The Accident

Around 8(ish) this morning, Dad was headed out to the fields.  He stopped to make a left hand turn into the field.  The pick up travelling behind him stopped as well to allow him to turn.  At this same time, two men were headed down the road and either were not able to stop for the vehicle in front of them or did not want to stop for the vehicle in front of them.  They attempted to pass the stopped vehicle and at that very moment, Dad began his left hand turn into the entrance of the field.  As they passed the stopped vehicle, they collided with Dad-broadsiding him on his driver's side. 

True to their advertising word, OnStar quickly chimed in that the vehicle had been in an accident and an air-bag deployed.  Fortunately, we had something even faster than OnStar.  It was Tommy Coleman that was in the pick-up that had stopped behind Dad.  He witnessed the entire accident and was immediately on the scene.  He was the voice on the other end of the phone that called Mom-who was at home, preparing to head to Lubbock for the Tech game. 

In the whirlwind of actions that followed, due to the extent of his injuries, Dad was airlifted to UMC in Lubbock.

"Team Darter," Cash and Dave and Gaye Bennett were at the hospital when Dad arrived around 11:30(ish) and Melanie Baumgardner safely delivered Mom a bit later.  (please forgive if we've left anyone out)

A long afternoon of  tests, scans and "wait & see" began. 

Mom is doing well.  She was surrounded today by family and many friends who made the trip to Lubbock. 

Dad is currently in the SICU (Surgical ICU) and is trying to rest as he has a long recovery road ahead.  This evening he began receiving plasma - as his spleen is lacerated.  There is a possibility of surgery to repair the spleen, but, hopefully, the plasma will be enough-and surgery will not be warranted.  We will post more on the extent of his other injuries and surgeries that will occur as they are confirmed and scheduled. 

Today, as we counted, we realized that with the recent grand entrance of baby Addison into the world, we are now 'a dozen.'  While we won't be that dozen forever, as of today we are: Dan & Janise, Carrie & Kenneth w/Kelsey & Cameron, Dana, Abbey, Caleb & Alisa with Addison, and last but certainly not least, Cash.  Therefore, we will be signing as "Dan's Dozen."

As this long day comes to a close, thank you to all of you who played a role-big or small-in today.  While we can't name you all by name at this moment, we appreciate each one of you.  Please know that we are so grateful for your thoughts and prayers today and those to come tomorrow. 

We will keep you all posted via this blog.

Until tomorrow...
Dan's Dozen