Update on Audrey

Dear Family and Friends,

I finally got internet access this morning and wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and prayers.

In case you haven’t heard many details, our daughter Audrey had an accident when we were playing at a friend’s home Tuesday morning. She fell from a second-story window about 12 feet onto a cement driveway. From what we could tell, she landed on her right side and hit her head hard, which resulted in a large bump above her right eye and some scrapes and bruises on her right elbow and fingers. She was conscious when we found her, just a minute after we heard her scream, and as far as I know, she didn’t ever lose consciousness. In the past I've joked about Audrey someday being our "sky-diving bungee jumper", but I never dreamed she'd start so soon--and without a parachute!

She sustained a small fracture in the skull above her right eye (which had only the tiniest amount of internal bleeding) and a contusion (rather than a laceration, as originally thought) to her liver, for which the internal bleeding has seemed to be well contained. The EMTs took us to the ER at KVCH in Ellensburg, and within a couple hours we were transferred by ambulance to Harborview in Seattle . The team of neurosurgeons who have consulted on her head injury have expressed the opinion that it should heal quickly and leave no permanent damage at all. The surgeons who are monitoring the condition of her liver are saying that she is progressing steadily and they are hopeful she will not require surgery but are being very cautious to watch her hematocrit (liver enzyme) levels for signs of any additional internal bleeding. I think I can speak for Jim, too, when I say we are just so grateful that her injuries weren’t any worse.

Audrey seems to be recovering extremely well; she’s been very brave, resilient and easygoing, considering how overwhelming this experience must be for her. Yesterday I could see progress on almost an hourly basis, from the time she woke me up when I overheard her chatting up the nurse. She spent the day reading stories, looking at books, remarking on what she saw out the window, and enjoying our visitors.

We are still at Harborview Hospital in Seattle, and based on what the surgeons told me this morning, I anticipate we will be here again tonight and probably going home tomorrow. We’ve had the best care possible from all the medical professionals who have helped Audrey: EMTs, nurses, doctors, and other hospital staff have without fail been skilled and compassionate, and we are so grateful for everything they’ve done.

Again, thank you for your outpouring of love and support. Our family has felt the calming and healing influence of the prayers on our behalf, lifting and strengthening us, even though many of you are far away. We are so grateful for each of you!

Love,
Jim, Katie, Jimmy and Audrey