How AWESOME is this picture?!
My dad has one serious guardian angel. There is a serious purpose for him here on this earth. In May my dad was driving back to Pocatello from their house in Cascade very early in the morning. He was about 30 miles from home and fell asleep at the wheel. He woke up a split second before he hit the guard rail. He went off the road at one of those big concrete embankments that are under bridges, with the big concrete pillars holding them up. His BIG TRUCK jumped the guardrail, went in between the first 2 pillars, went up the embankment and came back down the other side, driving out in between the last 2 pillars. It is nothing short of miraculous that he survived that accident, let alone in one piece with only bumps and bruises to show. Had he gone off the road at any other place, at the speed he was going, his truck would've flipped who knows how many times, or he would've hit one of the concrete pillars head on. There was a car behind him who saw all of this happen. They stopped to help and were simply astounded that my dad got out and was walking around after the accident happened. My dad said that when he woke up the split second before his car went off the road the thought, "Well, I'm a goner" (YIKES!!!).
On Saturday my mom frantically called me at about 9:30 pm telling me that she was at the ER with my dad, that he had cut 2 of his fingers on his table saw when he was working in his wood shop. She asked me to call all my brothers and sisters and ask them to start praying for him. That was pretty much all I got out of her at the time. My dad is a podiatrist and a big part of his practice includes foot surgery. He is right handed and had cut his right hand. His fingers were not cut completely off, luckily. They ended up life flighting him to Salt Lake because there were no hand surgeons to be found in Pocatello. The doctor at the University of Utah hospital advised him to just cut his pointer finger off at the middle joint, because he was missing some bone and part of the joint and his top joint would likely never work again, his middle joint would be very unstable. My mom and dad decided to keep his finger, despite the doctor's pessimism because, as my mom put it, "there are factors in play that this doctor just doesn't understand". (Remember the guardian angel, remember his great purpose on this earth?) If anyone can prove that doctor wrong it is my dad. Anyway, they released him on Sunday after the surgery and my parents decided to still go on their trip they had planned for this week, what a trooper! (Just a conference, they guy has to get his continuing education credits-hand surgery or no.)
Things like this have happened to my dad his whole life. It has not always been quite so dramatic. But sometimes it has. When he was a child he was hit in the eye during a good old dirt clod fight. His vision was permanently damaged and he is basically blind in that eye. He overcame this obstacle to become a surgeon. There was also the time when he fell into a big bale of hay and would've died if my grandpa hadn't miraculously found him and pulled him out. There was a time when he was on his LDS mission in Korea, when he was almost hit by a stray bullet on a bus. Like I said, things like this have happened to him his whole life-you get the gist.
I sincerely believe he is being watched over and his work here is not done. I am pretty sure that he believes this, too. My dad has more integrity than anyone I know-okay, my mom and dad tie for this position :). He strives everyday to emulate Jesus Christ. I feel so privileged to have him for my dad. He lives his life in a way that makes him worthy of these guardian angels.
10 comments:
I too, stand all amazed. It is just incredible... also need of mention- this hand (and those fingers) are that of a surgeon and therefore very important. There ARE many factors and the guardian angels are all but visible in the life of your amazing dad. He is my hero (but shhh, don't tell).
Wow Becky! I hope he heals properly and all is well. He is one heck of a man and father. Glad I can say I know him. This is kinda off subject but I'll never forget when Les, Kristi and I were driving back from Sun Valley with your dad in your little black and red truck(do you remember that great vehicle?)and he got pulled over for speeding right before the Poc. Creek exit and then just as we exited to go to your house he got pulled over again! I honestly can't remember if he got tickets but he was not happy! Kristi and I were dying in the back seat trying not to bust out laughing.
Good times!
Might I also add, he's not currently at his continuing education conference. He's visiting his daughter and son-in-law, Leslie and Alex. In Miami!! The conference in DC isn't even until leg 2 of the trip! This part is just for fun!
I believe he's being watched over, too. I first learned of that car accident because someone asked me about it on facebook. As freaked out as I was by that, I was never really worried because he just always seems to be taken care of. He definitely keeps that guardian angel on its toes.
Wow he has been watch over. Hope you don't mind me looking up your blog. Naomi saying mamma is just so cute!
Danielle
Becky! Thank you for commenting on my blog. I know we would be real-life friends because I, too, love Capture the Castle. It was even my pick for our bookclub a few years' back.
Glad your dad is ok. My dad had his own brush with danger recently and it is no small thing praying about the first man in your life!
Wow Becky that is crazy. I am so glad he has a host of angels watching over him. I love and admire your family so much. I think of your parents often and their words of wisdom and examples. I talk to Jez all the time about how I want to be like them. :)
I thought of the same incident, Molly!
I am glad he is alright, Bec. Yes, you are lucky to have such an amazing dad. He and your mom are special people. I love how absolutely, genuinely, friendly, nice, and caring they are.
Molly and Kristi, I remember that day I was stopped twice for speeding within a five mile stretch. That was the worse day of my life. I think it was when I was bishop, and I was trying to hurry to an appointment at the church. Just goes to show you that no good deed goes unpunished. The consolation was that the second cop took pity on me when he saw the first ticket on my dash board, and let me off with a warning.
That other car accident story gets better every time I hear it. Thanks for the embellishment Becky. Now, let me add my own.
Actually, the witnesses told me that going 75 mph, my truck "skated" along the guard rail(imagine what that did to the undercarriage,) straight at the the row of 18 inch concrete pillars (impact with which would have been the end,) until at the last possible split second, it jumped over, and behind the rail(ripping both driver's side tires,) and was airborne until it landed on the 45 degree concrete embankment under the bridge, where it then did an Indy 500 bank turn back down into the gravel below and then barely missed the last pillar as it went back out onto the open freeway pavement, where, after a couple of swerves, I was able to bring it to a stop on the shoulder, still upright.
As I sat there, my only apparent injury being forearm burns from the airbag explosion, I thought through it and realized that what just happened was IMPOSSIBLE! I cannot attest to seeing any of that, because the airbag had been in my face since the guard rail impact, but I did feel it all happen. What a ride! I really had not had time to experience fear, regret, or whatever, as the whole thing took no more than 5 seconds. I didn't even have time to pray. However, prior to initial impact, when I awoke and saw the fast-approaching pillars, and realized that I had no power at that point to change anything, I remember thinking within a split second, "well, maybe this is it," and then I relaxed into it, knowing I had zero control, and that my fate was in the hands of the Lord. I surrendered my fate to Him, and somehow, I was thereby not afraid to go. That was an interesting feeling I had never experienced before. In the same split second, I also knew that everything and everyone I thought I would be leaving behind would be taken care of in eternity. What pure comfort that was. It was really a spiritual experience. If I had had more time to contemplate it all, I'm sure I would have conjured some mortal fear or regrets, but as it was, I was blessed to avoid such things.
Yet, after all that, I did experience relief as I realized that I had been protected and would be able to go on with my earth life for the time being, taking care of the things and relationships I am concerned with.
I didn't know by what force I had been protected, but I sensed that it had been by the action of guardian angels, perhaps my own deceased parents. A couple of months later, Debby and I were spending time with another couple, the wife of which has had multiple experiences with visitations from mainly her own deceased ancestors who contact her telepathically (she doesn't physically see them, but she senses their presence and their conversation with her,)to have her deliver some vital message to family members. I hesitated telling about this because some may scoff, but I really believe such people to exist who have that spiritual gift of discernment of spirits, to allow some degree of familial communication between mortals and the Spirit World.
(Since your blog will not accept long comments, this will be continued on the next comment.)
Anyway, as we were socializing, this friend suddenly developed an unquestionable countenance change (trembling, emotional tearing,) as she advised us that they were here, my parents were in the room to deliver a message to me. A half hour conversation ensued with her telling me some important direction they wanted to give me, and my asking questions and having them answered through her. Among my questions was whether they had a hand in my being preserved from injury/death in the earlier accident. The answer came from my mother, with a "chuckle", "Of course." Then, as we friends queried about this among ourselves, they were silently gone, just as they had come. Make of this what you will, but having been there, I choose to believe it was true.
Regarding the accident, I don't know why I was preserved, nor what work I have yet to do on earth, but
I am convinced that the longer you all live on this earth, the more such experiences you will have with near-miraculous preservation. We may not even realize some of the instances.
Having experienced this most recent one, I did a little research and found some quotes that may shed some light. First, from initiatory portion of our endowment, we know that if we remain faithful, our lives will be protected until our work here has been completed.
Though it is true that individuals may hasten their death and thus shorten their day of probation, for the faithful there is nothing untimely about death. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "May I say for the consolation of those who mourn, and for the comfort and guidance of all of us, that no righteous man is ever taken before his time.”
The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “With respect to the deaths in Zion, we feel to mourn with those that mourn, but remember that the God of all the earth will do right.”
And, in the Doctrine and Covenants 122:9, the prophet Joseph Smith is told, "Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."
As for the hand injury, I did a stupid thing that caused that, and perhaps the injury was deserved, or at least it was the natural consequence. But I am fully grateful that my fingers were not severed, and I feel protected for that. I am recovering quickly, and my hand surgeon tells me that he even has a way to transplant nerves to resolve some of the likely numbness. As you can see, I am capable of typing, extensively. Also, counting the seminar I went to last week I have not missed any work. With the help of my capable partner, I even did surgery (4 cases) today - definitely a blessing that I have been able to maintain in that way.
Thank you for all your prayers to that end. I know these principles are true.
Dad
I must also say that my loyal marriage partner has been indispensable, tying my shoes and my ties, buttoning my pants, driving me around, washing/drying my hair, etc, etc, and the whole time, helping me keep my dignity by loving me unconditionally, even at times when I know she is not feeling well either.
For better, or for worse, she is there for eternity, and I am one lucky, grateful man.
Dad
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