A letter from Andrew

Greetings to you all.

You’ve been on my mind for quite some time. Please accept my apology for not send a correspondence sooner.

I would like to begin with a heartfelt thank-you for your kindness, generosity, compassion…compassion…compassion. Did I mention compassion? There are so many of you. At the risk of appearing lazy, I send this note of update ‘en-mass’.
A few updates…

Sarah (our 15 year old). Approximately 5-6 days after my collision she checked-in to the hospital with a ruptured appendix. After 29 days of intensive medical care in Red Deer and Calgary due to the event and numerous complications she has nearly recovered in full – a bit more strength recovery still occurring. I was ‘sheltered’ from the severity of her event for a while and did not see her while I was at Foothills Medical Centre (FMC). However, I was able to see her hospital – Alberta Children’s Hospital – from our lunch room on Floor 58 at the FMC. Tried to wave but could not see her… .

A couple of miracles I am very thankful for:

1. On a selfish note…when I left FMC I did not have to go to a graveyard. Oh, how kind our God is. It would have been too much…I am so thankful that I did not have to find out how hard….

2. Sarah was extensively blessed with compassion from many and the medical professionals. So much so, that it has confirmed to her a desire to enter the medical field. As she put it, “Dad, after being desperate and receiving compassion, I want to do share compassion for the desperate.” The ‘seed’ was planted in November 2009 after she went with a group into the slums of India. It was ‘watered’ through this experience. She’s amazing…

3. In the first week of November, I was given two airline tickets to Toronto. Sarah and I went together for 4 days. Enroute, I looked over at her and thought, one or both of these seats should be empty… then thanked God…again. A couple of highlights:

• Getting a latte on Young Street.
• CN tower.
• Going to Niagara Falls.
• Lunch at the Hard Rock Café.
• Dad/Daughter time… precious.

Me (Andrew). A lot has happened. Immense amounts of good. As you are aware, the original prognosis after my ‘unexplained’ survival was not positive. Here is a summary of some key events:

1. I came out of the coma and had no memory for about 21 days. So thankful that there are no memories of the event of May 29th.

2. Had to learn to walk, think, write and a multitude of other things. Sometime we should have a coffee and I can share some of the miracles…things that I might have taken for granted…that are much bigger than one would think…like being able to formulate or remember a thought. Or, go to the bathroom without assistance, drink regular fluids, dress one self, not wear a diaper, write one’s name, eat with a fork, speak without foul language, control my emotions…and be thankful for breath, life and the events contributing to the new daily realities. I turned from a ‘man of faith’ to one of ‘those’, you know, ‘religious freaks’ .

3. A couple of miracles…

a. Technically, I am supposed to still be a resident of FMC.
i. August 11, I was discharged and walked out – with a cane. The medical people stopped to watch me leave.

ii. The prognosis after ‘intubation’ at the accident scene was not good. There existed a possibility of becoming mute or having severe vocal restrictions; I could only whisper. The left half of the larynx was ‘shredded’. I now have complete vocal healing. The medical people – including the doctor that did the original diagnosis - were speechless.

iii. At the end of July I progressed in one week, as follows:

1. moving on my elbows in bed, being lifted by 4 nurses and placed in a wheel chair and pushed,

2. getting in the wheel chair by my elbows and a small board,

3. propelling myself forward in the chair with one foot,

4. to using my hands on the wheels to propel forward in the chair,

5. Using a walker,

6. Walking with a cane.

The medical staff passed me in the halls when I was walking and did not recognize me. When they passed I greeted them; they said hello, walked passed and stopped, turned around and said ‘Is that you, Andrew??’. Then, they smiled in amazement.

4. On October 4, I met with my Orthopedic Surgeon. As he examined me with his two interns, he then spoke - assertively. ‘Andrew, I don’t want to ever see you again. Go play rugby. ’. Then he looked over at his interns and said, ‘This is why we do what we do.’ I asked if I could give him a hug of thanks; he said ‘yes’. As I hugged him I thanked him and whispered, ‘bless you’. When I let go, both his eyes and mine where filled with tears.

a. Deborah was told 6-9 months. It was 0 + 127 days…

5. On November 21st , I was discharged from Occupational and Physical Therapies as an outpatient at Red Deer Regional Hospital.

6. December 1st . I passed a medical to drive.

7. December 2nd. I drove home from Red Deer to Penhold. It took 20 minutes. I cried for about half of the distance…they were tears of ‘thanksgiving’.
8. December 1-now. Started back working. Ramping up…fast. 

A lot has occurred. Deborah and the children have been though immense challenges. As a family, we are all still going to counseling to make sure that we have a safe place to communicate and understand the past six months.

I guess, as the saying goes, ‘if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger’, right??? Well, there is some merit to that saying…within the power of the ‘Almighty’.
I would like to finish something that many of you have already heard from me...
A miracle is bigger than a lotto 6-49 win, a hot date or great job. Our God is in the miracle business. As a dead man walking, mute man speaking, simple man thinking, I attest to HIS miraculous hand. When you have no hope and you need a miracle, turn to HIM – HE’s in the business.

With love, thanks and humble heart,

The Carpenter Family. (Andrew, Deborah, Rebekkah (17), Sarah (15), Joshua (13), Caleb (8) and Grace (7))

On the morning of May 29th, My husband kissed me good-bye and headed out to an early morning fund raiser for a local charity in Red Deer. The weather was snowy and wet, not uncommon in Central Alberta as winter, spring and summer clash daily trying to claim as many days for their season that year. Alberta's winter is never a gracious looser to Summer, while Spring is the classic middle child - often overlooked and perhaps either too insecure about her place in the world or too uninterested to join the fight.

On this day however, my husband became the victim of the battle of the seasons. An oncoming truck lost control on the slushy roads and hit my husband's truck. My husband just happened to be talking to his brother(on his hands-free cell)so my brother-in-law heard him cry out. Jim immediately called me to tell me something was wrong. I jumped in my vehicle to find the accident. In my mind I expected to find Andrew exchanging information with another driver or maybe talking with police about what had happened.

Instead, I found him still inside his mangled 1 tonne Dodge Diesel while firemen were trying to cut him out. I tried to get to Andrew but a VERY big fireman stopped me. He said he didn't know anything about his "condition" but I should wait in my truck. I obeyed. I sat in my vehicle and watched as they cut the door off and then covered Andrew with a silver emergency blanket. They then began the process of using hydrolic hooks to pull the cab apart.

Finally a police officer came and told me that Andrew was alive and that I should go to the hospital and wait...

I obeyed...

I got to see Andrew briefly at the Red Deer hospital. They were getting ready to send him to Calgary. STARS Air Ambulance was not an option as the weather was too bad. But not to worry...a ground ambulance driving with lights and sirens would have the same turn around time...

His injuries were extensive. Both arms and both legs where broken and would require a 5 hour surgery to repair with rods, pins and plates. He had a skull fracture and 2 bleeds in his brain. Neurology in Calgary would be best able to deal with him. He had lost conscienceness and had been intibated.

5 days later, on June 3rd, I sat in the ICU family room and heard the doctor tell me and my family that my precious husband had a Moderate Traumatic Brian Injury. Diffuse Axonal injuries from the "rapid deceleration" of his brain on impact, as well as Fatty Embolisms from the bone breaks. (You can google those...)

This would have been enough to deal with...except on June 5th, my 15 year old daughter was rushed into emergency surgery with a ruptured appendix. I left my husband's side in Calgary to be with Sarah in Red Deer.

She already had 3 abcesses. In the following week, she has developed pneumonia and several more abcesses and she is still in the hospital in Red Deer. She is having her lung drained today in an attempt to reinflate a portion that has collapsed.

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I haven't processed much yet in a meanful way. I want desperately for this not to be my life. I have absolutely no idea what tomorrow holds. I want to scream and yell and punch and kick - or just lay down and not get up again. Of course, these are not options for a "victorious woman of God". Whatever THAT means...

But I do know one thing. Beyond a shadow of a doubt...no matter what I think He is trying to "accomplish" in my life and how I feel about it...

I have a God who sees me.

And for now? That is enough.