Did you get the chance to watch the last episode of Extreme Home Makeover the other night on ABC?? If you did not, I would encourage you to look it on the web somewhere. It was absolutely AMAZING! For those that don't know, the episode did 7 houses in 7 days in Joplin MO!! (Joplin is the town where that horrifying tornado blew through and flattened the whole town basically. The biggest tornado there is on the scale.)
I have a friend who goes to school in Joplin. She is majoring in education, just like I am. I met her through my cousin. We share the same cousin but we are not related. Well, not through blood or marriage anyway. If you ask us though, we are unbiological twins ;) As we've gotten to know each other this past year or two especially, we've come to find out we're a lot a like.
If you saw Deidre on the street you would think she was a normal college girl living and loving life. I'm here to tell you she is so much more than that. She is an angel and the LORD has such a big and beautiful plan for this girl. She has been through more than I could even imagine being through my whole life and she's only in her early 20's!!! She probably has been through more than I know but let me tell you about the two biggest life changing events in her life (that I know of).
Thursday May 24, 2007
At the age of 17 Deidre was hanging out with a friend on a typical Summer day. They were driving down the highway headed to pick up her friend's brother. Deidre got into the loose gravel on the side of the road and overcorrected trying to control the car. This sent the car rolling 3-5 times. Her head, outside the drivers side window, hitting the pavement each time. (Can you even imagine???) After sliding even further down the road the car came to a stop on it's hood. Deidre was trapped inside her car for 40 minutes or more unconscious. Her friend walked away with a few scrapes and bruises. Deidra was put on a stretcher in the bed of a truck where they hauled her to the top of the hill where a helicoptor was landing to rush her to a hospital.
At the hospital
Deidre spent 6 or 7 hours in a room where teams of 20 or more doctors put stitches in. They lost count after 250 stitches. She spent 3 days in the hospital. This whole tragedy is horrible enough but theres more. Deidre could not have her mom beside her holding her hand until Saturday. (Remember the wreck was on Thursday.) Her mom had gone to Guatemala the day before her wreck for missionary work and she was not able to get a flight back until Saturday. Deidre broke her eye socket and her nose.
Deidra was not able to attend our cousin Luke's graduation (which is where I first heard about her accident).When I was talking to my aunt at my cousins graduation party about Deidre's wreck. My aunt said if you saw her you would not have recognized her. She said on the back of her head you could literally lift her skin. Deidre still to this day has several pieces of glass and asphalt in her face and head. I can not imagine the pain Deidre went through. Also, I can't even begin to imagine the pain her mom went through not being able to be there with her daughter.
May 22, 2010 (almost exactly 3 years to the day later)
Three quarter mile wide tornado blew through Joplin. Single deadliest tornado in more than half a century. A warning sounded 24 minutes before the tornado actually hit. The damage is unreal. Two blocks down from where the edge of the tornado hit is where Deidres apartment stands. TWO BLOCKS!! Deidre had the opportunity to help Extreme Home Makeover with the houses which is so cool!
So, how is this girl still here today? Living life to the fullest, like any other college girl? She is an angel sent from the heaven above and the LORD has a plan for her. I can't wait to see what all this girl has set for her future. For God to protect her the way he has, it's got to be big.
This blog is getting very lengthy but I think it's a miracle. I believe in miracles, I've seen them many time in my life from people that mean very much to me. My cousin with INAD (very rare genetic disease) is still here with us today, he will be 10 this year! (He is one of these miracles, you can view his story on http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jaredose/mystory)
I've been going to Adam's church when we go to his house. It's a Catholic church, I am Bapitist so I don't participate in Communion. The Catholic church is very different than what I'm used to. This is an issue we struggle with. In our future, what will happen if one of us is Catholic and one of us is Baptist. What church will we go to? Where would our children go to? I came accross this video and I thought it was very interesting, it makes you think a little....
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