Mike's Bike Wreck, day 1 (August 2014

6 am Sunday

 Hey everyone, I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to give detailed individual updates to all of you important people who deserve it most. I've tried to keep a good balance in keeping the praying friends, visiting friends, and family all in-the-loop. So, here's the whole story, for anyone who may have missed some and is interested. (Obviously, from my perspective) :)

 Thursday afternoon, Mike left work early to head up to Argo (North of B'ham) for a Tres Dias meeting. He had rushed off to work early in the morning, grabbing a Pop-Tart for a quick sugar/carb hit. He had skipped lunch to work through so he could leave around 3:00.

 Around 4:30, I was on my way to my cello lesson, and I called his cell to leave a message, knowing that he was on his bike, and couldn't take my call. The message I would leave was scripted in my head, "Hey babe, Let me know when you reach Argo so I won't worry. Let me know when you're leaving. I know you'll have a great time seeing those guys again and doing your thing. I love you." Instead of the familiar, "This is Mike. leave a message, *BEEP*" the phone rang 5 times and was answered by an unfamiliar voice.

 "Hello?"

 I was thrown off my groove. Did Mike forget his phone somewhere? He's always leaving it places.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting an answer..." was all I could manage. (Driving and talking... you know.)

 "This is Dr. ???? at Coosa Valley Medical."

 In my head, I thought, "Oh Crap! There's only one reason a doctor is answering Mike's cell phone."

 "Hold on a minute." I replied. I looked for a parking lot to turn into.

 "Hi," the doctor continued. "Your husband has been involved in a motorcycle accident."

 "Yes?" I mean, I knew it, and I was bracing myself for his next words, knowing that this next moment was HUGE. How bad??? I can see the empty lot of the unused former "Brunos's" store, the lone cop car taking refuge from the 97 degree heat in the shade of a bushy crepe myrtle, the bright blue sunny day. I took a deep breath.

"He's going to be o.k. ..."

I honestly don't remember the exact words that came after that. Lots of technical jargon that keeps ER doctors sounding professional and somewhat detached during a family's crisis. He probably listed off the known injuries, assured me of the many x-rays they were taking, the Cat scan, the lab work, and so on. 

Then, in the background, I heard Mike pipe up, "tell her I finally broke a bone."

I breathed again. Yep, that's him, He's fine. I smiled in relief. God's grace and mercy flowed over me. I had peace and calmness. Thoughts of "the next step" began forming in my mind. Somehow, Holy Spirit was counselling me on what I had to do next.

 Mike had been riding his bike through Sylacauga, on the way North to Argo. It's normally about a 2 and a half hour trip. He was on US Hwy 280 about mile marker 32, cruising in the fast lane at 65. The car in front of him wasn't going faster than the cars in the slow lane and he found himself having to slow down. There was a light sheen of wetness on the road from a drizzle. Suddenly, his bike was down. He doesn't remember what caused it, but the rear wheel went sideways, he laid the bike down, (which is a a biker euphemism for "fell over") tucked his boots to the ground and began sliding along the asphalt on the armored jacket shoulder and back. The last thing he remembers is the bouncing of the front wheels of a pick up truck (maybe, maybe it was a van) as it locked up its brakes to avoid running over him.

 When he came to, the EMTs were there, jacking up the truck, (panel truck? van? He's not a mechanic, he can't tell the type of vehicle it was from the undercarriage.) and sliding a backboard under him. He heard a voice saying, "you can cancel the helicopter." Before they put him in the ambulance, the medics pulled off both boots. When Mike yelled in agony, they realized he had a broken leg.

I began making plans and taking care of everything so I could go get him. I had to drive 30 minutes back to my house, pack clothes for Mike, myself, and grab some things for the kids. While on the road, I sent a message to Pastor Larry Biggers, a fellow Tres Dias brother and biker.

I said, "Mike is in an ER in Sylacauga after a bike wreck. I figured you'd know how to pray. He's mostly ok. Don't know about the BMW"

 "Thanks - will be praying" was his first reply. Followed by, "Keep me in touch - we have notified the biker community and many are praying."

 "Thank you. Once I find out how my man is, I might contact you about how to go about getting the BMW back to Auburn."

 Ten minutes later, "I am on my way to get the bike - let me know where I can find it?"

 "In Sylacauga???"

 He sent back, "Fine, will let the information unfold as you learn more - most of all is our concern for Mike." 

Then I drove 30 minutes back to Opelika. I was just in time to take a picture of Aiden after the belt ceremony at his Tae Kwon Do class. Yes, he passed and Mr. Pope tied on his yellow belt. I am so proud of him for following through and practicing and doing this!

Then, about an hour and a half later, I was on the road north. At 6:45 I got another text from Brother Larry. "A lady from CMA (Christian Motorcyclists Association) has prayed with Mike and given me an update - I an en route with a trailer, if I can pick up bike tonight!" He was literally on the way! I told him I had the title, and insurance, and etc. He said, "Keep me posted - I know Mike is headed to Birmingham."

 Again - I knew what that meant. The emergency room in Sylacauga had assessed his case and decided that something was bad enough to warrant a trip 45 minutes north to UAB for a specialist. But still, God's peace was on me, and I wasn't worried. I am reasonably familiar with UAB since my Mom's ordeals there. And Children's Hospital where Aiden spent a week or so two years ago, is in the same neighborhood. I pressed on to Sylacauga.

I was trying to consult my GPS on the phone while concerned family called and texted. I tried to track down the location of the Bike. First I called the Sylacauga police. They did not work the case, since 280 is a State hiway. They gave me the number for the Ala. State Troopers. To get to talk to a real person I had to press 1 - Emergencies. It felt odd, since the emergency was technically over... but I did. The dispatcher forwarded my call to a lady who could find the information on her computer. I could hear her clacking away, "oh yeah, we worked that wreck. Hmm, I'm not showing any record for towing." (Gulp! is the bike left on the side of the road? with his laptop?) Then in the background I could hear her asking someone in the room, "what happened to the bike on the MCC (motor cycle crash) from this afternoon?"

 "It's at Ogletree's, the wreck was just right there."

 She came back on the line with me, "Ma'am, the accident occurred at mile marker 32 on US hiway 280. Ogletree's garage is just right there, so they took it there." After a few minutes, I thanked her and hung up. 

The hospital was not hard to find. Its a very large building in a very small town. I walked into the ER, signed a few forms, then them buzzed me through to the triage room. The first thing I saw was Brother Larry's silver hair! He had beaten me there, and Columbus is another 40 minutes farther than Auburn.

 Mike was awake and talking. We shared what we knew about the accident, which was not much. While we were discussing how to get the bike back from the garage, I told both Mike and Larry that it was at Ogletree's garage, which was locked up for the night. I called, but there was no answer, no machine. I was momentarily at a loss. Hmmm.

 "Hold on," the lady in the next bed area said. A hand reached around, pulled back the curtain in the triage area separating the beds. A country looking woman with straight, blond hair, and signs of sun damaged skin, looked around at us, and asked, "You're talking about Ogletree's Garage? Chris and Skeeter here are best friends."

 o_O  O.K.

 She handed the flip phone to "Skeeter" on the bed (who had been barfing and yelling from kidney stones a little while earlier...) and "Skeeter" called Chris Ogletree. While I was talking to the ER staff about which section of the UAB Hospital to find Mike in, arrangements were made for the BMW to be transported.

I said good-bye to Mike who was rolled out to the waiting ambulance. Brother Larry and I walked out to the parking lot. I asked him, "Do you need the title, or anything to get the bike from the garage?"

 "Oh I'm sure it will be fine. Skeeter called Chris. Its all settled."

 Riiiight. Skeeter called Chris, and Larry will go from Columbus to Sylacauga to take the bike to Auburn. My head was spinning, so I let that thought process go.

 Next step - find UAB Hospital ER, parking, and etc.

 Petrina Maher

 "Delight yourself in the Lord!" ~Psalm 37:4

Timeline Test (cool thing)

At the Edge of the Darkness

These past few weeks I've been feeling like I'm very close to the Dark Sea of Darkness (which phrase I will use because I am reading Andrew Peterson's fabulous books The Wingfeather Series to my 8 year old son. I highly recommend it to everyone!!!).
http://wingfeathersaga.com/?page_id=26


Allie, the talented and creative and flammable author and illustrator of "hyperbole and a half" describes depression so well, I'll just direct you to her blog.
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html
To use Allie's metaphor, my fish are seriously sick.

My sweet Jesus is giving me direction, and I'm so glad I can see it!

Stasi Eldredge had a post on her blog titled "Intentional Rest"
http://ransomedheart.com/blogs/stasi/intentional-rest
It starts with this:
     Yesterday morning, John shared this story with me: When Dallas Willard was asked by a friend, "How do I best teach people about Jesus?" Willard thought, then replied, "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life."

Ouch. Yes. In the words of my dear friend Ashley Elizabeth, "Please sir, may I have another."

Then, thumbing through an old copy of "Praying God's Word," by Beth Moore, (c) 2000, I read about "Overcoming Depression." It was somehow soothing to know that this famous woman of God and beloved teacher had walked through a season of depression. She describes in in that chapter. I can see that she was suffering from what we in my circle of friends call "Post-event let-down."

God reminded me that I had walked through a season of complete dependence on Him last year. During September of 2012, my son began having seizures. They quickly progressed into 60 seconds of limp muscles, followed by an hour of recovery time during which he would barely talk. The first line of pharmaceutical defense just made these seizures happen every two hours like clockwork. After two weeks of Spiritual and medical battle, the seizures were stopped and he eventually recovered fully.

Why did this happen? The best doctors in the Southeast looking at his MRI results and various scans were only able to say, "we're not sure why these happened."  I know why. I agreed to the calling to serve as the Rector for CVTD #21. Accepting the mantle of spiritual leader for this God-event completely took me out of the "base camp" placed me in the front lines of battle.

Here's another quote by John Eldgredge I have recently put on my computer's "desktop" as a daily reminder.

      This scene we’re living in is no sitcom; it’s a bloody battle. Do you know why there’s been such an assault” The enemy fears you. You are dangerous big-time. If you ever really got your heart back, lived from it with courage, you would be a huge problem to him. You would do a lot of damage …  on the side of good. Remember how valiant and effective God has been in the history of the world? You are a stem of that victorious stalk.

So, as I tip towards the edge of darkness, fighting to see light, to feel happiness, to keep wanting to be "my old self" who loves learning, and dancing in the rain, and catching fireflies, and singing loud, I'm reminded that God is the Hero of the Story, the setting is occupied territory, and my blessings are too many to count and new every morning.

AND, I must add- my wonderful husband, protector, provider, has been taking extra good care of me by always closing his laptop and waiting patiently while I try to verbally process how I'm feeling. He calls home, just to say hi. He offers to help with cooking, cleaning or schooling. Yay Mike! He's a HUGE blessing!

I said "yes" . . . to CVTD.

This Fall is an interesting chapter for my family.
I have been elected to be the Rector for the Women's CVTD #21.
I love that 21 is 3x7, not into cabalistic numerology, but its easier for me to remember that way.

The visual for this weekend is the Irish wedding ring symbol, the Claddagh.
The crown stands for loyalty, the heart for love, and the hands will stand for our service.
The Lord is calling us to worship, love, and serve Him with our whole hearts.
However, if our hearts are not whole to begin with, He wants to heal them, and make them whole.

"... if you listen to my commandments ... to love the Lord your God and serve Him with  your whole heart and your whole soul, ... He will give rain for your crops ... and grass for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied." ~Deut. 11:13-14 

I had started reading and working through John Edlrege's "Journey of Desire" (which is now republished under the title, "Desire") and the accompanying workbook. But then Christmas came around, then New Years... decorating, undecorating, gathering, shopping, cooking, eating.

Now I need to get back on a healthy diet of food and Bible reading and Eldredge reading.

In other news, MTM is asking me to seriously consider an "adventure" with him. He loved his cross country trip from CA to AL on the back of the BMW bike. He knows I have a thing for Ireland. SO, there may be a trip in our future... if it's God's will, and the money and child care all works out.

Waiting, Anticipating

My oldest daughter and I are waiting on the same thing; the return of our men.

She is counting the days, hours, minutes! To her, the waiting is awful! The moments she gets to spend on the phone with him only make her more depressed when the conversation is over. She is "eagerly anticipating" his return. In fact, she's made plans, booked a hotel, and reserved a car (mine) to actually drive the 8 hours to go get him and bring him back!

I'm also waiting for my man to come home. He's on a journey that many people dream about. He flew to California, bought a motorcycle, and is cruising across the country, seeing America, talking with Jesus. I don't know the day, or hour of his return. I text him, run to the phone when it rings in case it's him. I read his emails and blog posts over several times. I share his posts with friends and family. I am preparing our home for when he returns. Making sure it's clean, in order, stocked with food!

In my time with Jesus this morning (I can't call it "quiet time," because with my Buster, there IS NO quiet time) I thought about how I could tweak these things into an excellent teaching!

I don't know the time or date of my Jesus' return. I know he's coming, but not when. I prepare the home of my heart for him, every day. I tell my friends and family that he's coming. I want to be like the parable of the virgins who had oil in their lamp, ready when the day arrives.

Jesus is really looking forward to his arrival. He is making a place for us to stay, "booking a room at a 5 star" so to speak. He's got the car ready. His Father knows the time: day, hour, minute! They are both anticipating the reunion with the Bride!

That gives me chills!

o.k. more later- I have a house to clean and a Welcome Home party to prepare for!!!

Cat's Cradle

My daughter was out of town last week. I missed her most when I tried to do things, like band practice, and she wasn't around to babysit the 6 year old noise factory. But, I should have missed her more.

Mike's been gone on this road trip, seeing fantastic things: Yosemite, Death Valley, Vegas, Hoover Dam, The Hopi Rez, the Grand Canyon! And I've been at home, doing the same old same old. I've missed him. But I should miss him more.

God showed me today that I don't take care of my time well.

Sure, I need to take care of responsibilities; the house and family stuff, church stuff, Tres Dias stuff, kids' school stuff. And I need to have "me" time: tv, books, movies. But, I also need to make time for the really important things- which aren't really things, but people. I need to actually be with my family, and with my Jesus.

This is not a shocking new revelation. We all know this. But today, I was convicted. It's a little different. Today, God kind of snapped his fingers in my face and said, "child, listen. Do you hear what I'm saying? Your kids are going away to school in 5 weeks. Your husband may not always be around. Not only are you missing out on opportunities to have memories of them, but you're stealing memories of yourself from them."

I've been chewing on that most of the day. While waiting at the orthodontist office, the oldies station played, "Cat's Cradle." "When you coming home son? I don't know when, but we'll have a good time then." Ow!

My challenge for this week: make time to spend with people first (this includes both family, and Jesus). Then fill in the gaps with house work and the volunteer stuff. I may find I don't need as much "me time" if I use this planning routine. And I may not get bored or burned out as often either.

The Road Trip, Mike's Chapter 1

Follow the title link to Mike's blog where I've posted his first chapter of the saga. Mine tells what I saw happen. His tells what he is feeling.

You should hear him, LIVE!