Hey everyone,
This has been going on since 4th of July, but we have been out of town for two weeks, and I have not had the time or energy to email all of you about this.
On July 4th, my cousin's son Austin was involved in a terrible accident. He was with his parents at Lake Blue Ridge and he was riding on an innertube (being pulled by a boat). Another boat came along, and the driver glanced back for only one second, but he ended up hitting Austin. This guy's boat went between Austin and the boat that was pulling him. Austin was knocked unconscious, and by the time Chris (Austin's dad/Donna's husband) and Donna got to Austin, the driver of the other boat had already turned around and gotten Austin out of the water. They got him to a dock, called 911, and Austin was airlifted (life flighted) to a hospital with a trauma unit in Chattanooga. Austin has been in the trauma ICU in a medically induced coma since he arrived there, so that's 8 days now. When he arrived there, he had swelling and bleeding on the brain and a screw was inserted into his head to relieve the pressure. This helped, but the pressure still goes up and down. He is on a feeding tube, too, but right now the main concerns are his lungs because he is not absorbing oxygen like he should be--they don't know why this is--and the possibility of brain damage. Right now, they do not know if he has any brain damage or what the extent could be if he does. The boat hit Austin in the forehead area, which is the frontal lobe--that has to do with thinking, movement, emotions, etc. A little about Austin: He just graduated from high school and has a FULL RIDE academic scholarship to Ole Miss in the fall. He is a strong Christian, comes from a great family (his mom, Donna (my cousin on my mom's side), his dad Chris, and two younger sisters Chelsea and Victoria). Austin's grandmother is my mom's sister, my Aunt Jewel, I am sure some of you remember me talking about her. Anyway, please just pray for Austin and his family.
Here are the specific prayer requests they have right now:
At present we need prayer specifically for the following:
1. Lungs - We need his lungs to hold their oxygen levels (not sure of the exact wording) and whatever may be causing the issue to be removed! Believe it - Expect it!
2. Damage - Pray that there is no damage to the brain at all (they do not know anything at this point).
They have a Caring Bridge site set up for him, and you can go there and read about him and see a picture and also post in the guestbook to let Austin's family know you are praying for Austin and all of them. Every time I talk to them, they tell me how uplifted they are by all the prayers and by hearing from everyone via the guestbook.
If you are interested in checking out the Caring Bridge site, PM me, and I'll send you the link.
Thank you for remembering Austin and his family in your prayers. I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as things change.
This has been going on since 4th of July, but we have been out of town for two weeks, and I have not had the time or energy to email all of you about this.
On July 4th, my cousin's son Austin was involved in a terrible accident. He was with his parents at Lake Blue Ridge and he was riding on an innertube (being pulled by a boat). Another boat came along, and the driver glanced back for only one second, but he ended up hitting Austin. This guy's boat went between Austin and the boat that was pulling him. Austin was knocked unconscious, and by the time Chris (Austin's dad/Donna's husband) and Donna got to Austin, the driver of the other boat had already turned around and gotten Austin out of the water. They got him to a dock, called 911, and Austin was airlifted (life flighted) to a hospital with a trauma unit in Chattanooga. Austin has been in the trauma ICU in a medically induced coma since he arrived there, so that's 8 days now. When he arrived there, he had swelling and bleeding on the brain and a screw was inserted into his head to relieve the pressure. This helped, but the pressure still goes up and down. He is on a feeding tube, too, but right now the main concerns are his lungs because he is not absorbing oxygen like he should be--they don't know why this is--and the possibility of brain damage. Right now, they do not know if he has any brain damage or what the extent could be if he does. The boat hit Austin in the forehead area, which is the frontal lobe--that has to do with thinking, movement, emotions, etc. A little about Austin: He just graduated from high school and has a FULL RIDE academic scholarship to Ole Miss in the fall. He is a strong Christian, comes from a great family (his mom, Donna (my cousin on my mom's side), his dad Chris, and two younger sisters Chelsea and Victoria). Austin's grandmother is my mom's sister, my Aunt Jewel, I am sure some of you remember me talking about her. Anyway, please just pray for Austin and his family.
Here are the specific prayer requests they have right now:
At present we need prayer specifically for the following:
1. Lungs - We need his lungs to hold their oxygen levels (not sure of the exact wording) and whatever may be causing the issue to be removed! Believe it - Expect it!
2. Damage - Pray that there is no damage to the brain at all (they do not know anything at this point).
They have a Caring Bridge site set up for him, and you can go there and read about him and see a picture and also post in the guestbook to let Austin's family know you are praying for Austin and all of them. Every time I talk to them, they tell me how uplifted they are by all the prayers and by hearing from everyone via the guestbook.
If you are interested in checking out the Caring Bridge site, PM me, and I'll send you the link.
Thank you for remembering Austin and his family in your prayers. I'll do my best to keep everyone updated as things change.
I'm so sorry he was injured. Sending positive thoughts for a quick and complete recovery.
