I received the following email this morning. Brandon and Tana were in our first youth group in Buena Vista, CO several years ago. We love this family and plead for your prayers regarding this horrible time. They have two other children, Colin and Macey. Thank you my friends!
Our son and daughther, Brandon and Tana, need your prayers. They were involved in an auto accident early Monday night on I-85 about an hour north of Atlanta, Georgia. They were returning home after attending our nieces wedding in Dallas on Saturday. Tana had been one of the bridesmaids. From what one of the paramedics told us, it appears another car crossed over the center median and they collided head on. Tana was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens, Georgia. Kathie is with her there now. Brandon was air flighted to Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. That is where I am. The hospitals are about 90 miles apart.
We had spoken to them about an hour before the accident when they stopped to change drivers outside of Atlanta. Brandon was driving at the time of the wreck. Tana will recover in time. She is in alot of pain. She broke her left arm, right collar bone, ribs, collapsed a lung, some back fractures and facial fractures. She also received significant facial lacerations from the glass. The plastic surgeon says she will be fine; but, may require some additional surgery in the future.
Brandon is still unconscious and on a ventilator. To look at him, you would only see the splint on his left foot and ankle, along with a few cuts. But, the closed head injure is very serious. He has had multiple small points of bleeding and apparently one large bleed on the brain. He also aspirated at the seen of the accident which is a real concern since he is on a ventilator. I have to fight back tears every time I see him laying there. He has worked so hard to get some direction in his life with work and the rest of his life. I think the nurses and doctors are trying to prepare us for a very lengthy recovery for him. As we already know, brain injuries take a long time to heal, if at all.
Please pray for Brandon and Tana and for Kathie and I that we will have the strength to support them and manage through this time.
Dean Turner
I would like to post something here that you could send them, even if they can’t access it for a few weeks. I hope it would be the first of many.
Please know that I am praying for Brandon and Tana. I certainly pray that the Lord would put His healing hand upon them. And may He give you strength as you walk this road with them. I praise Him because Tana will make a full recovery. What a comfort. I know not what else to say, and I purport to know nothiing about the pain you are going through. Just know you have my love, my support, and my prayers as you are my brothers and sisters in Christ. May you find the light of the Lord in the situation. One thing the Lord told me earlier this year, “In the most unlikeliest of places, listen for the footsteps of the Lord, for He is near to you.” May God bless you and make His face shine upon you, and may He give you peace in this situation. Amen.
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Thanks J! I passed on the message that I blogged about it and that there were comments here.
You’re really a compassionate guy, thanks for the prayers!
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I am grateful for your kind words and I’ll take them as an indicator that there is evidence in my life that the Lord is making me into what He desires me to be. It is encouraging to me because I doubt that some days. I have had a rough run of it lately, and it is nice to know that there are parts of my life still on track.
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I’ll be praying too! I can’t imagine having 2 kids in the hospital, not to mention 90 miles apart from each other. Since the mother & father are each with one child, it must be even harder on them not having each other there to hug & comfort. I pray that they will receive the support that they all need right now!
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Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you so much for your presence in the lives of Dean and Kathie and their children. Though I’ve never met them, I know that you love them with and everlasting love and that you weep with them and ache with them. Please give Dean and Kathie and their other children comfort and peace during this time. Turn their tears to hope, their fear to wisdom and their sorrow to gladness.
For Brandon & Tana we ask that you would touch their minds, spirits and bodies. Breathe your comfort and compassion into their spirits so that they will know that they are not alone and truly loved. Touch their bodies with your healing touch, we ask, for you are the Great Physician. Please also use this situation for Your glory–show us the miracle of Your love, Your compassion and Your power. Bring beauty from these ashes, Oh Lord.
Thank You again for the opportunity to bring our requests before You, Our Wonderful Creator and Father. Thank You for Your love and for Your care for us in every detail of our lives.
I ask all this in the Name of Your Precious Son, Jesus Christ,
Amen
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I haven’t been by in a while and am so sorry to see such sad news. I am praying. God help them all and you too.
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