Our good news....

So we saw the orthopedic surgeon today. It's day 20 and when we saw the x-ray, we could tell there was a dramatic improvement in Randy's pelvis fracture!!! The doctor came in and measured the break.... on day 1, it was a 20mm separation, today, it's only 12mm!!!! That's almost a 50% closure!!! I was sooooo happy and Randy is too!!! The doctor was SHOCKED to say the least. He was glad they didn't do surgery and impressed that it has healed that well so far. He said, "it sucks for my pocket book, but it's great news for you guys!!!". I am so happy right now I can't even tell you!!! So...

*he can ditch the walker, just crutches for the next 2 weeks
*he can go back to work up to 4 hours a day, as tolerated
*no more Lortab, just IBU 800s and Tylenol
*when he can handle it, he can drive his pick up because it's an automatic
*we see the urologist next Tuesday
*we see the ortho again in 3 weeks
*in 2 weeks Randy can start working full time again!!!

While we were at the ortho, one of the nurses popped her head in our room and said, "I saw your bike pictures.... WOW!!!! Impressive!!!" He's like a legend down there!!!

I know that it is because of the power of the priesthood, prayers, fasting and faith that Randy is healing as well as he is. When you have a doctor standing in front of you, shaking his head at the progress that he doesn't have an explanation for, you get an understanding of how much has gone into Randy's healing that we are not in control of. I know that our prayers are being heard and I know our Heavenly Father loves us enough to send us these challenges and the blessings we get from them.

This road of recovery isn't over yet, so please keep him in your prayers. But for now.... I'm going to go do the happy dance!!!


This is the x-ray from June 18th, Day 1.
This is today's x-ray, day 20!!!

And a closer look!!!

Called to serve

I am so happy that I have a husband that takes his church callings seriously. Randy is the 1st counselor in our Bishopric. When he was in his motorcycle crash, he was laying in the ER and whispered, "it's my month to conduct". Not in a way that he was excited to get out of it, but disappointed that someone else was going to have to take some of his responsibilities away from him for a time.

Well, here we are, 17 days later, and he insisted on going to his early morning meetings today. We had to be up by 7:30am (not easy after a long night for me), feed him (even though it's fast Sunday, he's taking pain pills and HAS to eat), shower him (it's getting easier, but I still have to be RIGHT THERE), dress him, including putting his shoes and socks on, in the car, and safely into the church by 9am. It is NOT easy, but it shows the dedication he has for his calling.

He has had a lot of moments that have got him down. There are a lot of things that he CAN'T do that he normally does. He can't ride his bike, drive his truck, drive a loader at work, a cement truck, a water truck, a dump truck, haul wood off the mountain, run his chainsaw, play with the kids, walk easy, ect.... there is sooo much that he can't do right not, but one thing he CAN do is serve. He's still in the Bishopric and he can still do things even if he's stuck at home.

I am so thankful for his example to me. He WANTS to be back at church, doing the things that he normally does. Just one more of the millions of reason that I love him so much!!!

Day 14...

So today marks the 2 week mark of Randy's motorcycle crash. I took this picture of him the day we left the hospital, we were waiting for the nurse to come and take out his IV so we could leave. To celebrate today I'm gonna post 14 (of the VERY many) things that I have learned through this.

1. One moment in time can change your life forever.

2. Helmets are a must when riding a bike. I have never doubted that, but hopefully the riders that know and love Randy will always wear their helmets now.

3. Prayers really do keep us going when everything else looks bleak. I know all of your prayers have carried our family through this. Please keep them coming.

4. I am amazingly blessed to have the husband I do.

5. When times are hard, your best friends step up instead of step back.

6. Caretakers need more credit for their work.

7. Patients need more love than care.

8. When someone offers to do something for me, say "thank you" instead of "no thank you".

9. Lawyers are a WONDERFUL thing to have in situations like this.

10. The saying about "getting back on a horse after being bucked off" is the same with a biker.

11. Love can be felt through actions more than I ever knew.

12. Our children are really affected by the mood we chose to be in.

13. Our parents will do anything for us. Even when it means traveling half way across the state to be here for us, or if it means agreeing to take our kids for who knows how long until daddy gets out of the hospital.

14. Our trials make us stronger and teach everyone lessons in the meanwhile.



Randy has kept this smile on his face most of the time. He rarely has got down with his mood. There is so much more I have learned, but above all is how madly, deeply, and uncontrollably in love I am with my husband. I can't tell you what a blessing it has been to be with him almost 24 hours a day for the last 14 days. It's not always easy, but the closeness we have felt overcomes all of that. I have forgot what it's like to flirt so much. He's always pinching, winking, patting and whistling at me. It's been so fun!!! I can't believe I just called all of this fun, but it has had it's moments that I will treasure the rest of my life!!!

Thank you sooo much to our family and friends that have been here for us. The McInnes family came over tonight and mowed our lawns (yea, Heather's 20 weeks pregnant and she was doing MY yard work!!!). Paul said something to me that tells you what kind of friends we have, he said, "it's one thing to ask what needs to be done, and it's another to drive by, see that the lawns need to be mowed and just come over and mow them.". I can't express how grateful I am to be blessed by such wonderful friends and family. I haven't deserved any of the wonderful treatment that I have got... BY FAR I have not, but maybe I can be THAT friend someday. There are some that have gone way, way, way beyond what was ever expected or asked, but to you I thank you with everything I am. You know who I am talking about right now. We love you guys and will treasure you forever.

Randy's on the mend. We go to the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday and hopefully see some good improvements on x-ray. Again, thank you for your comments, prayers, service and everything else. None of it has gone un-noticed!!!

Have a good 4th of July weekend!!!

New pictures of Randy's crash.

I just got these pictures. They are from the police at the scene. We were in Hurricane today for Randy's aunt's funeral, and I went by the crash site to see it for myself. It was very.... well.... I don't know. It put a knot in my throat. It made me feel like I did when he called and told me he was in a crash. Then it's followed by anger. Anger for that other driver and how in a blink of an eye, he changed my life and hurt my husband. It was hard for me to see where Randy was and that I wasn't with him. As a team, we go through most things together and I wasn't there when he was hurt. That bugs me.


In this first picture, look where the bike stopped and then look where the Explorer is.... Randy rode, with his head in the back of their car, almost THAT WHOLE WAY!!!! It wasn't until they stopped that Randy fell out the back of the Explorer. Pretty disturbing.

















































































Everyone wants to see the helmet, well there it is. I think everyone assumes that it's cracked down the middle. When you have an $800.00 helmet, it takes more than going through a window to crack it!!! Even with his visor down and sun glasses on, his face was covered in glass that looked like glitter. I tried brushing it off (wondering why there was glitter on his eye lid) and cut him. I still feel bad about that. The helmet visor is broken, the vents are broken and there are lots of scratches and paint chips from the impact, but it's like a car seat, once it's in a crash, it's trash!!!















In the police report, it estimates that Randy was going 30 and the other guy was only going 10mph. It was BARELY out of the intersection. There is no reason he shouldn't have seen Randy, other than he wasn't looking. It makes me wonder if he was texting (which our lawyer will be ceasing his phone records to find out), or if the 2 dogs in the car during the crash caused too much of a distraction. It all bugs me. Absolute carelessness.




All in all, I am so glad to have my husband with me. He should be hurt so much worse, he could have been killed. I'm so glad he was wearing a good helmet, thick pants, gloves, work boots, his visor down and sunglasses. My life could be totally different than it is now. I know there were angels watching over him, no doubt in my mind AT ALL.

I'll sleep in your bed!!!

The other night, Tyler said, "mom, since you're sleeping in the big room with dad, I think I should sleep in your bed."!! How can I resist THAT? It reminds me of a story that Randy's mom tells about him when he was aound 10, Jim was working out of town and one night Randy appeared in Peggy's bedroom and asked to sleep with her, when she asked why, his response was, "I just thought you would be lonely". My son is SOOOO much like his daddy. Such a sweetie. So, once Cambelle was asleep, I let Maddison and Tyler sleep in my bed.

This is my lovely sleeping quarters. Randy's been sleeping in the recliner by that lamp, but lucky for him, there are 5 recliners in the big room!!! I sleep in there with him so if he tries to get up, I can help him and we set an alarm to get him his pain medicine every 4 hours. Mornings are BAD. He's really stiff and sore. If we happen to sleep past the alarm (which has happened a few times), he pays for it and I feel HORRIBLE!!! I feel lucky to be sleeping in the same room as him, in the comfort of our own home. He's being such a good sport, thanks babe!!!

Anyhow, tomorrow is going to be a big day for us. Randy's aunt Lorraine just passed away from a 3 month battle with cancer. Her 49th birthday would have been on Saturday. We will go to the viewing and funeral tomorrow, then see about the luncheon. All of our family will be there. It is going to be a really cool funeral and Randy was NOT going to miss it. It will be hard for him, no doubt, but hopefully our Heavenly Father will bless Randy for being with his family. I think He will!!!

When the going gets tough.....

How do you handle stress? Well, for me, when the going gets tough... I cut my hair!!! It's not the first time I've done it. The second time Tyler was in intensive care, I went for a little choppy chop. So, last Friday, Randy wasn't surprised when I came home with shorter hair!!! (Thanks Angie for being my therapist)









So Thursday was a pretty hard day for me. Not too bad for holding it (some what) together for a week, right? Thursday afternoon it all just hit me and I kinda lost it. My best friend, Anna called to check on us and what she got was not what she expected, I'm sure. She rushed right over and played "mom" for a while. I didn't know what to do?

Do I:
*fix lunch for the kids
*get Randy food
*get Randy his pills
*help Randy to the bathroom
*clean the house
*act like a mom
*act like a wife
*pretend there is still a Hope that is alive
or
*run away to Mexico and never come back

It was a coin toss. I just stood there, almost comatose-like and let Anna take over. I needed to run to the pharmacy and to the grocery store, and then I got McDonald's for me while I was gone. I came back to her deep cleaning my bathrooms. I just sat in the hall, watching her, eating my fries and Coke. I didn't even get a Coke for her!!! I was just OUT OF IT!!! Anyhow, it all got better once the sting of the cleaning chemicals stopped burning my nostrils. I am so thankful for a best friend that will just DO. I don't need to ask, she knows what needs to be done and she just DID. Ohhhh what a blessing she is to my family.

So, after that was all over, I perked up and felt much better. Randy's getting around a lot better now. He's still using the walker, but getting in and out of the recliner is getting easier, showering is easier and when I dress him, he can actually bend his knees back almost to the square. That helps with dressing him. I was THIS close to calling it "naked time at the Clyde's" because it was so hard to get his pants on, good thing he's getting better!!!

The weekend came, we had lots of visitors (which keeps his spirits up, so keep on coming), and Randy was getting cabin fever, so he decided it was time to go to Wal-mart (mainly because we know they have those zippy little carts). He was able to get into the car a lot easier then coming home from the hospital. He zipped all over Wal-mart and surprised a few friends that saw us there!!! By the time we got home (and it was a short WM trip), he was DONE!!!! He rested for a while before we went to the church for a "dry run". He was wanting to go to church, but I didn't want to get him up and ready, over to the church and then have him not able to get into the building. So, on we went. We took our neighbor with for help if something happened. The options at our building are a steep ramp or walk the whole length of the building. He knew he couldn't walk that far, so he did the ramp. We got in and he even was able to get up the 2 steps to the stand. He takes his responsibilities of being a bishopric member seriously, so sitting in the congregation was NOT going to happen. He was pretty happy to be able to get up there. When we left, the ramp kicked his trash and then he rested. It was quite a workout!!!!

Sunday came and we sent the kids to church with the Rindlisbacher's and we went for Sacrament meeting. Our sweet ward members were SOOOO happy to see Randy there. He was so happy to be there. Maybe it was the double dose of Lortab he got before we left, but I think it's just the love he has for his ward members!!! He got to set apart a counselor to the new YM presidency and I think he felt good fulfilling one of his responsibilities.

It's been a hard time being at home. Let's not sugar coat it.... IT SUCKS!!!! But, we're gonna survive probably. Until then, we just need to keep to it!!! Thanks for all your love and support. I promise that everything anyone has done has been guided by our Heavenly Father because we have needed it. Thank you!!!

One week.

Today marks the one week mark of Randy's motorcycle crash. Last Thursday morning, I had no idea how my life was going to change. I never posted much about the time of the crash and the call Randy made to me. He's such a mellow fellow. The kids and I had just finished shopping at Target, Father's Day presents for Randy. I got a call from a number I didn't know. It was Randy. I asked him who's phone he was on and he said Tyler Bracken (works with Randy).

Me- so what's up?
Randy- (very calm) well, I just crashed my bike over here by the scale house (by his work)
Me- are you ok?
Randy- yea
Me- what about your bike? (mind you, he was soooo calm, I had no idea he was injured)
Randy- yea, it's totaled
Me- oh no!!! Do you want me to have Mike come and get it? (our friend that's a mechanic and has a flat bed trailer)
Randy- no, Bracken's Auto Tech is coming to tow it.
Me- we're at Target, we'll come and get you
Randy- you don't need to come get me
Me- how are you gonna get home if your bike is totaled, I'm here and you're there?
Randy- well, (pause, still very calm, almost bored sounding) they're gonna transport me by ambulance to the hospital.
Me- ARE YOU HURT???????
Randy- yea, my hips are pretty messed up, I can't really walk.
Me- WHAT?????????

He was soooo calm that I assumed everything was fine. It was like a side note that they were taking him to the hospital!!! Anyhow, his brother rushed right over and I'm so glad. I can only imagine that if I were hurt in a crash, Steven would be one of the first I would want there. It was just crazy how non-reactive he was about the whole incident.

Another thing I think is funny is what Randy said to the driver when the driver came around to the back of the car. All Randy said was, "Didn't you even see me?". ARE YOU JOKING? If it would have been me, I'm not kidding when I say you would have to get an interpreter, because I would be speaking in tongues. There would be some serious profanity and then physical violence if I had been in that accident!!! It's a good thing that he's as low key as he is!!!

Anyhow, this week has been pretty crazy. We have had some pretty cool experiences with family and friends. I just added up all the names of visitors that I wrote down that visited Randy at the hospital.... 102, and I know there were some I didn't write down and that was JUST the hospital!!! That doesn't count the endless calls, texts, Facebook and blog messages, home visits, ect... We have felt the love from so many people. The serving has been never-ending. How blessed are we? The future is still a little fuzzy. We don't have ANY idea of how long it will take for Randy to get back to "normal", but we are so glad of the condition he is in instead of the condition he SHOULD be in!!! He just took a stroll half way down to the mailbox (maybe 150 ft round trip)!!! We were pretty excited!!! He probably LOVED being outside, if even for only a few minutes.

Love the ones around you and enjoy your life, you never know how tomorrow could change it!!!