UPDATE!!

So, I'm in Redfield with me girl now. I'm too far away from my family and friends, don't like my job and can't get along with one of Jens kids. (Yes, actually, the one the rest of the post is about.) In my defense, even JEN says it isn't me.) So things aren't going real well, and wasn't I surprised to learn how fast all this could turn insignificant.

Now, I apologize for taking so long to let ya'll know about this, but I can't talk about really serious or scary stuff right away. And this was scary as all hell.

In fact, it's so scary that, before you go any further, let me just tell you this...

Nobody died.

Ready?

Jen's 16 yr old daughter was in a severe auto accident. Witnesses said she lost it going around a curve (a little over the limit, but the wet road was the main culprit) rolled her car 6 times and was thrown thru the sunroof on the 3rd one. She suffered a broken left leg, a broken clavicle, 4 breaks in the pelvis, a broken tailbone, a bruised lung, spleen and ribs, and a lacerated kidney. Somehow, tho, no head trauma. That's right, no head trauma.

The girl is supposed to be dead. Everyone knows it. Instead, she's in the hospital for a little over a month, and she's coming home this Saturday. O, she's still mostly bedridden for the next 2 months, and there's physical therapy and all that, but the point is, she's supposed to be dead.

I'm not sure how to share the rest of it, it'd take too long. But here are some things that stand out for me.

That feeling in my stomach when Jen's boss called, and told me they were on the way so I could drive Jen to the hospital...

The horrible look in Jen's eyes. All we knew at this time is the girl had been thrown from her car and was being taken by helicopter to the hospital. Jen was staring losing a child right in the face.

The way calming Jen down and comforting her made it easier for me to handle.

The way Jen kept trying to make phone calls even when she was crying too hard to talk.

The incredible relief when we heard she was stable and conscious.

The shock I received seeing her on the stretcher as she came in. If you have ever seen a child bloody, broken, bruised and reaching for her momma, you know what I'm talking about. I cried a bit then, soon's I could get to privacy.

After that, it calmed down a bit. The doctors were talking to us every 5 minutes and the news was always good. No head trauma. Nothing wrong with the spinal cord. (She chipped a vertebra, but it doesn't matter.) She had feeling in her limbs. Then...

"...And we expect a full recovery. She's asleep right now, but you can go look at her, if you're quiet."

So she's in the hospital for a while, Jen stays with her, so after the drama goes away I'm even MORE lonely, but of course I can't complain because it's so much worse for everyone else. It's amazing how fast you settle into the routine. Work, hospital, home, lose at poker, work, hospital, home, lose at poker. lol.

Now, a little over a month later, she's coming home. Wild, huh?