The accident

The Lord works in mysterious ways. We've truly been blessed to know how many friends we have. It's funny how you really get to know them through a trial like this. They come from everywhere and offer to make dinner, watch kids and even just be there for a comfort.

For those who may not know the full story yet, last night around 8:30, Mikayla and Dallin were riding back from the school Christmas concert with their Aunt Jaris. She was driving through an intersection at about 50MPH when a 16-year-old boy in a truck from the opposite direction thought he had enough time to make a left turn in front of them. He misjudged and the two vehicles collided, head on. Dallin, in the front seat suffered the greatest injuries.

I got the call back at home and immediately jumped in the car to run down there. Pulling up, all I could see was policemen, fire trucks, flashing lights and a long line of vehicles in either direction. My heart sank. I parked illegally and ran to see what I could. Dallin had already been hauled off and Mikayla and Jaris were being bandaged up. I comforted them as best I could and called Lindy, who had stayed behind with Spencer to help clean up. She met me just as they were leaving and she jumped in the ambulance with Mikayla and Jaris. I followed close behind.

We arrived at St. Joe's Hospital in downtown Phoenix at about 9:30, by my best guess. I didn't really pay much attention to the time. Mikayla and Jaris were taken to different areas of the hospital. Both were considerably hurt, but everyone's biggest concern was with Dallin. All we knew was that he was being looked at and that he would need surgery soon. But we weren't allowed to see him yet. In spite of her injuries, Jaris' only concern was with Mikayla and Dallin. All three got a cat scan and a series of X-Rays to determine the full extent of the damage. Mikayla was badly bruised and had some burns from the seatbelt across her right shoulder/chest. Her collar bone was broken and she had bruises on both her ankles from the seat in front of her. Both Mikayla and Jaris were hurt, physically and emotionally yet we knew they would be OK. Still we were anxious to see our little boy. To comfort him and tell him everything would be fine, even though we didn't know.

After what seemed to be an eternity, we got called in by the orthopedic surgeon for a meeting. He assured us that Dallin would be OK, but that the recovery would be a process and somewhat of a struggle. He broke his left forearm, both bones and his right femur, just below the hip. He also tore open a large part of his forehead. Around 2am, a plastic surgeon worked on his forehead while the orthopedic surgeon put some rods and screws in his leg. The arm would have to wait to allow the little guy a chance to regain some strength. His arm surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 7am. A year from now he'll have to go back in to get the metal parts removed.

As of now, Mikayla is home and doing well. She's in good spirits but still sore and tender. Jaris suffered a nice-sized gash below her knee that has been stitched back together and she has a couple more days before she can leave. Dallin is constantly medicated to keep the pain under control. If you thought he was goofy before, you should see him on morphine. He's been keeping us laughing, in between expressions of discomfort and wanting drinks. When he found out he'll have to be in a wheelchair when he gets home, his feeble response was, "awesome." He has some bruising on his lungs and a cyst or something on his skull they're looking at, but nothing to be concerned about. He's been as good-natured as you could expect a kid to be that is going through this. They all have.

We know it's been in large part because of the prayers, love and faith of everyone we are privileged to call our friends and family. God has truly blessed us through this and will continue to do so. We shutter to think about what would have happened had they not had their seatbelts on. This experience has served as another lesson of just how precious life truly is. It has brought us back to a reminder of what is most important. May the Lord bless each of you this Christmas season for your unselfish love and concern. We'll do our best to keep you posted- feel free to call if you like. We expect a full recovery and to be able to spend Christmas together, whether it be here or in Utah. Either way, we'll be thinking of you and thanking our Heavenly Father that you are in our lives.

We appreciate it and love you all.