Daniel Jepsen

Rachel is getting better slowly. She continues to have a wonderful attitude, and I am very proud of her.

The doc says she will need to miss the first four weeks of school. Ugh.

I am humbled and thankful for the support the church has offered this week in light of Rachel’s accident.  Below you will see the ramp several men made yesterday to ease her entry into the house.  We have also been given a recliner to use, and several meals.  We love you guys!

Those of you who know my family may be interested in the following.

Rachel suffered a freak tubing accident last Thursday night.  She was serving as a camp counselor at Camp Beechpoint in Michigan, a christian camp that mainly ministers to inner city kids.  During some free time, the leaders took several of the counselors out on the lake tubing, with two tubes behind the boat.  During a pretty good wipeout, Rachel found herself upside down (mostly) in the water, as the other tube (with passengers) slammed into the bottom of her foot.  Apparently the angle was just right (or just wrong), and her left leg got rammed into her body, breaking the femur in several spots. 

Friday she had surgery to re-construct the bone.  The doctor described it as “like an accordian”.  He was able to stretch it out into its full position, then attach it with screws to a titanium rod than runs along the bone.  He said the procedure went well with no complications.  He said she did lose a lot of blood, but not enough to need a transfusion.

In the short term, she has been in a lot of pain, and this is magnified when she moves, of course.  She should be released from the hospital today (Monday).  The doctor suggested we wait a couple days before bringing her back to Indiana, so she and Amy will probrably come back Wednesday.  She is not to put any weight on it for three months (the bone pieces would snap back out of place, since they are only held in place by the screws at this point).  We are re-arrainging our house a bit to make so she does not have to handle any stairs.  She will miss at least the first few weeks of school.  And, of course, her Senior season of soccer is down the tubes.  Long term, the bone should make a full recovery in 6-12 months, though sometimes this type of break can affect your gait (the doc said he didn’t think it would for her). Interestingly, she will not wear a cast of any kind (I think because it is too close to her hip).

Let me offer a few things we are thankful for, and a few things you can pray for.

First, several providential things ensured that this problem was not worse.  Chief among these was that the normal lifeguard (a smallish 17 year old girl) was not on the boat, being replaced by Daniel, an older lifeguard.  Since Rachel could not really move in the water, the extra strength of Daniel was crucial to helping her to the boat (and land).  I think Rachel said that this was the first time Daniel had been the lifeguard in the boat for her all summer.

Second, we are thankful for the wonderful support of our church family.  We are simply overwhelmed with thankfulness that we should be blessed so richly in this way.  The number of people who have offered different kinds of help has been amazing.  We even had a couple people planning on re-doing our deck to make a new, wider set of steps (which got changed into a different project since we have a different door at ground level).

Lastly, I am most thankful to God that Rachel has had an AMAZING attitude, even in her pain.  She has not given into self-pity or anger, but has been gracious and kind in the midst of this.  I knew she had grown spiritually this last year, but this was the true fruit.

For prayers, could I suggest the following? First, that Rachel continues to heal well, and finds the pain subsiding.  Second, that there would be no long term problems.  And most importantly, that this becomes something that God uses to solidify her faith in Him, and strengthen her to serve Him.

Thanks

Daniel