Just a Quick Update

Between 1 and 1:30 a.m. Saturday, my 24-yr. old niece, Amanda (who shares her birthday with me), was coming home from a date. Her boyfriend was driving when a deer ran out in front of them. He swerved to miss the deer and, somehow, Amanda was thrown from the truck.

She's in the Trauma Unit at the Medical College. She has no brain or spinal cord injury, but that's the only good news. Her pelvis was crushed from the front, then opened up like a book. Her bladder was cut in half. Her lungs are bruised and a portion of one has collapsed twice now. There is nothing separating her abdominal cavity from her pelvic cavity and some of her intestines dropped out of her body and had to be removed. When the orthopedic surgeons got into the O.R. (she was in surgery for 7 1/2 hours), they found twigs, leaves and dirt inside her abdomen. She is in very critical condition.

This will be a very long recovery, most likely a year in length. They are keeping her in a drug-induced coma for the time being as they work on the more critical injuries. I just got word from my sister that they're taking her back into surgery right now (6:30 p.m. EST) because the level of fever she now has indicates a good amount of infection and they need to open her back up, irrigate her insides and try to get rid of all the infection.

I guess it's stating the obvious to ask for prayer, but first AND last, that's what needs to happen. She's a fighter and we have a world-class facility and physicians working on her.

Please pray specifically for the fever to abate, for an end to infection, and for the surgery to go well. Her heartrate also needs to drop dramatically from the 140 she now is sustaining to below 100.

It goes without saying that her family needs prayer, as well. Her mother has been ill for 4 months and is very weak. She's handling this well, but she needs grace and support, sleep and rest.

I'll post more as I'm able. Trying to spend as much time as possible at the hospital and still meet my family's needs, so Posts may be few and far between.

God bless you.