Savannah 1 year after her car accident.
Savannah shortly after the accident.At 8 pm it will be exactly one year from the night we received every parents nightmare phone call. Savannah had been in an auto accident and was taken to the hospital unconscious. I scrambled to get ready and my neighbor drove me to the hospital where later Lee and Alyx would join me. When I arrived Savannah was already in ICU and on her way to surgery. She was labeled as Jane Doe since no one had followed her to the hospital. In a quick minute it was explained that she had internal bleeding and surgery was needed to repair what was assumed to be a torn bowel. That alone was life threatening. The doctor did not know what he was facing and he told me so. I had minutes to see her and say goodbye before they rushed her to surgery. Lee and Alyx did not make it before she went to surgery. Prayer had already started like wildfire through text, face book, phone, and e-mail. At this point hundreds of people were praying. As I went in the cry room completely distraught and everything blurred, I was pretty sure that we would be told that she did not make it through surgery. It was only 45 minutes but seemed like hours as we waited. The surgeon appeared and said she is fine, it went great, she just had a small laceration on her liver and no other organ damage. Praise to God was all that we could do! Now she just had to wake up. At this point they saw no reason for her unconsciousness. She had no brain swelling and no sign of bleeding. So for the next 8 hours we shook her, yelled at her, talked to her and tried to wake her up. All in vain though because of course she did not. It was later that morning that an MRI was done and we would later learn the extent of her closed head brain injury.
One year later..............................
You can read all about Savannah's journey on her caring bridge site. (it is linked on the blog) But here we are one year later. Savannah has had an amazing recovery and surpassed all expected outcomes. God has changed her and grown her in every way from her feet to her brain and everything in between. Savannah is currently making plans to attend Southwestern College in the fall. It is a 4 year Christian College and is about 45min - 1 hr from our home. She would like to live on campus and probably major in child psychology. She has been released to go to work by her doctors but has not been able to return to Chipotle. Savannah has favored her right arm quite a bit and therefore experiences difficulty using it for coordinating tasks. She writes and types and does all fine motor skills with her left hand only. She has significant strength in her right arm and hand though. Of course, Savannah, walks just fine as opposed to what the docs originally thought. We were told that the nerves were severed to her right leg and she will never regain use of it. God did not have that planned so he healed her. She still is unable to run although she has done it in short spurts on the treadmill at therapy. But it does not look graceful and can be dangerous if she does not have a spotter. She can however jump and completely squat and get off the floor just using her legs. Everything regarding Savannah's pelvic injuries are completely healed. Anything she struggles with is a direct result of her brain injury. She has full memory and speech. Her speech has slowed significantly since before the accident. But she is very clear and able to speak whatever is on her mind. And believe me, she does! LOL! Savannah's metabolism has slowed immensely so people that have not seen her since before the accident are quite shocked at how calm she is. Savannah used to be a blur of activity and voice. Now she is very subdued with hardly any talking. This is very common after a brain injury. She has also been released to drive by the doctors but has not driven in a year. We have to get some legal matters taken care of before her license can be reinstated. So we continue to take things one day at a time. Savannah is slowly figuring out what life looks like for her now. God is good and has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams! We all are aware of this and continue to trust Him. Days are hard and life is hard but we all see the hand of God upon us and believe it is all for His purpose and we persevere!
One year later..............................
You can read all about Savannah's journey on her caring bridge site. (it is linked on the blog) But here we are one year later. Savannah has had an amazing recovery and surpassed all expected outcomes. God has changed her and grown her in every way from her feet to her brain and everything in between. Savannah is currently making plans to attend Southwestern College in the fall. It is a 4 year Christian College and is about 45min - 1 hr from our home. She would like to live on campus and probably major in child psychology. She has been released to go to work by her doctors but has not been able to return to Chipotle. Savannah has favored her right arm quite a bit and therefore experiences difficulty using it for coordinating tasks. She writes and types and does all fine motor skills with her left hand only. She has significant strength in her right arm and hand though. Of course, Savannah, walks just fine as opposed to what the docs originally thought. We were told that the nerves were severed to her right leg and she will never regain use of it. God did not have that planned so he healed her. She still is unable to run although she has done it in short spurts on the treadmill at therapy. But it does not look graceful and can be dangerous if she does not have a spotter. She can however jump and completely squat and get off the floor just using her legs. Everything regarding Savannah's pelvic injuries are completely healed. Anything she struggles with is a direct result of her brain injury. She has full memory and speech. Her speech has slowed significantly since before the accident. But she is very clear and able to speak whatever is on her mind. And believe me, she does! LOL! Savannah's metabolism has slowed immensely so people that have not seen her since before the accident are quite shocked at how calm she is. Savannah used to be a blur of activity and voice. Now she is very subdued with hardly any talking. This is very common after a brain injury. She has also been released to drive by the doctors but has not driven in a year. We have to get some legal matters taken care of before her license can be reinstated. So we continue to take things one day at a time. Savannah is slowly figuring out what life looks like for her now. God is good and has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams! We all are aware of this and continue to trust Him. Days are hard and life is hard but we all see the hand of God upon us and believe it is all for His purpose and we persevere!
