Update 11/17

My dear friends,

Praise be to the One and Only God, He who parted the Red Sea and is good, merciful and kind. I am writing from Hannah's room. She is sleepy today, partly because she had surgery on her orbital bone yesterday and the anesthesia takes time to get out of the system. Also, recovery from a brain injury is tiring. Tomorrow (Wednesday), she will be transferred to Sunnyview as a patient in their brain injury recovery program. Your prayers have been strong toward heaven, and He has delivered us from death and will continue to deliver us from calamity. Please don't let up! We have a long way to go but in the end many will see and know the power and especially the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Please pray for Hannah to have a thorough recovery and to be able to return to school to resume her studies. It seems like such a long range goal, but I've seen the power of prayer, and I'm walking this highway with the best people on the planet.

Stephen is in surgery. Dr. Bagchi is a wonderful surgeon and a kind and humble man. He will be attempting to repair Stephen's shattered femur and possibly the tibia on his right leg today. He will also try to clean up a small area on the left tibia and possibly do a skin graft. If Steve can tolerate it, he will work on closing the wound on his elbow which was operated on last week. Yesterday I had one of the best moments in my life in the worst week of my life when my best fri.end opened his eyes and talked to me. I had missed him so! And I was filled with hope to see him smile. He doesn't remember the accident. When I told him he was in a car crash he said "I'm sorry". I immediately told him it wasn't his fault, and showed him pictures of his kids. He looked relieved and happy. He's a bit loopy (fentanyl at the levels he's getting will do that), but he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen despite his broken body.

My heart is filled with gratitude to all of you. Your love has carried me through. If I named you all by name, I suppose the list would go from here to Texas. I have seen God with skin on for the last 10 days, and I will never be the same. There's much more to tell, but I'm bone tired, and I'll be sure to write again soon.

As always, your friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann