FADAB

Everyone has a Blog these days so I thought I should have one too. I have been talking about one for a long time; a place to document progress on the whole home-buying experience, journal about trips or various adventures, or even to talk about books and movies that we liked or for that matter, didn’t like. Mostly I expected it to be a place to share information about Henry and me with our friends and families. However, I have been dragging my feet and letting other things get in the way. I guess I also suffered from writers-block, because clearly the first post to my blog had to be a good one. A memorable and worthy post. Unfortunately, an occasion has presented itself worthy of being the first entry in my blog.

Early Friday morning my amazing cousin Timmy was traveling home. The roads were wet and he may have taken an exit ramp a little too fast. We don’t know exactly what happened at this point but it appears he may have hit a curb, flipped his Jeep Cherokee and was thrown through the sunroof. For whatever reason, Timmy wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and I hear that this is not his usual practice. Since Friday, Timmy’s family has been holding a vigil of sorts at the hospital awaiting updates. As of this morning, he made it through the first 72 hours (which were crucial). He had swelling in the brain which has subsided, fluid in the lungs which has decreased, and a fractured neck which has begun to heal. Of minor note, he broke one hand and badly bruised the other. He also broke a number of ribs and is breathing through a respirator. The doctors have kept him heavily sedated so that he would not fight the respirator but allow it to do what it needed to do. Of course, at this point, the most important thing is to get Tim to breathe on his own and to fight any infection. However, other larger obstacles lay ahead. As a result of being tossed from the vehicle, Timmy sustained major damage to his spinal cord and and the doctors say he may never be able to walk again. Timmy was born an athlete; tennis, softball and golf are a few of his passions. He has been the Phys Ed Teacher at my old Junior High for the last couple of years and he is a personal trainer at a local gym. In addition to his jobs, he just completed the requirements to receive his Master’s Degree in some variation of Sports Medicine (the exact degree escapes me). The doctors credit his great health and athleticism to his remarkable state; many people would not have survived this trauma. The next days, weeks and months will be very telling as to the actual damage done to Tim’s back and legs but we remain optimistic that Tim’s a fighter and won’t take no for an answer. As my cousin Bean said on Friday; “we can’t count Tim out.”

The doctors have periodically reduced the sedatives to check Tim's responses, at these times Tim has been able to communicate with a squeeze of the hand, an occasional thumbs up and a lot of eye activity. I know that his sisters, Bean and Red, and his girlfriend, Dre', are anxious for the moment when they can shower him with affection but they are grateful for the bits of communication they are able to share now. If his recovery continues to move on as it is, Tim will have surgery on Wednesday to stabilize his spinal cord and prevent any further damage. To say the least, this situation sucks but he has an amazing support system and the best doctors, nurses, health care and technology available to him. With time, I’m confident we’ll continue to see remarkable improvement. Tim’s friends and his sister are designing a website to update everyone on his progress, http://www.fortimmy.org/ . Please feel free to check the site for more details.

This situation has reminded me that life is so fragile and too short; that we have to take advantage of every opportunity. We have to tell our loved ones that we love them, we have to get off our butts and away from our televisions and get out and do things. We have to put things into perspective and let go of the little things; they aren’t important. We have to live a great life because it’s the only one we have.

Please keep Timmy and his family in your thoughts and please remember to buckle up every time you get in the car!