A Friend in Need

I typed this after our visit to Craig Hospital back in August but for some reason I never pushed it out to the masses. August 8, 2009: We just got back from visiting our friend John at the Craig Hospital in Denver, CO. As I mentioned in my July 30th post John was in a terrible accident while biking with his girlfriend in Hawaii and was nearly killed. He spent several weeks recovering at Queens Hospital in Hawaii before making the trip to Craig Rehab Hospital. John only has less than a week before he gets to go back home to Hawaii to continue his recovery. We had such a great time visiting with John and his girlfriend Laurel. It was hard being so far away and not being able to give hugs or tell him in person how much we love him and care about him. It was amazing to see how far he had come yet how much of a struggle he has in front of him. He is determined and has people all over the world praying for his recovery and if anyone can overcome these odds it is John. We had a chance to go to a BBQ that one of the patient's father was having for some of the friends he met there. The patient, Chris, was in a skiing accident and when he did a flip he came down on his head and broke his neck - instant quadrapeligic. We met Russell, John's roommate for the first part of his stay at Craig. He was also a quadrapeligic after being pulled from a bucket loader when installing a roof on a children's playground. Flynn was a ski instructor at Big Sky in Montana and was in a car accident on her way home one day. She lost the use of her legs and had upper body mobility with some restrictions in her hands. What amazed me more than anything was that at this BBQ I didn't hear one of these people complain or ask "why me?" I'm sure each have had their moments but their loved ones were there supporting them through this difficult time and they all seemed strong and resolute and John was no exception. They all laughed with us and told jokes, shared stories, and enjoyed each other's company. Each of them touched our lives and reminded us of the fleeting nature of our time on earth, how blessed we are and how thankful we should be for what God has given to us. The Nugget ran around and gave kisses and smiles to everyone and it was touching to see the impact she had on their lives. To her everyone was the same and that they were in wheelchairs made no difference. She is so young and probably won't remember being there but I hope to share this with her some day when she is old enough to understand the impact she was able to have without even knowing it and the opportunity she can have to do the same thing throughout her life. The best thing was Liana pushing John's wheelchair around - she loved it!