In the blink of an eye!

No one knows the day or hour of the end of life.

Nor does one know the exact point when a life will forever be changed.

In the blink of an eye, on August 3rd, 1:08pm on a sunny Wednesday afternoon my life forever changed the moment I received a phone call from my 'natural' born son that his brother (adopted into our family many years ago) had been in a terrible car accident and was being air-lifted to Harborview Trauma Center!

Let me first introduce you to my 'son' Nick!

If just by chance you can't tell from this picture, Nick is one of the most honest, compassionate, loving, caring, funny, fun-loving, smart...(I could go on and on) young men I have ever known. Nick embodies life with such a positive, supportive, cheerful approach. He is extremely musical ~ playing piano, guitar, drums, vocals...and usually found using any one of these talents worshiping and praising God with such unabandon. Just in case you can't tell...I love Nick!!! 

No, I didn't give birth to him (I let his mommy take care of that one), but he burrowed a special place in my heart many years ago.

So...to preface, some of this information we know as fact and some of it has been told/gathered by others.

After spending an over-night with some youth kids from his church, Nick got into his car to head home. Along the route, he hit head-on a logging truck and landed in a ditch on the side of the road. His car at this point began to smoke (with/without flames??) and we've been told caught on fire. Witnesses did manage to put the flames out before it engulfed the car. The thought is that he fell asleep at the wheel as he had multiple late nights without much sleep prior to this morning. Sadly, the "police" have verbalized it was a 'texting while driving' due to phone records that showed a text came into his phone just prior to the accident. Though a witness at the house where he slept talked with him as he was walking out the door and Nick told him that his phone had died and he didn't have a charger in the car.

Nonetheless...the accident was horrible. It took the medics an hour to cut/pry him out of his car. He was then taken by life-flight to Harborview Trauma Center where the extent of his injuries first began to become present. 

What we know now is this:

compound fracture left femur

simple fractures right femur

left fibula and tibula broken

3 bones broken on the right foot

dislocated left pinky finger (though somehow this hand will need surgery)

fractured left pelvis

fractured left knee cap

very small laceration on the left kidney and liver

He underwent a 7.5 hour surgery last night/early morning this morning to stabilize the legs. He will have surgery tomorrow morning to put rods in both legs - not sure if that meant just the femur rods or down through the tibula/fibula too. He's on a ventilator to help with breathing and expel the fluid that has been building in his lungs.

Tanner, Noah and I had the privilege of seeing Nick this afternoon and having the opportunity to physically touch him and look into his eyes letting him know we were there and praying for him and loving him...probably one of the most emotional feelings and yet so good for all of our souls!

At this point...we are praying for Nick, one day at a time!