Hello all!
This morning when I woke up I remembered the lyrics to a song I wrote years ago called "You Carry Me..." and it's never been more true than now.

You carry me
You point the way, You steady my feet
You hold my hand
You are the strength of who I am
The world down here may think I'm strong
But they're wrong...
You carry me

I have to say, first and foremost, that I am more aware of the grace and mercy and steadfastness of the Living God right now than I probably ever have been. He has been at every turn in such a supernatural way than I am just smiling! It's amazing that in the midst of such tragedy, we have such hope.

There are so many ways that I have seen God's hand moving in the midst of this, that it would be way too long to write here. But I have become more and more aware that HE CARES about EVERY detail of our life. His arm is not short. He sees us, He guards us, He holds us, He goes behind, He goes before. It's amazing. His peace is supernatural.

And I wept this morning as I was getting ready to head back to the ICU at the beauty of the Body of Christ. That old Twila Paris song.."How Beautiful" kept running through my head. The love, prayers and offers of help have poured in like rivers of living water over my soul the last 36 hours. Thousands of people are praying and I'm simply blown away with gratefulness. Thank YOU does not express how much this means, but I must begin there and I know would feel the same.

Now for the latest update...

Mark had a good day yesterday. He is still on a breathing tube and is sedated, but only just enough to keep him out of pain and stay sleepy enough to sleep and rest. Again, the breathing tube is not because he can't breathe on his own, but because of all the broken ribs. It just helps assure that he gets enough oxygen. He is responsive to every command they give him to "squeeze my hand," "wiggle your toes," "follow the pencil with your eyes." It's amazing. But of course he's totally out of it and can't talk or anything due to the tubes and all the meds he's on. The nurses keep raving at what a wonderful patient he is, how kind and sweet they can tell he is just by his responses. That's my HONEY!

Yesterday he had an echocardiogram just to check for bruising on the heart, since he had 8 cracked ribs and we're waiting for those results. They don't suspect any problems, but it's just a precaution. He has had NO internal injuries which is a MIRACLE of God after being thrown 39 feet. One of the Dr's said his injuries are more like that of a car accident rather than a motorcycle, because motorcycle accidents almost always result in head, neck, back and upper body trauma. THANK YOU, JESUS! And he had another CT scan on his knee and his ankle since they are doing surgery on those tomorrow, along with his pelvis. He was such a trooper. Obviously each time they had to move him or prop him up a bit for a test, he was in agony, but he did great.

So far, since he was admitted into the hospital, he has had 7 pints of blood. I guess with a femur break (of which he had two!) you bleed quite a bit, so this is normal. They are giving him 2 more pints today to beef him up for tomorrow's surgery. He is getting regular doses of insulin every four hours, not because he's diabetic, but because keeping the blood sugar at a healthy level speeds the healing process, which is GOOD! Obviously, he continues to be on a million other drips and drugs and I am grateful for the miracle of modern medicine!

Each morning about 9 doctors come in the room to evaluate him. Today was no different. The team at the Colorado Medical Center of the Rockies is AMAZING and kind and efficient and compassionate, for which I am extremely grateful. I've enjoyed getting to know the nurses and it's a neat opportunity to shine the light of Jesus too. They did a doppler test on his circulation in his feet and it came out great, so that is an answer to prayer BIG time, as this is always a concern. No sign of infection or anything either, so PRAISE YOU JESUS! This morning, when I said LOUDLY (and I mean LOUDLY!) "I love you, honey," he nodded his head up and down, which was so precious.

Today will be a day of maintenance and preparation for the surgery tomorrow, which will be a big, long one. The other day I think I told you that the 5 hour surgery he had Sunday when he was first admitted only took care of his two femur breaks. He will have rods in his legs forever, so he'll set off every metal detector from here to Indonesia. But tomorrow is when they will work on the worst of the injuries, those being his completely dislocated ankle (on the right) and his completely messed up knee (on the left), along with the pelvis, which did NOT sustain very much injury, thank the Lord. The surgery will last from about 10 AM to late in the afternoon, maybe longer, depending on how much work will be done. So, I covet your prayers and will try to update you as the day progresses, as well as after the surgery is complete.

On a practical note, Mark's parents are arriving from Michigan tonight and will stay with my Mom and step-Dad, so that will be great. My Mom and one of my best friends, Kris, are helping me in a tremendous way with all things practical. Those of you who know me well know that I am a bit of an organizational freak, so I have lists going on my laptop and they are helping me handle them one by one. This morning is quiet at the ICU, so I am grateful! Many have offered to help with Christian, and I'm certain we will call upon you at certain points (you know who you are!). Right now, we are trying to keep his routine going, so things aren't complete chaos in his little life. He's doing GREAT! He won't see Mark until Mark gets through his second surgery and if off the breathing tube, etc...that has been everyone's recommendation.

On a totally wacky note...I don't know if any of you watch or listen to the clean comic Brian Regan. Well, we think he is SO funny and he actually has a spoof on "femur breaks" and pain management in one of his acts. Mark and I kid about it ALL the time, so he's never gonna hear the end of this once he is in recovery. The nurses handed me the pain management scale of 1-10 and I almost started laughing! I know that's terrible, but I was actually thankful to be able to get the giggles in the midst of this. I know Mark would laugh too and is definitely at a "10" if it weren't for all the meds. Anyway...just a little side note. It's good to keep a sense of humor, I think!

I think that's it for now...my mind is kind of like mush, but I've been praying for the mind of Christ and He's been so faithful to bring things to my remembrance, as needed.

If you've read this far, THANK YOU! You must really love us. :) We love you and thank God for you. "How beautiful is the Body of Christ...."

Grace,
Shannon