A Difficult Time

  My plans of posting daily came to a halt... This post is going to have my crying. I'll do my best to keep it simple.


  On Wednesday morning, my dear husband was in an accident at work. He was working on an industrial pipe underground. He was down in a deep hole they had excavated, helping to guide a 4500 lb concrete lid to the end of the pipe where it would be attached. The cable that was holding the lid to the excavator suddenly snapped, dropping the huge lid onto him. 


  It was so fast, he had no time to react.  It crushed him into a small triangle shaped space, hardly big enough for him. His construction helmet was being pinched tighter and tighter. His shoulders were folded inward as far as they could. One arm was up in front of him. He could hear his hard hat cracking; his insides crushing, stretching, and snapping.  He managed to wiggle and twist sideways and pull his hand down from his chest, giving his chest just enough room to slightly inflate. He could feel his head getting squeezed tighter. 


  His coworkers looked in on him and he told them he was ok for a minute, just get it off quickly and carefully. He pulled with all he had to get his head down out of the hard hat. Once his head wasn't adding resistance inside the hard hat, he felt the lid pressing down farther on him, as the helmet crushed farther. A couple minutes after the cable snapped, the lid was lifted up enough that he crawled out from under it.   

 He then was brought to the ER. I met him there. The minute I walked into the room where he lay, both of us wept. I wanted to hug him and never let go, but he was too fragile. He still is.


  X-rays, Ultrasounds, CT Scan, and MRI show that he has 4 broken ribs and nerve damage to his right hand.  We can see that his collar bones are not in their proper places, and we are assuming this is due to cartilage damage between them.  As anyone could guess, all of his muscles, ligaments, and tissues from his chest up are very bruised and torn. 
  
  It really is a miracle that nothing more is harmed. His brain, his organs, his face, even his skin, is completely intact.  We are so so thankful for this.

  We are thankful just that he is alive. He had just bent over. Had he been standing, he'd have been crushed in the neck and face, and surely be dead. Had he not just bought a stronger hard hat, or chose not to wear it that day, his head would have been crushed.  If he wasn't as flexible as he is, he'd have much more damage to his bones.
    
  Pain is bearable when he lays still, but hurts to be upright.  It will be a while of healing, rest, and therapy in his hand before he is himself again.


  I almost cannot bear not to be by him now. It was such a close call. I love this man. I need this man. I feel like he is part of me. Our children love him and need him. I feel like I cannot thank God enough for preserving his life a while longer.  


  -Sylv