When your Uncle Scott was in his car accident, rather than sit and do nothing during his recovery I started to keep a record of all the things that were going on and how I felt. His journal is hand written and after more than ten years, it still needs to be typed so it can be read. The following journal will be yours so you can know what we were feeling and watching unfold. So, I'll start at the beginning...
Friday, 27 August 2010- I want to start by saying, that very night I dreamed the accident happened! I dreamed that someone ran in and said, "Trevor was hit by a car." However, it wasn't so much about the accident as it was the feelings I had of, "Do we need to postpone our mission?" I was left with the clear impression that you would be fine if we left. When I woke up to the phone ringing and having your grandpa yell, "Let's go, Trevor just got hit by a car!" I was able to move calmly and quickly. If it weren't for that calm feeling I had, I would have probably fallen to pieces. By the time I got to the corner where you cross 3500 South to go to school your grandpa was already at your side doing what he does so well; all of his combat medic training kicked in and he was assessing your injuries. You were conscious but clearly out of it. You did know who we were but you didn't know what happened. You had major lacerations about the scalp and chin and some bleeding at the mouth. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was clear that you had some other injuries as well. After they loaded you on the ambulance it was decided to airlift you to Primary Children's Medical Center because they knew traffic would make it difficult to get to the hospital with any speed. From the time you were hit to the time we saw you lift off was about 30-45 minutes. The time it took for the whole school to know about the accident was a fraction of that! As I watched kids walking by the cell phones were a buzz with text messaging and calling. The time it took to make it to Facebook was not much more than the cell phones. You would also find it a boost to your ego that many of the girls stood around the halls of Matheson JH crying for you. I understand it got so bad that they had to cancel some of the classes and have discussion groups instead. I just thought you'd want to know...
At first glance, your injuries didn't look that bad, and relatively speaking they weren't but they were painful ones. Let me first tell you how the accident happened; well anyway, what we were told happened. A car was going East on 3500 South and had pulled into the turn lane to go left. The driver stopped to let you walk across. Unfortunately, another vehicle (a delivery truck about the size of a UPS truck driving in the thru lane) didn't see you and hit you with his driver's side mirror and part of the truck. You got smacked on the side of the head by a vehicle going 35mph. We don't know if you actually flew in the air; you were only about 10-15 ft outside of the crosswalk. You have an open fracture on your right jaw; open meaning the fractured bone came though your mouth. You also have a fractured right clavicle (shoulder). A bone in your neck (the hyoid) was fractured so swallowing will be an issue. You were in a lot of pain when they moved you to the stretcher.
When we arrived at Primary Children's Medical Center emergency room we were joined by Bishop and Cathy Sayer, Chris and Emily Gould, Uncle Michael, your Grandpa and Grandma Garza and some of your dad's family. Your Aunt Jill walked in with Cami and we were surprised to see them. As it turned out, Cami had an infection in her leg so it ended up with two Zollinger's in the ER.
After they completed all the xrays and scans and determined that your brain was OK they moved you to the NTU (Neuro Trauma Unit). After they got you settled, your Grandma Mike, Uncle Scott, Chris Gould and the Bishop gave you a blessing. You were blessed to heal quickly and fully. Now it's up to you to do your part to allow the blessing to be fulfilled.
Your head laceration was stapled in the ER and you had to have about 15 staples to close it. They had a tough time getting the wound to stay closed. Later, a plastic surgeon put in six or more stitches to the chin. I wondered how your braces were doing but there didn't seem to be any obvious problem with them.
You had lots and lots of company. You had people we didn't even know come to see you. It's probably best that you were on so many pain meds that you didn't have to worry about entertaining them. You did, however, make it a point of making sure the girls were entertained. The number of girl visits to boy visits was about 9-3 in favor of the girls. You are, after all, a ladies man!
Saturday-Monday, 28-30 August 2010- The steady flow of visitors kept you pretty awake but it took it's toll on your body. Your pain level has remained pretty high and they haven't been able to put anything in your stomach to keep you fed. They finally had to insert a feeding tube (NG) through your nose but you had a problem with it. The stuff they fed you made you nauseated and you threw up the liquid and the tube. You've had some pretty rough days. On Monday they took you down to a special room with a fluoroscope to insert a new tube (NJ) in a location past the stomach into the upper part of the intestine. It gives your stomach a chance to settle down. They also give you meds to help with the nausea.
A brief pause in the story to tell you how much we missed seeing you in the audience at church Sunday for our farewell talks. We had lots of friends and family there but you being absent left a very big hole. I'm told that we did an excellent job but I can't say; I don't remember much. We have to be at the MTC on the 6th of September so we want to spend as much time as possible taking care of you.
So, where was I? Oh, yea...on Monday night it was decided that you really needed to have your hair washed because it was so matted and full of dried blood. I know you well enough to say that you probably felt really yucky. They have a special little pool they put under your head so they can keep the water from the washing away from the rest of you. You should have opted for the shower instead. When we were done with the hair I moved the blanket and lo and behold, you were laying in about an inch of water! I guess the pool will leak when the patient can't be laid flat. The funny thing is that you didn't utter a word. You just laid there totally relaxed letting us fuss over the hair. Well, Grandpa helped get you out of bed and took you into the shower so you could enjoy a really good shower. I think being cleaned up helped your disposition a lot and got you ready for the next step; fixing the jaw. Tuesday, the 31st, they will take you to surgery to put a very small plate in your jaw to fix the fracture. It will take 2-4 hours to do, so, it will be another long day. We're not worried because you received another blessing from Grandpa, Chris Gould (who has become your best adult??? friend in the whole wide world), and Jim Balif one of your teachers from Lake Ridge Elementary who also happens to be a Bishop. I know it will be OK. I want to mention also, your orthodontist came to check out the braces and found no breaks. He was really surprised at that. What was surprising to us is just before he left he said that if you ever needed a blessing he would be happy to assist. I thought to myself, "We are so lucky to live in a place where blessings are a normal occurrence but more than that, we are blessed to have the priesthood power that makes it all possible."
I've been totally blown away by the outpouring of love and support of many, MANY friends and family members. I'm especially impressed by the number of teacher's who've come to see you. You are a well loved and respected member of our community. I'm filled with a sense of peace as we prepare to depart into the mission field. I know you'll have lots of people to love and take care of you as we would if we were here.
Trevor, I know you've had it pretty rough the last few years. You've harbored feelings of anger that your life hasn't been very fair. I want you to know that you're a very blessed young man. You are surrounded by so many people who love you. You are so talented and smart. Most of all, I KNOW that YOU KNOW you have a Heavenly Father who loves you. If you would allow yourself to feel His love you would then feel the peace that comes with that love. You have the Priesthood and with that comes the power to move mountains. You have had righteous men place their hands on your head to ask that your life be returned to normal; fully and quickly!
I believe in that power and pray as you are able to ponder all that's happened you will come to more fully believe it too. I will continue to pray for a full recovery. I love you...INFINITY!
