Allyson writes:
“I’ll skip lunch today,” Tim told me. “Timothy and I are gonna head over to Wayne’s house with my splitter to split wood for a while. Send some of the other boys over after lunch.”
We have some pretty wonderful neighbors, and Tim wanted to bless them by splitting some of their wood with his log splitter. After the kids and I finished up with a quick lunch, Levi and John Luke rode their bikes over to the neighbors’ house, about half a mile down our dirt road.
Thirty minutes or so went by, and I was sitting in our office paying bills. The younger kids always get a little loud after lunch when they’re playing around. But, even above the noise, my ears and eyes shot to attention as I heard Timothy yell out to me from halfway across the house, “Mama, come quick. Papa’s hurt!”
I immediately ran out the door in flip-flops, not knowing what to expect. I jumped on the ATV behind Timothy and clung to him with all my might as we sped away. I know he was scared, but wow was I proud of him. He had ridden home from the neighbors’ house on Levi’s bike (small for Timothy) as fast as he could. Now that we were together on the ATV he clearly started yelling out to me what had happened and how Papa had hurt his finger in the log splitter. We started making organized plans of what we would do once we arrived to Wayne’s house. Timothy stayed calm, and I was so glad he was with me.
As we sped up Wayne’s driveway we quickly realized he and Tim had already headed to the ER. “Oh no!” was my first thought. I had really wanted to see him. Tim’s truck was in the driveway with his trailer attached that had transported the log splitter. Timothy quickly unhitched the trailer, but as I searched Tim’s truck, no keys were to be found. “Ahhh… Papa must have the keys in his pocket,” I yelled to Timothy.
We both jumped back on the ATV together to speed back home to get the second set of keys, leaving behind a bewildered Levi and John Luke, who no doubt were very concerned about their Papa. “We’ll be right back,” I shouted. Back at our house I grabbed my purse and a set of keys. It was also very important to me to take an extra minute to find and hug Eliana and the little kids. They were huddled together in the girls’ room, worried and in tears, but I hugged them tight and told them we would be okay. I reminded them to pray, and they said they already were. Once back at Wayne’s house, we hopped in Tim’s truck, only to realize the set of keys I’d grabbed didn’t have Tim’s extra truck key on it. Oh no! Time to breathe and think.
I’ll pause here to give a few needed details for this story. Our family has two vehicles and currently two cell phones. Our kids’ flip phone was misplaced not too long ago. On this particular day, Hannah and Lauren were away from home in my vehicle, and they had my cell phone as well. I had no vehicle to drive. I had no phone to use. Tim had one truck key in his pocket, and the girls had his other truck key with them, on my key chain.
But, I didn’t realize they had his truck key at that point, so Timothy decided to go look at home once more. As he zoomed away from Wayne’s house on the ATV once again, all I could do was pray. I gathered Levi and John Luke, and we held on to each other tight, with tears in our eyes, and we prayed. We felt helpless. No vehicle. No phone. No keys. I didn’t even know which hospital Wayne would take Tim to for sure.
After we prayed I started thinking that when Timothy came back, if he didn’t have the keys, we could drive the ATV down to our next neighbors’ house, two miles away, and ask her to take us to the ER. We could also use her phone. But, just as I was making plans, a vehicle started driving towards us in Wayne’s driveway. Who was it? What in the world? It was actually Mrs. Kaye! She’s our neighbor from 2 miles down the road that I was just hoping was home! And Timothy was in the car with her! I smiled inwardly. I had no idea how they ended up together, but all I could say was, “Thank you, Lord.” I hugged John Luke and Levi so tight and told them everything would be ok. I gave them instructions to ride their bikes home and told them James was in charge, and I’d get in touch with the girls and they’d be home soon. “Pray,” was all I could say as we parted ways and Mrs. Kaye, Timothy, and I drove to the ER.
Mrs. Kaye filled me in on some details. Evidently Tim had the wherewithal to toss his phone into her yard as they passed her house, and he tried to keep from passing out. He hadn’t been quite with it enough to throw the phone into our yard, which they passed first. Wayne had called his wife and told her to call Kaye and let her know about Tim’s phone in the yard. I’ll spare a few details here, but Kaye also talked to Hannah and Lauren and let them know to come home. So, Kaye gave me Tim’s phone that she had picked up in her yard as we headed to the ER together. I was able to call Wayne and thankfully talk to Tim while they were driving. It was SO good to hear his voice! I praised the Lord for that sweet gift. And then I knew which hospital they were in route to. I was also able to talk to Hannah and Lauren and get things squared away with them.
I’m telling you, it is such a blessing to have such wonderful neighbors. When we arrived at the ER, Kaye was willing to wait for us, but since I figured we would be at the hospital a while, I knew Hannah or Lauren could pick us up later on that evening. I waved goodbye to her, and Timothy and I rushed inside. I quickly spoke to Wayne in the waiting room and headed straight for Tim’s room in the back. I was so glad to see him, though I didn’t know what to expect. How bad was his finger? My eyes widened when I saw what had happened. Without going into much detail, his finger was split or burst wide open down the middle to the bone. He was in a lot of pain, as you might imagine. My heart just hurt so much seeing him in so much agony. What would they do to help him?
The closest hospital to our house is quite small, and therefore not too much can be done there if you need serious attention. But, it was a blessing for Tim to be seen so quickly when he needed immediate help. After an hour passed, the ER doctor decided that Tim would need surgery and had him transported to a bigger hospital by ambulance about an hour from our home.
But, now what to do? Tim was being transported via ambulance, but Timothy and I didn’t have a vehicle to follow behind. My dear friend, Tenise (Wayne’s wife), volunteered that they would bring my vehicle and phone to the ER so that Hannah and Lauren could stay home with the kids. How kind is that?! Once they arrived to the ER, we traded phones (they took Tim’s phone home to the kids), and Timothy and I headed to the next hospital.
We spent a few hours with Tim, but the rules were no overnight guests. I was so disappointed and disheartened. Thankfully, Tim had a great nurse that night who took care of him. I was home by 11:00 p.m., in bed by midnight, awake by 4:00 the next morning, in order to leave home by 4:45 a.m. and be back to the hospital before 6:00. It was a short night, but thankfully I slept hard. I sure did miss seeing the kids, though. Almost all were asleep when I arrived home, and no one was awake when I left in the morning. I was anxious to see Tim!
He was up and getting prepped in his hospital room for surgery when I arrived. We were sleepy but happy to be together. They told us surgery could be as early as 7:00 a.m. But, the day proved much longer than we anticipated. Hour after hour ticked by with no word when surgery would take place. Meanwhile, we had lots of interesting and memorable visitors from hospital staff. 🙂 Tim and I will surely remember some of those people for years to come. The Lord was gracious to give him a wonderful nurse that day (and the next). We really liked her!
Tim slept off and on throughout the day. We had lots of uninterrupted time together. Despite how much pain Tim was in, we actually had such a sweet day together. It was a very expensive “date,” but it was a precious day. Finally, they called him for surgery around 6:00 p.m. I was able to accompany him to pre-op and then watch them wheel him away into the OR. I sat in the waiting room and prayed and prayed. I prayed for Tim, the surgeon, the anesthesiologists, and all involved. Tim had so many wonderful people praying for him even all across the nation. What a tremendous blessing! There is incredible power in prayer, and our hope is in the One who answers prayer!
A little while later the surgeon called me on the phone. Due to Covid policies, the surgeons don’t come to see the family in person after surgery, though they do come visit you in person when making their rounds the following day. 🙂 The hand surgeon who worked on Tim indicated the surgery went well, though due to the bone being exposed, we’d need to watch for infection over the next few weeks and months.
Tim spent that night in the hospital as well. But, guess what? His amazing nurse from that day let me spend the night, no questions asked. I was beyond thrilled!!! 🙂 What an answer to prayer! I would miss seeing the kids, but I knew they were in great hands. They sent Tim a recording of a song our family loves to sing together called “Faith is Believing.” What precious children the Lord has given us!
The Lord knew how special it would be for Tim and me to be together that night. I was able to make sure he had everything he needed and my heart was not anxious at all, knowing that I could be there right by his side. We even talked throughout the night together when he was awake. It was a gift from the Lord, for sure.
We made it home the next afternoon, and it felt so good to all be home together again as a family. The older I get, the more I treasure all of us just being together as a family. The kids all loved on him and then let him rest. The Littles were especially anxious to spend time with him, so he let them be his nurses and tend to him even though he was in so much pain. He was concerned for their feelings more than his own.
Tim struggled with lots and lots of pain for the first couple of weeks. But, he has been in for two check-ups with the surgeon, and his finger is healing well so far. He was able to keep his entire finger, though it’s yet to be seen whether he will grow a nail bed back in the future. He is just a little over a month post-op and has started physical therapy to learn how to use his finger well again. He has a ways to go to get back to normal, but we are thankful for all of the Lord’s many blessings and answers to prayer during this time.
One more blessing: Tim is left handed, but it was his right hand that was injured.
Thank you to all of you who have checked on us, prayed for us, and helped us. We are beyond grateful! Please continue to pray for a full recovery.
Be blessed today!
Allyson
Growing Reeds 