Emotional Roller Coaster

I haven't posted in awhile because Brad and I have been dealing with a tragedy our best friends experienced on October 7. Until now, I haven't been able to decide if it's appropriate for me to share their tragedy or even how to write about it. Thankfully, things are looking up and I feel ready to share what happened.

On October 7, our friend Lindsay, expecting twins in November, was t-boned by an ambulance as she left the mall. Her car was so badly damaged, they had to use the jaws of life to get her out. Despite a broken collar bone, broken left shoulder blade, broken ribs on both sides and a broken pelvis, she is doing well. As a precaution, the doctors delivered her boys, five weeks before they were scheduled to arrive. Lucas weighed 4 lbs. 11 oz. and Lane weighed 4 lbs. 8 oz. Lane is doing really well and is not having any major problems despite being born early. Lucas though, was on Lindsay's left side and absorbed most of the impact. When he was born, Lucas was not breathing and doctors found three fractures in his skull along with bleeding in his brain they could not stop, causing his brain to swell. On October 14, he was removed from life support and passed away a few hours later. Lindsay is now in a hospital separate from Lane where she is undergoing two weeks of intensive physical and occupational therapy. It will likely be months before she is able to walk again and until then will rely on a wheelchair and walker to get around.

I learned of the accident as I left my yoga class the evening of the 7th. I had two missed calls from Brad and a text that said to call him as soon as possible. My initial reaction was that something had happened to Lindsay and Eric's dog Layla. Layla was diagnosed with cancer in early spring, underwent chemo and was doing well up until about three weeks ago. Her vet optimistically gave her one month to live but said realistically she had about one week. Of course my phone call to Brad yielded a much different scenario. At that point all he knew was that Lindsay had been in an accident and that as a precaution they were delivering the babies. 

The next morning, before I was awake, Eric called Brad to give him the news that Lucas was unlikely to survive. When I woke up, Brad gave me the news and we decided to drive to the hospital, not only to provide Eric and his and Lindsay's family support, but to help take care of Layla. We didn't tell Eric we were coming but needless to say, when he saw us, he was glad we were there. As you can imagine, the weekend was long and emotional, and we spent a good deal of timing waiting; waiting for news about Lucas and Lane, waiting for news about Lindsay and the surgery to reconstruct her pelvis, just waiting.

My friend Andrea and I were supposed to throw a couple's shower for Lindsay and Eric that weekend and Lindsay, in her groggy, pain-med induced state, happily stated that we could have the shower later, when her and the boys were home. Everyone at work knew I was throwing the shower so when I returned to work on Monday, everyone was excited to know how it went. It was really painful to have to tell them what had happened, and especially the news about Lucas. I didn't realize how much emotional weight I was carrying on my shoulders from the weekend. When I got home from work I was exhausted and after waking up from a nap, I could not stop crying. It was especially difficult because Brad was in Las Vegas for work and there's only so much a dog can do to help you feel better.

Things got better as the week progressed but Thursday was very difficult as it was the day Lucas passed. Eric asked Brad to be both of the boys' God Father which was quite an honor for Brad; I almost cried when he told me. The following Saturday, October 16, Brad and I decided to go back to Northern Virginia. Lindsay and Eric both talked openly about  Lucas' death, their immediate and long-term plans for the future and how they were feeling. Lindsay, although still in significant pain, is doing really well. She is able to move herself from her bed, to her wheelchair and back. Although she despises being so far away from Lane, he is motivation for her to work hard in her therapy sessions. Eric has been bonding with Lane by feeding, holding and changing him and taking lots of pictures for Lindsay. It was nice to see both of them in such good spirits and it helped bring me peace, knowing that they're going to be okay.

As Lindsay and Eric continue to heal, more details are emerging about the accident. Lindsay was hit by a Patient Transport Ambulance which had just dropped off a patient and was heading to another call. A witness has come forward to confirm that Lindsay had the green light and police are now looking for a witness to clarify whether or not the ambulance's light was red or to provide any details about what happened on the ambulance's side of the road. As far as I know, charges will be placed against the ambulance driver.

Tomorrow it will be two weeks since the accident happened and a week since Lucas passed away. Even after seeing Lindsay in the hospital and seeing pictures of both Lucas and Lane, it still doesn't seem real. All of this has really made me reconsider the things I gripe about and get angry over. I'm trying to be more patient, to not take things for granted and to consider what really matters in life. I want to learn from Lindsay and Eric who have proven their love for each other and the strength of their relationship, and I want to spoil Lane to bits and pieces.

Love life

I'm sorry for three posts in a row, I'm just blog happy today and keep finding awesome things like this picture/quote from my girls at Two Hippie Chic. Thanks ladies!

A Whole Buncha Stuff

Richmond had another Heatpocalypse this weekend with temperatures reaching a record-setting 105 degrees both days. Up until this point the heat really hasn't bothered me but over the last few days the combination of high heat and humidity coupled with the ridiculously high pollen count has made breathing somewhat cumbersome. I can't breathe that well out of my nose because it's stuffy and I get winded when I breathe through my mouth. Thank you global warming, allergies and asthma.

On Saturday, the Turpins returned from their annual vacation at Holden Beach. I don't think I've talked about them much here yet but they are the couple we do everything with. Tailgate at football games, go to wine-tasting events with, go on vacation with, etc. However, things are changing a bit because Lindsay is pregnant with twin boys! She's six months along and looks absolutely incredible, especially considering she's carrying two babies. Anyway, we've been watching their fur-baby Layla for the past week. She's great and her and Delilah get along really well. Although I have to admit, even though I don't think Delilah minded having Layla around, I can tell she's really glad she doesn't have to compete for our attention anymore. One of our favorite things to do when the Turpins come into town is to go to 3 Monkeys. Not only do they have a fabulous drink menu, their food is delicious, particularly their three cheese grilled cheese. Yum! It comes with bacon and tomato and I always ask for no bacon and Lindsay always asks for no tomato. After dinner the boys wanted to run to the ABC store to get some Wild Turkey American Honey (nice name, eh?!). I really do not enjoy bourbon, whiskey and the like, but I actually didn't mind the taste of American Honey. At first it tastes like bourbon, YUCK, but the after taste is cinnamon and honey and absolutely delicious.

On Sunday I was crazy enough to go to the pool with the lovely Jenny Banner and it was surprisingly very relaxing. Of the 3 hours we spent there, I think we were in the pool about 2.5 hours, it was just too hot to really lay out and relax. Also, can I talk about the fratastic party that was started while we were there? It was like all of a sudden all of these fratty looking guys showed up with burgers, guacamole and drinks and basically took over the pool Apparently they're all employed by Vector home security systems for the summer and the company rented out a bunch of the apartments (oh ahem, excuse me, flats) at West Broad Village for them to live. This of course is all according to the lifeguard, Blair, who would prefer to have a real job at a bank but he just moved back into town from Chicago where he spent the past three years. Also, can I just say that I find it incredibly inappropriate to wear a thong/boy bottom-type bikini bottom to a public pool? I'm glad you think you look hot and maybe you like being stared at by creepy old men and frat boys but really, please keep that sexy bathing suit for when you're at home.

Anyway, in more exciting news, when Jenny and I got back from the pool we learned that our girl Cax, one of the hippies from Two Hippie Chic, is engaged! Her and her boyfriend, well I guess now fiance, went to Jackson Hole this weekend where he proposed at their campsite. Check out her blog post, it's really cute and he did a great job with the ring!

That's all for now. I have a busy work week ahead of me. My mantra for getting me through this week is "9 work days until vacation." I can't wait!