Wednesday, July 29, 2009





















Josh was shaking and a little sick. I was just devastated at how bad it was. The details from here on are a little fuzzy to me as I have tried hard to forget about it. Dr. Barnett looked at his hand and determined that he would need a lot of therapy to get it going again. He sent us to the other end of the hospital to start therapy right away. Mind you, that this was all taking place at the Mckaydee hospital in Ogden and we lived over in Cache valley, so this required a lot of driving every other day.




Down in the therapy room they began gently moving his hand and Just taping over the wounds that were still gaping open. This went on for about a month with therapy at Mckaydee. They did several stretches that were very painful, and different tests to determine how much feeling he had. Josh had to wear a splint that covered his hand and fingers for a very long time.




After a while Dr. Barnett discovered that the tendon in his thumb had not been properly attached and was barely hanging on. Josh went through another surgery. This time he knew for sure that the tendon was attached, but that he would have to be very careful in therapy to not break it. After the second surgery they placed a drain that ran, just under the skin, all the way through his palm and coming out in the bend between his thumb and index finger. it healed up nicely, except for a small pocket of infection that we discovered after all the old dead skin peeled off. It was about the size of a pencil eraser and was right in the bend between the thumb and index finger where they had pulled the drain out. it was after that time that we were able to switch to another therapist over in Logan which was much closer to our home.




It was 13 months of time before Josh would make it back to work for good. During this time he had 2 more surgeries in Salt lake with Dr. Raemisch. He had to try to repair the atrophied (dead) muscle in his hand and when that didn't work, he used a method of transferring a tendon from the back of his hand to his thumb. Josh's brain would have to retrain itself on what finger he was moving because it was used to moving another finger. This surgery was successful and after 4 surgeries he would be done.




We struggled financially while Josh was out of work, even though Met Life took care of his pay checks, because we were paying hundreds of dollars in gas and prescriptions every week and The Dr. bills were piling up. We did everything we could to pay for things, but there were so many extra things we had to pay for that we could not keep up. We even tried to figure out if it would be possible for me to get a job, but it was out of the question. I had 3 kids I was caring for and Josh who needed constant care and help with everything from showering, and buttoning his shirts to tying his shoes, and cutting his food. They needed me at home. So we went to the bishop. It is a hard thing to swallow your pride and ask for help, but I will tell you that our family had learned a lot from this. The Lord has set up an amazing system to care for those in need, and it is truly inspired. It is such a perfect system and WE are truly grateful for it!!




We were so blessed during this time. not only did the church provide our groceries and sisters from the ward bring us dinner, but we had an amazing family who was taking care of us and helping us through it all!! I remember specifically certain things that they did for us... Josh's family dropped a huge tote at our door, around Christmas time, full of games, paper goods, and pajamas for the kids, along with several envelopes full of money for dates and coupons for family night activities and many other nice things. My mom always gave me all the Avon I ordered for free and fed us dinner several times, and my sister sent us home with several bags of groceries many times. I am so thankful for wonderful Loving families and for Our Heavenly Father who Loves us so very much!!!




Here we are 2 years later, and one more kid ( who, by the way, was due on July 29th 2008, but was born on the 25th). We Live in a nice home, and have a beautiful family and everything that we need! Even though Josh was warned to not sit on the swing that day... I believe that everything happens for a reason, and weather we know what that is at the time or not... we still have our free agency. keep in mind that Heavenly Father knows us, and what we will do. He also knows what we need, and what we can handle! He is always there even when we feel all alone and are in the depths of despair wondering why.




It is funny how such a strange accident has changed our lives in so many ways! So many ways for the better! I think that it brought us closer together in our marriage and helped our testimonies to grow immensely!!! Although Josh's hand is not quite the same, and it still hurts at times he still plugs away and hardly complains. He has become a more compassionate and empathetic person because of it! i am so thankful for the growing experience that this has been for our family!!


Down below are all the rest of the pictures of Josh's hand.



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