Not The Plan...

It was late last night before my head hit the pillow. It's always a strange sensation adjusting to an empty house; even the dogs weren't entirely sure if making noise and ruckus was the way to go for the evening. They were snoozing long before I climbed into bed for the night, but it wasn't about to stay that way.

I was somewhere in a dream, when the soundtrack of my phone ringing started cutting in. I don't know much about the dream states, but I know I've been there before, doing some random dream activity, and the sound of an alarm clock or a ringtone becomes surround sound, and there I am, in a concert blend of dream and reality.

And then I woke up, to Rob's call that he'd wrecked his bike. It was 1am. I'd been asleep for probably just shy of 2 hours at that point, but I was awake in no time. In the 40 minutes that followed, I gathered what information I could from Rob and Matt on the accident, and was bags packed in my car on the way to Tennessee.

Five hours. Five hours driving, texting and calling Matt with updates. 

Rob is at Leconte Medical Center in Sevierville. Dillon was not involved in the accident and is okay.

Rob will be transferred to the trauma unit at UT Medical Center in Knoxville. 

Rob has been transferred.  Matt texts back. Jesse texts back.

Matt is meeting Courtney halfway between Kentucky & Illinois to get his trailer for the bikes. 

Rob's mom calls. His dad calls. Becky calls. Matt calls. My mom calls. Jesse calls.

Calls. Texts. Driving, driving, driving. I'm relatively good at keeping calm through things like this, and for some reason, I had a strange peace about it all even as I navigated through the mountains in the dark. I was over halfway through the trip when the sun met me to rise, and I pulled into the hospital in the golden light of early morning, into a front row parking spot of the garage just outside the main entrance.

My heart broke when I walked into his room. I've never seen him like this, even though I know he's been in situations of mishap before. I've never experienced it, not until today, and I can boldly say I am not a fan.

:( 

Now, as with every other hospital I've ever been in, when you want or need something, you've gotta speak up. It's not being rude, it's just a fact of life. You're one of many in that place, and they'll get to you quicker if you just ask. That's the part I hate, as I'm horribly nonconfrontational about these things. However after arriving in his room at 9am, the clock turned over to 1:30 pm and I decided it was time to pipe up. My requests were met with polite smiles and promises of attention which were fulfilled within the hour of my asking. I had faith in the UT Med Center staff :)

The trauma surgery team came down to do an assessment. Then the maxillofacial team came down. A doctor explained to us the extent of the damage as shown by x-ray, and their intended steps to correct and mend. He began to suture the gash in Rob's nose, while I opted to wait in the lobby.

I came back to find a semi-mended Rob. His face still held the damage, but at least now it was contained, both aesthetically and on the scale of pain. We began our discharge, and after eating some food, made the walk together out of the hospital.

look at those snazzy socks.. haha

I stopped to fill the prescriptions, then continued onward for the 45ish minute drive to the cabin the guys had rented in Gatlinburg. The prayers I said today were that of gratitude, for safety and for healing. I know the next few days aren't going to be fun, whatever they hold. We're not even sure yet.

Walking into the cabin, we met Dillon, who looked as exhausted as I felt. Within the next half hour, Matt, Courtney and Cadence arrived with the truck and trailer. We made dinner and sat down, each at the end of his and her daily energy supplies.

It certainly wasn't how I'd intended to rendezvous with these friends, but we're here together regardless, and it's a nice spot in a cloud, if that makes sense.

Tomorrow, we'll leave this cabin and decide if the next few days will be spent here in Gatlinburg, or if we'll be heading home. We'll see. We'll see.

For now, gooooood night, world.
And Lord, THANK YOU for all that You are and give to us. We are so, so undeserving of Your mercy.

Amen..

xo | cmd