Monday, August 13, 2007

Update 8-13-07 1215 AM - Half Way there

Just a quick note to update all of you. Today we managed to get half way to our initial goal of getting the girls safely home. There is still a long road ahead for the other half of this goal, but I fully believe that it is only a matter of time. Leah and I arrived safely into Omaha at 5 PM, just beating a large and powerful thunderstorm that dumped 2-3 inches of rain onto Omaha. This storm probably chased us all the way from Ogallala, NE, as the drive home was filled with lots of torrential downpours which made the rule of letting Leah walk around the car for 10 minutes every hour quite interesting. We managed to stay slightly ahead of the worst of it, and still got Leah the exercise she needed.

Our home is a huge relief as we are surrounded by familiar smells, our own comfortable bed, and our own non hospital white walls. Leah said that just being home made her feel better, and having that kind of attitude will go a long way towards healing all of us. It brightens my day to see her smile, and hear the determination in her voice while she does PT, as her desire to heal and live is very apparent. I know that both of us will have a significant amount of healing yet to accomplish, but being at this point feels like a major accomplishment.

I am sitting here with Leah writing this today, and she wanted me to pass on a few words to all of you.

"Thank you all so very much for all of your thoughts, prayers, and your concern for all of us this week. I can not express to all of you how thankful I am for your generosity and outpouring of love, and it is difficult to even try. I am on the way to recovery, but my heart is still with Rachel in Denver, and I hope that she will be able to join me in this first step to recovery. My heart is still very heavy, as I mourn the loss of my dear sister Renee, who was not only my best friend, but someone who brought joy to my every day life. I struggle with this part of my healing everyday, but know that I have to trust in God's plan for me, and hope that He will help me heal in everyway, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I mourn for the pain that Zack is suffering, and want him to know that I love him, love him very deeply. I wish that I could help him make this pass, and will pray for God to help Zack through this trying time. Mom Dad and Britanie, Jay and I love you very much, and wish we could still be there in Denver to help you heal.

Thank you and I love you all very much. My gratitude can't be expressed enough,
Leah. "

Obviously I typed that for Leah as she dictated that to me. Her typing hand is a little out of commission, and having to try to type, operate the mouse and wipe away some tears is a bit difficult, especially when you are right handed, but the only one that works is your left. I know that many of you will want to stop by and see her, and we would welcome that, but only ask that you call ahead, and check with us to see whats going on, as to much excitement can be a bit hard to handle. We also need to try to figure out some semblance of a routine, so that we can figure out what we may need from all of our friends who keep offering to help us.

We can be contacted at:

402.321.4167 - Jay's cell, always on.
402.598.0612 - Leah's cell, but probably not going to be heard unless it is next to her
402.991.8577 - Home phone.

We did have some visitors today, our friends the Schubert's stopped by, and my Grandpa and Grandma Kunc and Aunt Wendy and Uncle Karl and their kids. It was nice to see all of them, and was good to hear laughter in the house from all the kids. I could tell that Grandma and Grandpa were hurting a lot, but hopefully seeing Leah and her smile will help their hearts to feel a little lighter.

I did talk to Mom today, and she sounded like she was making some improvements. As you probably read in the article by my father, John, she sat up a lot today, talked a lot more, and meet with the doctors to start working on pain. She sounded better, but I know her heart is still very heavy.

I want to thank Bill and Judith for driving us home, and getting us here safely. They did travel back to Missouri earlier tonight to take care of some stuff at home, but will be back soon. Their help over the last week has been instrumental in getting the girls back to where they are. It was amazing to see that they not only cared for the two of us, but also took care of Mom, Dad and Britanie. They also had enough compassion and love to talk to some of the other families, and helped to care for them as well. I don't think I could have asked for any better in laws.

I would also want to thank Julia for coming up to help us. I don't think I have given her enough credit for just jumping on a plane and coming to our rescue. She helped us all by smiling, sitting with us, hugging us, and running little errands. She might have felt like she didn't do much, but her just being there for us helped us more then I can even say.

I would also like to thank my uncle Jerry. He just jumped on a plane, and wished he could have gotten there sooner to be there for us. He was a rock for my dad, Brit and I. He just quietly took care of us, making sure we ate, making us talk about our feelings, and just sitting there with us. He took care of the girls for us, letting us go take care of Zack and Renee. His unquestioning help, quiet calm talks, and strong hugs helped us all to begin to heal.

Thanks again, I must now go dose some meds out to Leah.

We love all of you, and look forward to seeing you.

J and L

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