I am just taking a very long- turned into 1 hour of typing- moment to reflect on the longest/fastest/most terrible week we have had.
It was October 7- the day I was born in 1981. You know birthdays just ain't what they were when you were small! We went to Cracker Barrell for supper for my 28th birthday. This was just a normal Wednesday night- except we had changed things up a bit, Mullins is usually our place we eat at on Wednesday nites- we usually meet up with 2 or more of the Kelly family there- getting something to eat before we head over to our weekly church service. But this night had more in store for our entire church family than we knew. As I turned onto Maysville Road, I recieved a phone call that stopped me in my tracks. It was Heather (my very closest friend) telling me that our other very closest friends Dustin and Melissa had been in a car accident while traveling to the beach from DisneyWorld- where they were to finish out the rest of their fall break vacation.
The events that unfolded over those next few hours made time stand still. We were first told that Dustin and Melissa were being med-flighted to the hospital and the kids were ok- in an ambulance. This WAS NOT the case. Suzie (Kensley's grandmother) came in church and told us that Kensley had been badly injured and had been placed on a ventilator.
I will pause here to tell you about Miss Kensley- this is the child who was born 2 1/2 months after my Kaylee- she is one of my Kaylee's bestest friends- She has came home with us countless times- She is about the only person Kaylee will willingly spend the night with- she is the prettiest little drama queen you have ever laid eyes on- and here we sat - trying to hope for the best and imagining the very worst.
And they were over 400 miles away- it seemed it was almost the very worst case scenerio that could have been. How could this have happened? I just talked to them this afternoon? Dustin and Melissa NEVER go on vacation- this is just their luck!
Without a minute to plan- My husband and I along with Dustin's twin brother Justin- all jump in the car and were Pensacola bound. I have never ridden for 4 1/2 hours where it felt like we made it in 1- no one was tired- no one was hungry- only two stops for gas. We prayed- kept as updated as we could on the condition of all 4 involved. Kensley's older brother Konner was the first to the hospital that members of the family got to see and check on and we were SO thankful that he was there with just a few bad dings and bumps and some road rash (and getting out of some stitches by doing what he does best- Praying) All we knew of Kensley's condition was that is was bad- really bad- can't describe over the phone and can't get there fast enough bad. Dustin arrived and seemed to also be super banged up (which he was - bless his heart). It took hours before we knew of Melissa's condition (she was to be med-flighted to the same hospital with the rest of the family- the hospital she was first taken to was 1 hour away- the helicopter couldn't fly because of the weather- so she had to be brought by ambulance- we did not know all of this was going on... we were scared to say the least) Melissa was also banged and bruised- but she was breathing and we were thanking our Lord! We arrived to the hospital around 1am Thursday morning. It was unbelievable- the sight wasn't anything you could prepare yourself for. Dustin and Melissa were in seperate rooms with limited visitors- it may have been too late for visits but we HAD to check on them ourselves. We went up and down those elevators countless times from the 5th floor where they were to the 3rd floor where Konner was in a room (watching cartoons at 3 in the morning) and Kensley was .... I didn't get to see Kensley until Thursday evening.... I can't explain to you that feeling.... the closest I can come to letting you know was that I saw what every Momma saw.... that was one of OUR babies laying there.... you just can't imagine.
Stopping here to point out ...There are no big "I's " and little "you's" to my post ... I DO NOT want it to seem that way AT ALL.... the "we" that I refer to here is everyone that was down there... other than JD, Justin, and I , there were so many people who arrived before and after we got there that it was amazing... Another testimony.... they wrecked and were placed in a hospital that was 30+ minutes from vacationing family that were in the Gulf area.... friends who were in the area.... family that also NEVER take vacations were right there to sit with Dustin and Melissa's babies.... The Lord did it.... within minutes of their arrival to the hospital- they had someone there.... 400+ miles from home..... Yes- a testimony indeed! Now back to what I was saying....
We stayed until everything got somewhat settled- went and got a hotel room for 3 hours of sleep until we were all back up- we had to go get Dustin, Melissa and Konner some clothes- their luggage, camaras, phones, you name it, etc., etc., were with the car and we couldn't get to it without Suzie with us- so we just had to make due and get them some neccessaties until any of their things could be recovered. Melissa and Dustin were released first (we all thought Dustin was in too bad of shape to be released- but they did it anyway) Friday night they both got to see Kensley for the first time. ( the 3rd floor nurses were kind enough to bend some rules and let Konner go see his momma and daddy and let them see that he was ok) It was hard- harder than you and I will ever know I feel certain.
We got them set up at the Ronald McDonald house for the night- and that place is great for parents of sick children.. maybe not so great for parents and siblings who have been in an accident themselves. They do great things for many people and I think it is wonderful. But Dustin and Melissa checked out the next day and I didn't blame them one bit. They were put out enough- where they stayed needed to be where they wanted to. For the time being- it was a place to shower and to try to rest off some of the pain.... they got the shower.... the pain stayed with them.
We got back to the hospital. We got a deeper explanation of Kensley's condition. Traumatic Brain Injury- pressure needed to stay below 20- medical terms that were far above our comprehension in the most part- we just knew- time to pray. And praying is what we did, from that phone call Wednesday nite... until this very moment... prayer ..... who knew you could sum up such a huge thing in a 6 letter word.
Kensley has had good days.... Sunday was bad day.... but we are back to good days now.... she is now being woke up from the heavy sedation that was helping her ICP - that is inter caranial pressure- to stay stable while her body is healing. We have been to the Lord with this child- so many people we don't even know has called her name in prayer- it has been amazing and the Lord has been sufficient- He has brought her up to this point and we know He is going to be there throughout the rest of this journey..... The effectual ferverent prayer of a righteous man availeth much- Bro David said that EVERY time we had prayer at church and Heather had made mention of it the other day... So true!
It has been 1 week since the accident- which is just beyond me- I feel like the same day has played out over and over.... sitting by for more news on Kensley's condition. Making sure that everything is OK with Dustin, Melissa and Konner.. I have been a pain with all of my phone calls- but I can't stand going 2 hours without any news- I told them I required a "Nothing new" just so I don't have a breakdown here at home. We wish SO badly that we could set up camp down there with them- but we have our kids and jobs that have us tied to home ( and don't you know we came home and had no problem keeping kids up all hours of the night just so we could hug and squeeze on them.... this will put your life into perspective in a heartbeat)
We are going to visit with them this weekend. Oh how precious it would be to see those little green eyes when we get there- We are hoping and praying!
Check out the blog written by the family and some awesome friends... www.prayingforkensley.blogspot.com for updates. If it weren't midnight I would be all fancy and figure out how to do links and such... but my brain is shot... especially after replaying all of this again.
Love to you all and Praises to our Heavenly Father.....
Drea
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