Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Abi

This is Abi, my youngest sister. She is 19 vibrant and full of life.





MOST OF THE TIME!


But today she looks like this.

Abi was in a severe accident. She was riding as a passenger on a jet ski and was hit from behind with another jet ski. She took the full brunt of the ski. She was knocked out on impact and never regained consciousness. When they got her to the hospital via helicopter they took her to surgery immediately. They found many injuries and she was not breathing on her own when she got there. She has internal bleeding. With the bleeding they had to remove a piece of her intestine, and leave her tummy open to drain and to be able to stabilize the bleeding. Her pelvis was broken in 3 places, her L3 vertebrae was fractured, her sacrum  is broken. She has a brain bleed, and some kidney damage. They have stabilized her bleeding, and her brain bleed is now stable. The pictures above have her covered up but she has tubes and IV's coming out of her every where. She is too sedated at this point to breath on her own, so they are using a ventilator.  

Yesterday they washed her hair and put in Pipi Longstocking braids. She looks so cute. Her hair is super long, past her waist, and the nurses had a hard time finding enough conditioner for her hair. 

She is now still critical but stable. They are reducing her sedation just a bit and we are not allowed to touch her or talk to her for the next few days.  She will have at least 3 more surgeries and have at least 3 weeks in the hospital before a very long rehab process. 

We don't believe that Abi knows anything about what happened to her. She did not see the jet ski coming that hit her. She was knocked out on impact, and never came to. She will be in a great deal of shock when they bring her around. But that is several days off as of now. 

This is a two fold tragedy.
My brother was driving the Jet ski that hit my sister. He Jumped off immediately and rescued her. He gave her mouth to mouth and held her in the water in his arms, until they found someone to pull her from the water. She was then transfered to a paramedic boat and then life flight.  He is so torn up, he cries a lot and is beating himself up over an accident. Please keep them both in your prayers.  There were 2 others in the accident. The driver of the ski Abi was on and the passenger on the ski that hit Abi.  The other driver was injured, treated and released very bruised. The other passenger was Abi's best friend for ever. She is bruised and hurting, her whole body aches. But she has rarely left the hospital. She is in the picture above with me and Abi, and again in the pictures at the top with Abi. 

If you could keep us all in your prayers it would be most appreciated. 

If you are friends with Abi and would like to come to the hospital know that we would love to visit with you but for the next couple of days you will not be able to see her. We have a notebook at the hospital for her friends and family to write messages in. We know she will need all of the encouragement that she can get in the days ahead. This notebook will be her reminder of all the people who love and care for her. So we encourage you to come down and write her a message!

8 comments:

Jenn Heatwole said...

Stacey Dearest...You, ABI and the rest of your family are in my prayers. May the Lord offer you comfort, peace and hope in what is certainly a stressful and anxious time in your life. May God restore Abi's body and giving her comfort from pain. Peace with you all.

Lapiz de la Guerra said...

Oh bless your heart! I don't know you at all, but please know that my prayers are with you and your family. Stay strong! God is there with you and Abi and I am sure that she will recover and that someday, you all can laugh about it.

Tulsi said...

I found you on AIW swap list. I'm so sorry to hear about this! I'll keep you in our prayers for sure.

Unknown said...

I've come across this blog by chance and will keep an eye on things.
My thoughts are with you all and may Abi have a full recovery so she can join the family again.

Have faith that while she's sleeping, her body is healing.

Hugs Maa.

Little Messy Missy said...

So sorry. They will be in my thoughts.

val said...

your family is in my prayers. God is good...just hold tight.

Dogmom Diva said...

Stacey, I just found out about Abi from Val..My prayers are with you and your family..Modern medicine is wonderful but you are right, a long haul ahead...will continue to hold Abi and also your brother in my prayers..Life can change in an instant. A young friend of ours was recently in a diving accident and slowly recovering..
Hang in there, blessings!
Barb

Jennifer Saia said...

I feel the love your family has for you Abi and I am praying for you and all involved with this tragic accident. I know you will recover and be the vibrant sister and friend you have always been.