our precious Jack

Due to the sensitive nature of this post, I prefer that I could personally share with you. However, I post this text with the hopes that you will join us in praying for our precious son, Jack. He is 18 months old.

Jack was injured Monday afternoon.

His index finger and his middle finger of his left hand were caught in a sliding glass door. His fingers were caught at the bottom of the nail beds and were left hanging on by nearly nothing. We were able to get him into a hand specialist in Fort Collins that night. Even with 25 years of hand surgery experience, the doctor prayed with us before surgery. Erik and I were greatly comforted.

Confirming his easy-going character, Jack's only complaint after the initial accident was just for food and water, which he was unable to have until after his surgery. We returned home early Tuesday morning where the girls were sleeping, being listened out for by our friend Patti Weissman. Erik and I are grateful to our community at Ravencrest, who readily and willingly looked after our girls so that we could focus on Jack.

Even though his fingers were crushed, Jack's wonderful personality has not been. He is taking over-the-counter meds for pain, eating and sleeping normally, and remarkably he is smiling and laughing and playing as usual. Even with his hand bound and in a sling, Jack is not complaining, but resilient and adaptable. We are amazed at his attitude as he recovers. I admire our son!

We do have to keep a close eye on Jack throughout the day. Although Jack is willing to carry on as usual, he is literally "armed" with only the aid of one arm instead of two to protect him in the event that he takes a tumble.

We are taking one day at a time. Erik has been taking the mornings off to support me with Jack and the girls. The girls have been spending the afternoons with the Carpenter family and find it quite fun! I am able to focus on caring for Jack.

As a mom, I was able to stay focused on Jack leading up to surgery on Monday, but Tuesday and after have been much more emotional for me as the imagery from the accident keeps coming back. I was holding Jack when the accident happened. I wonder if I will ever forget. I know other moms have experienced suffering of their children at different levels, but for me, I have never been through something like this. The hardest times for me are in the quiet moments after the kids are asleep or when I wake in the middle of the night. I am so grateful for Erik, my husband who knows the Lord and encourages me in His truth, when my mind goes down the dark roads leading to the "if-onlys" and guilt and pain. In the night, I usually find Erik's arm and hold on tight, keeping a song about our Lord in the front of my mind until I fall asleep again.

We have a doctor's appointment on Friday, which will determine if the finger tips "take", or if we need to have the "shortened".

The prayer is that God will "re-knit" his fingers back together, as He already so beautifully did to begin with. We trust that whatever the outcome with Jack's fingers, Jack will find that God will provide what he needs... that he will find God is "sufficient" for him in the days ahead... interestingly, Jack's middle name is "Day" which means God is "Sufficient."

Through this tragedy, we are grateful for God's kindness; the outcome of either the accident and the recovery could have been much different.

We are grateful, as well, for the practical support of our dear community here at Ravencrest, and for the prayer support from our friends and family. Thank you for taking our family and especially our little boy Jack before His throne.

Love,

Sarah