Being Thankful

Late in the evening on Wednesday, November 21st, around 9:30 at night, my absolute greatest friend and her boyfriend were riding in a car with his friend driving around downtown Bellevue. The driver, Nick, is only 16, and just got his license just a few months ago, he's a very new driver. Cody and Kirstie are both 15. They were sitting in the backseat enjoying the Mcdonald's they had just picked up. They were all laughing and having a good time. Nick decided to mess around in his car, they headed up a gravel road, and were swerving around at an unsafe speed. Kirstie had gotten scared, and asked him to slow down, but Nick ignored her. They eventually went to go around a turn, but missed it. The car flipped and rolled into a ditch. None of them were wearing their seat belts unfortunately. Kirstie remembered going around the corner and then falling asleep, she woke up once to see Cody lying next to her unconscious. She fell back asleep and woke up again being strapped to a stretcher.

I got the call around 11:30 from Kirstie's sister, and I headed straight to Creighton Emergency Medical Center. When I got there, I was aware that Kirstie was ok, she was beat up and bruised terribly. We later found out she had fractured her pelvis, and has a laceration on her liver, which is just a scratch, and can recover easily. She will hopefully be released from the hospital later today. The driver was ok as well, and was released this morning with nothing but a bump on the head. Cody on the other hand got the brutal side of the crash. He suffers from a severe brain injury and is currently in induced coma. In past couple of days his swelling has gone down, but it is still very serious. He has a 60-70% chance of living, and is on life support. I also heard that he is able to hear the people around him. The doctor's are able to tell that the fluid in his brain rises every time someone he knows speaks. So it's good to hear that he is aware. He is recovering more each day. And although the percentage isn't the highest, he still has a very good chance of survival, just because of the signs. Everyone is praying for Cory's fight.

Kirstie's family was unable to have a Thanksgiving dinner the next day, but the family is doing well, knowing that she is ok and due to be out later tonight. Kirstie I believe is still unaware of Cody's condition though. We think it's best we don't tell her till we know for sure what's going on. Cody's father was with him all night, and his mother drove up from Kansas City, MO that night I believe. We all have Cody in our prayers, that he will fight and make it through the next couple of weeks, and eventually make a full recovery. It's a shame that this had to happen at all, and on Thanksgiving's eve of all nights. I'm more than thankful that my friend survived, and I know that God is there protecting all of them.

I'm going to be running back and forth from the hospital, their home, and my home for the next few days, making sure I can do anything for the family. Please keep everyone and their family in your prayers.

Cody and Kirstie

As for everyone else, I hope your Thanksgiving went wonderful! I still was able to have a good time the next day, knowing that everyone was safe as they could be. Have a good weekend! Hope everyone gets their Black Friday shopping done!! lol :)