ICU

July 21^st…

My nephew, Dan, has provided the way for me to go to see Josh. Along with Dan, and my oldest son, Jimi, I leave Ft Myers RSW at 7 pm. and arrive Charlotte, NC approx 9 pm. A late departure for Pittsburgh now, our 11:30pm arrival is actually a 12:30 am arrival. Jeannette, Halley and a sound asleep in the front seat Justice, AKA Buddy, pick us up and we go back to the house. An early morning visit to the hospital on Thursday will give me some answers the distance did not provide. Talking in the kitchen until 3 am settles nerves, and allows for some venting, laughing, and determination to get Josh on his feet again.

July 22^nd early morning…

ICU waiting room. The faces tell the stories, minus the details. Each one is there for a traumatic reason. An emergency brought them together. No one else’s situation is more tragic than their own. Waiting while Jeannette and Halley go in to see Josh first, gives me time to try to prepare my reaction to what I am about to see in Josh’s face, and body. Jimi, Dan, and I are silent and in our own thoughts. I gaze around the room in mindless thoughts. Pillows, blankets, books, half empty water bottles, a box of baked goods, half empty, a phone on the desk ringing, a woman grabs it, and nods over her shoulder to a waiting man, and they go through the door where someone on the other side of it buzzes them through. This morning’s coffee has me edgy, and wide-eyed. My conversation with God is pleading, grateful, and apologetic. Is this the same thing He hears from everyone in here?

He is sleeping… or sedated enough to seem to be sleeping. The breathing tube holds his mouth in the open position, and his lips are dry. The head stabilizing brace, at first frightens me, but I soon realize it keeps Josh from injuring himself more. The small scrape on the center of his forehead right at his hairline is scabbed, and has an ointment glistening from it. No swelling in his handsome face, and no bruising either. “God, You held his head in Your hands as his body met the pavement, then encircled him with Your arms as the vehicle drove over him. You are merciful. Thank You.” This was a silent dialogue that would continue for me for days to come. I heard His comfort in a way which is difficult to describe or explain. The scraped and swollen right leg and foot were uncovered, and drove home the extent of God’s mercy, on the rest of Josh’s body.