Be Thou My Vision, While I am here on this earth
Note: This blog post was started during the time that Bob was in the hospital in Iowa City. I have struggled a lot over the last week if I should continue to write through the experience and if I should publish them when I'm finished. It was a tough decision but have decided that I know Bob would want me to share about his experiences that he had from the fall. This has turned into a tribute to Bob and a help to Vicki at being able to look back on everything that God did.
Vicki, thank you for coming along side me with this and for reading these tough words, but knowing that our God is sovereign and seeing his glory in everything. I love you so very much!!
There is a lot of information and I still struggle through it, so it continues to be a work in progress. I will be publishing it in separate posts due to the length.
"It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8
Dear Bob,
I have started writing this several times but cannot seem to focus my thoughts.
I stand outside the doors to your room looking at you from a distance. My heart breaks as I see the pain you are in and the sadness on your face. Your confusion as to what year it is, 1937, brings a slight smile to my somber face. I wonder if you know I am here, hovering over you like I always do.
There are so many machines hooked up to you, I joke with the nurse that you can run the space station by yourself.
The left wall of your room has a window that's covered with get well cards from Harvest kids. My mind quickly recalls helping Katie hang them up there after she would read them all to you. She would read them one by one and we would laugh at every sweet, misspelled word, colorful drawing or funny remark.
My mind slowly refocuses and I see your chest breathing with ease thanks to your oxygen mask.
I clear my head and walk through the door of your room. My ears quickly adjust to all of the strange sounds that constantly fill your room. You are sleeping so peacefully, so I softly touch your arm and watch you sleep.
My eyes fill with tears once more because I cannot believe that it is Wednesday already, you are entering your 6th night here at the hospital. There are so many moments of every single day that my soul struggles with you laying here, your body broken in this bed. Do you have enough in you to keep fighting? No, I know you don't, but I thank God everyday that he does.
What happened on Friday, September 11th, 2015?
The sky was a perfect blue color and there was not a cloud anywhere in my sight. I was so excited for what felt like was the 1st day of fall. I turned the air off in the house and the windows went down. The crisp breeze blew in through the dining room windows and it caught my breath.
The chatter on the radio was all about it being the 14th anniversary of 9/11, Wow, 14 years I thought as I ran out of the house.
The time quickly passed in the morning and it was early afternoon. I was walking in the back yard when my phone rang: "Bob fell off the roof of the church, headed to Genesis East by ambulance, praying as a staff" From: DR (Doug)
An older couple were driving on 53rd, saw you fall and called 911. They then went in to the church, grabbed Blake & Kip and told them that they had seen someone fall from the roof of the church. They both ran to you and Kip was able to pray over you, Praise God.
Lamar had already been called and was headed up there.
I couldn't breath.
My chest was so very heavy and everything in my life seemed to have stopped.
Walking into the ER, I saw so many sweet familiar faces.
Around 3:00 they did a procedure to get you breathing better because one of your lungs had collapsed. You had a lot of internal bleeding but we knew that there were no head or spinal injuries, Praise God! One of the EMT's that had been a first responder on the scene, stopped in to check on you. Her and her husband go to Harvest and she recognized you. She told us that it was God's perfect timing because they were just down the road from the church when the call came in and they were able to be on the scene with you in mere minutes. It saved your life, Praise God!
You were a mess, but still such a miracle. So much changing every minute. I was just so thankful, along with everyone else, that you were alive. They worked on you quite a bit at Genesis, doing everything they could to help you. You were breathing better after they did the procedure on your lung and that was helping you out physically.
@ 3:30, Vicki was doing better, still unsure of so much. But we know God is good and he has plans for you.
I quietly stood in the corner outside your room in the ER. I felt so sick knowing you were in so much pain. The ER doctor knew he couldn't do anything more for you and he quickly made the call for you to be airlifted to Iowa City. They tried several times to get you stable enough to fly but your body wasn't cooperating. By 4:30 though, God had stabled your body for the 20 minute helicopter flight to the University Hospital.
We all were in the parking lot at Genesis as you flew over, leaving us with the only thing that we had been able to do from the start, leave you in God's hands.
Lamar and I went home from the hospital and it was up to David, Jessica and Mark to walk Vicki through the next few tough hours.
10:40pm This is the text that I sent out to Pastor's Rob & Garth after I spoke to Vicki.
Bob is now out of surgery but is heavily sedated. He is having help breathing from the ventilator. He is currently in ICU at the University of Iowa hospital in Iowa City. His chest remains open at this time from surgery, due to some issues that cannot be handled until tomorrow or Sunday at the earliest. Tonight's surgery was the first of many more to come. He is a miracle! The fall shattered his diaphragm and threw his stomach into his chest. He shattered the left side of his pelvis, broke his left wrist, femur, ankle and multiple ribs. His liver was punctured as well. I know there is something that I am probably forgetting, but God knows every detail and that's all that matters. The doctors were able to stop all of the internal bleeding. He will remain in ICU for at least a week. The doctors say with everything that he has broken, he has no head or no spinal injuries, Praise God!!
Saturday, September 12th @ 7:24am. Praise God Bob is still with us and he is stable. He still remains in Critical condition. They are watching his blood levels closely. They found overnight that there is still some internal bleeding, but nothing like it was. The breathing tube will remain in for an uncertain amount of time. They had to leave his chest open last night after surgery because of the swelling and don't know when they will be able to close it back up. They put him in traction for his hips and pelvis and were able to temporary cast his left wrist until they can do surgery on it.
The main focus for now is keeping his vitals stable and the internal bleeding under control.
My heart is in pieces but I continue to trust that God is sovereign.
The Lord is my strength and shield, in him my heart trusts and I am helped.
From Vicki Saturday morning:
I've got a front row seat watching God do his stuff. Bob is nodding his head and knows who we are. Three of the nurses on his night shift grew up with David. Jess told him he was doing really good and that we were so proud of him and he gave us a thumbs up....His mercies are new everyday!
Vicki, thank you for coming along side me with this and for reading these tough words, but knowing that our God is sovereign and seeing his glory in everything. I love you so very much!!
There is a lot of information and I still struggle through it, so it continues to be a work in progress. I will be publishing it in separate posts due to the length.
Dear Bob,
I have started writing this several times but cannot seem to focus my thoughts.
I stand outside the doors to your room looking at you from a distance. My heart breaks as I see the pain you are in and the sadness on your face. Your confusion as to what year it is, 1937, brings a slight smile to my somber face. I wonder if you know I am here, hovering over you like I always do.
There are so many machines hooked up to you, I joke with the nurse that you can run the space station by yourself.
The left wall of your room has a window that's covered with get well cards from Harvest kids. My mind quickly recalls helping Katie hang them up there after she would read them all to you. She would read them one by one and we would laugh at every sweet, misspelled word, colorful drawing or funny remark.
My mind slowly refocuses and I see your chest breathing with ease thanks to your oxygen mask.
I clear my head and walk through the door of your room. My ears quickly adjust to all of the strange sounds that constantly fill your room. You are sleeping so peacefully, so I softly touch your arm and watch you sleep.
My eyes fill with tears once more because I cannot believe that it is Wednesday already, you are entering your 6th night here at the hospital. There are so many moments of every single day that my soul struggles with you laying here, your body broken in this bed. Do you have enough in you to keep fighting? No, I know you don't, but I thank God everyday that he does.
What happened on Friday, September 11th, 2015?
The sky was a perfect blue color and there was not a cloud anywhere in my sight. I was so excited for what felt like was the 1st day of fall. I turned the air off in the house and the windows went down. The crisp breeze blew in through the dining room windows and it caught my breath.
The chatter on the radio was all about it being the 14th anniversary of 9/11, Wow, 14 years I thought as I ran out of the house.
The time quickly passed in the morning and it was early afternoon. I was walking in the back yard when my phone rang: "Bob fell off the roof of the church, headed to Genesis East by ambulance, praying as a staff" From: DR (Doug)
An older couple were driving on 53rd, saw you fall and called 911. They then went in to the church, grabbed Blake & Kip and told them that they had seen someone fall from the roof of the church. They both ran to you and Kip was able to pray over you, Praise God.
Lamar had already been called and was headed up there.
I couldn't breath.
My chest was so very heavy and everything in my life seemed to have stopped.
Walking into the ER, I saw so many sweet familiar faces.
Around 3:00 they did a procedure to get you breathing better because one of your lungs had collapsed. You had a lot of internal bleeding but we knew that there were no head or spinal injuries, Praise God! One of the EMT's that had been a first responder on the scene, stopped in to check on you. Her and her husband go to Harvest and she recognized you. She told us that it was God's perfect timing because they were just down the road from the church when the call came in and they were able to be on the scene with you in mere minutes. It saved your life, Praise God!
You were a mess, but still such a miracle. So much changing every minute. I was just so thankful, along with everyone else, that you were alive. They worked on you quite a bit at Genesis, doing everything they could to help you. You were breathing better after they did the procedure on your lung and that was helping you out physically.
@ 3:30, Vicki was doing better, still unsure of so much. But we know God is good and he has plans for you.
I quietly stood in the corner outside your room in the ER. I felt so sick knowing you were in so much pain. The ER doctor knew he couldn't do anything more for you and he quickly made the call for you to be airlifted to Iowa City. They tried several times to get you stable enough to fly but your body wasn't cooperating. By 4:30 though, God had stabled your body for the 20 minute helicopter flight to the University Hospital.
We all were in the parking lot at Genesis as you flew over, leaving us with the only thing that we had been able to do from the start, leave you in God's hands.
Lamar and I went home from the hospital and it was up to David, Jessica and Mark to walk Vicki through the next few tough hours.
10:40pm This is the text that I sent out to Pastor's Rob & Garth after I spoke to Vicki.
Bob is now out of surgery but is heavily sedated. He is having help breathing from the ventilator. He is currently in ICU at the University of Iowa hospital in Iowa City. His chest remains open at this time from surgery, due to some issues that cannot be handled until tomorrow or Sunday at the earliest. Tonight's surgery was the first of many more to come. He is a miracle! The fall shattered his diaphragm and threw his stomach into his chest. He shattered the left side of his pelvis, broke his left wrist, femur, ankle and multiple ribs. His liver was punctured as well. I know there is something that I am probably forgetting, but God knows every detail and that's all that matters. The doctors were able to stop all of the internal bleeding. He will remain in ICU for at least a week. The doctors say with everything that he has broken, he has no head or no spinal injuries, Praise God!!
Saturday, September 12th @ 7:24am. Praise God Bob is still with us and he is stable. He still remains in Critical condition. They are watching his blood levels closely. They found overnight that there is still some internal bleeding, but nothing like it was. The breathing tube will remain in for an uncertain amount of time. They had to leave his chest open last night after surgery because of the swelling and don't know when they will be able to close it back up. They put him in traction for his hips and pelvis and were able to temporary cast his left wrist until they can do surgery on it.
The main focus for now is keeping his vitals stable and the internal bleeding under control.
My heart is in pieces but I continue to trust that God is sovereign.
The Lord is my strength and shield, in him my heart trusts and I am helped.
From Vicki Saturday morning:
I've got a front row seat watching God do his stuff. Bob is nodding his head and knows who we are. Three of the nurses on his night shift grew up with David. Jess told him he was doing really good and that we were so proud of him and he gave us a thumbs up....His mercies are new everyday!
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