One year ago today, June 11, 2007 at around 1:30 p.m. Russ fell 30 feet off a roof and broke his back. Our lives changed that day. When we look back on this past year we realize just how blessed we are. When I heard the news I immediately got in the car and drove to the house where he fell. As I got to main street I saw the ambulance fly by. I started saying "that better not be for my husband." It was. I followed them strait to the house. The fire trucks were already there and Russ was laying on the ground in the garage. He looked like he wanted to die. They strapped him down and loaded him into the ambulance. Our first blessing-Randal just happened to be home and I was able to leave the kids for a minute until I could find someone else to be with them. So I hopped in the front seat of the ambulance and started to cry. My whole body was shaking and I was thinking that this could not be happening. Our whole marriage (8years) he had never been really sick or hurt. Now I was facing my worst fear. Our second blessing-on the way to the hospital I called all of our neighbors and friends to see if someone could stay with the kids-not knowing how long I would be-I finally got a hold of our dear neighbor Tink who lives just next door. She said not to worry that she would stay with the kids until I could make other arrangements. The ride from Snowflake to Show Low in that ambulance was the longest ride of my life. Russ was screaming in the back and the guys were screaming back and forth to each other things that I didn't understand. When we were almost there they pulled over and the driver and one of the guys in the back switched places. They told me that he had internal bleeding in his stomach and wanted to cut a hole and drain the blood. Our next blessing-they decided that since we were so close to the hospital they would just wait until we got to a sterile place. At the hospital I was finally able to talk to Russ and ask him what had happened he told me that the roof had no shingles and we had just drywalled this house. The home owner (who is one of our high councilmen) was there and wanted Russ to help him pull the plastic back down so the walls would stop getting wet. Russ being the nice guy he is told him he would go up and do this. It was of course raining pretty bad outside and so the plastic was slippery. When Russ fell he said he was going head first. Something turned him around and he landed on his butt-another blessing. Right where he fell the owners had just filled in a hole so the dirt was very loose. It was as soft as it could have been. He said he got the wind knocked out of him so he had to just lay there for awhile before he could yell for help. He knew immediately that his back was broken. The owner came running and as soon he saw him he gave him a blessing. Then he called 911. So, the doctor came and they started doing all their tests and stuff. The doctor said he did not have internal bleeding, but that his vertebra was shattered. They said they would have to fly him to Phoenix to an specialist and he would most likely have to have a surgery. While we were waiting to go in the helicopter our bishop and counselor came and gave him another blessing. I was not able to go in the helicopter with him so I would have to drive the 3 hours to the hospital. It was now 7:30 at night. I knew it was going to be a long night and a long drive. Russ's sister Robin that lives in Las Vegas as soon as she heard she left to come and stay with the kids. Our ward made arrangements for the kids until she got there-HUGE BLESSING!!! I knew my kids would be taken care of so I could take care of Russ. My good friend Angie said she would drive with me and stay that first night with me at the hospital. I am so grateful to her. I would not have made it physically and emotionally. When we got to St. Joseph's hospital at around 11 or 12 we found Russ in ICU. His nurse, Ann, said that he was on morphine and that we would have to wait to talk to the specialist in the morning to see if he would in fact have to have surgery. Russ was in so much pain. He would be talking to me and then fall asleep for a few minutes then wake up and forget who was there and what was going on at the moment. The one thing he didn't forget was the pain. I felt so helpless. Seeing him suffer so horribly was one of the hardest things I have done this far in my life. Dr. Nicholas Theodore was the specialist that worked with Russ. He said his L2 vertebrae was more than half scattered. 9 out of 10 people that he saw with this injury would be paralyzed. Russ was able to move his toes and later he moved his legs. That was a miracle, all the doctors wanted to know how and why. We wanted to tell them it was because of the priesthood. One doctor told us that Russ being able to move his feet and legs after this kind of injury was like having a plane crash to the ground and everyone dies, but he gets up and walks away with out a scratch. Russ spent 5 days in ICU and was sent home in a back brace. It looked like a turtle shell. He spent 4 months in that brace. That was hard on him because we own a business and he has to be doing things all the time. He HATED having to lay flat and take it easy. Each time he would go back to the doctor he was more and more impressed at how well he was doing. Today if you didn't know you would never even think he had a broken back. I know that the Lord preserved his life that day. I know that the priesthood healed him. I am so grateful for this experience. It has made us stronger and more patient. Russ is doing great and today he is being very careful and not going on any roofs.
Last night when I was putting Riley to bed he said to me "mommy when I go on my mission I'm going to go to Mexico." I thought that was very interesting. I had to write it down so I would not forget things like that. It will be amazing if he really did go there. He is such a good boy. He loves being the big brother. He has a great testimony of the church and Jesus. He will be a great missionary someday. We are so proud of our little man.
