad never even saw it. To make a long story short, my mom walked away from the accident very lucky. Her wrist is broken in several places, jammed fingers, bruised ribs, road rash, and just feeling pretty banged up. She was released from the ER on Sunday afternoon and will have to see an orthopedic surgeon in the coming days.
My dad was a different story. He went from the ER straight to ICU. He has a broken shoulder/ scapula/collar bone in addition to 5 broken ribs. They were originally headed to the Habersham County hospital, but after my dad asked "What happened?" for about the 15th time they were re-routed to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. And what a blessing it was to have them at that hospital. They were in a brand-new wing, and everything was state-of-the-art.
My dad stayed in the ICU through Tuesday night due to their concerns about the trauma to his chest. They were worried specifically about internal bleeding, which appeared to be minimal after a few days. So on Tuesday night, they moved my dad out of the ICU and onto the orthopedic floor of the hospital where he currently still is. He will probably be there for a while still. I can't even begin to explain how emotionally and mentally exhausting the past few days have been for Derek, my sister, and me. At this point, we are worried about what will happen when my daddy comes home from the hospital. Even though my mom is doing well and being really tough, there are certain things she can't do for herself yet. There is no way she would be able to take of my dad (who is twice her size) on top of dealing with her own recovery. But I just have to keep reminding myself how lucky we are that we can worry about the recovery process instead of something much, much worse. We are just grateful they are alive.
Derek and I are back in VA tonight after a whirlwind trip to GA. It is killing us that we can't be with them right now, but we know they will need us more when it's time for my daddy to come home from the hospital. The tears have been flowing constantly, and I get overwhelmed thinking what's happened and what's still to come. I keep trying to remind myself that we just have to take this one day at a time. I'm also trying to keep my thoughts focused on how thankful I am for these 4 people in my life. They are my everything.
And thank you to all of our friends and family who have been praying for us through this difficult time..we've been feeling the prayers! Please keep them coming!


P.S. Please excuse all of the random old pictures. This post was very hard to write, but the pictures made me happy..thus, the randomness of the pictures. :)