The Accident

On June 9th, 2000, Jill was involved in a serious auto accident and we were reminded of many things - the fragility of life and the blessings of God.  Here is her story as well as links to the three emails Phil sent out informing everyone of things as they progressed.  There is also a photo gallery.

To the right is Lydia the day after.  Her Mom was still in the hospital, so Dad was working to keep her spirits up.  Her eye was swollen shut and the hat protected her stitches.  To the right is a photo of the van later at the yard.  Here is a photo album of pictures.

Here are the emails:
The first email - sent the evening of the accident when emotions were raw
The second email - sent the next evening when the details were clearer
The third email - a week later showing Phil's reaction to events

Jill's story:

I'll probably never know why God chose to put us through this experience.  Whatever the reason, I am honored to have been chosen to be used by Him.  How very humbling!  I guess He has further plans for us on this earth.  It's amazing that looking at us now, you'd never know were went through what we did.

It was an incredible experience.  In scary and good ways too.  The entire time in the crushed van and the helicopter ride to the emergency room, I wa calm.  I just attribute this to God's peace beyond understanding.  I actually didn't start crying until I heard Philip's voice on the telephone calling me in the emergency room from Alaska.  What a joy and a surprise to hear his voice!  I didn't think he was reachable and I'm still not certain how that all came together so quickly.

One incident that did frighten me was seeing Lydia lying on a stretcher with a cervical collar from her shoulders to her nose.  I smiled at her, pleased to finally see her.  However, she made no response whatsoever.  My thought wa "Oh no, I've lost Lydia!"  I hadn't heard how she was so I suspected some kind of brain damage.  A lot of my prayers at that point were directed towards my sweet Lydia.

As soon as we able, we went to church.  A worship song we sang that Sunday was "Jesus, what a beautiful name" - I can't remember the author, sorry.  In this is a line, which says "Grace that blows all fear away."  Wow, how perfect!  That is exactly how I felt throughout.

Thank you for being our friends!  I'm glad beyond measure to still be here and to still have the opportunity to be a wife to Philip and a mom to my kids.  It's a peaceful place to be when you are in Jesus' arms.

Jill October 2000