One month later...

First of all, I apologize for not writing for a month.  A LOT has happened in this month, but I didn't have the motivation or desire to write.  This past month has, by far, been the hardest for me!

I last wrote on May 7th while we were in Atlanta.  We had left Pittsburgh 6 days earlier and went on a whirlwind trip of the South.  We flew to Tampa, Florida where Mark's sister, Laura, was graduating from Medical School at the University of South Florida.  We had a great time celebrating her success and seeing the beach!  Then on Thursday, May 5th, we went to Atlanta to spend time with my family and meet our new niece, Olivia Whatley!  It was a relaxing time that I am now so glad we had.  We had family cookouts, went to the Zac Brown Concert, got a pedicure with my mom, held Baby Olivia, got a massage, played Wii, and much more.  On Sunday, May 8th (Mother's Day), we left Flowery Branch, GA in our new Chick-fil-A Cow Car to drive back to Pittsburgh.  We left later than normal because we had a nice brunch with the Porters.

Later that night about 8:30 pm (only an hour from home), about 4 miles after crossing in Pennsylvania on I-77, a deer came out from the left hand median and we hit him going about 75 mph.  The airbags immediately deployed, the horn sounding off, and Mark pulling off of the side of the road.  When we got out the car had minimal damage, but we realized that I had blood all down my front.  Either the airbag or i-Pad (which I had been using) hit me in the mouth during the crash and had knocked my two lower teeth back into my mouth.  My lip was also sliced open.  Mark immediately called 911.  Since the airbags deployed, we couldn't drive the car.  The EMTs arrived first and said I needed to go straight to the hospital due to facial injuries and being pregnant.  They loaded me into the back of the ambulance and took me to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV.  Mark rode with me and the police told us they would tow the car.

I have never been in a hospital except to visit other people.  Therefore, entering the hospital through the ER was VERY overwhelming.  A team of 10 people waited for me... medical students, OBs, dentist, and more.  They sent Mark to go check me in and immediately starting taking blood, starting an IV, checking the baby, and more.  They found the baby's heartbeat fairly quickly, but it was a little low.  They were not extremely worried, but wanted to continue to monitor the baby.  They then looked into my lip and the bleeding.  After about an hour, I was given 12 stitches in my lip to sew my lip back together.  About this time, Daniel (my brother) and Kristen (his girlfriend) arrived from Pittsburgh.  I think he was pretty surprised how bad my faced looked.  I asked Mark to take a picture so I could see it, but he wouldn't.  Lastly, since it was a Sunday night, the dentistry division was not on duty.  One of the ER attendants had talked to the dentist.  He had suggested that if they could pull my teeth back into place in their normal socket, they had a much better chance of surviving.  Without any pain meds (because of being pregnant), they literally pulled my teeth back into place.  It was the most pain I have ever been in thus far in my life!  After all of this drama, they decided to admit me for the night.  Mostly to monitor the baby, but also so the dentist could look at my teeth on Monday morning.  It was a long night!

I held it together very well until about 3:00 am.. then I lost it!  Emotionally I was a wreck.  I was beginning to question why all of this was happening to us.  If losing our house wasn't enough, now we were down a car and my face was screwed up.  I never questioned that God loved me and had a perfect plan, but I didn't understand the point of ALL of this at ONE time!  I cried... and cried... and cried.

The next morning, the hospital did a full ultrasound and said everything looked perfect with the baby.  We then went down to the dentistry division.  He finished pulling my teeth into place (still painful).  The dentist said that my teeth were actually very healthy and in the correct position.  He said at some point they could possibly die and I would need root canals, but he said not to bother anything until that happened.  They put me on a soft diet for 3-4 weeks and sent me home.

The entire time that we were in the hospital, they wouldn't let me walk.  They pushed me everywhere in the wheelchair and Mark followed behind.  Since I had a HUGE lip, stitches, and stayed on the OB floor, we joked that everyone else probably thought Mark had punched the pregnant lady!  You should've seen the faces that people gave us.

Daniel came back in Mark's truck to pick us up from the hospital.  After a few more hours, I was discharged.  We had to pass the spot where the wreck had happened, so we pulled over on the side of the highway.  The ambulance driver had mentioned to Mark that the deer was dead on the side of the road.  The boys needed proof... and got it!  Daniel took a picture and tried to convince us to bring it home as wall decor.  We then stopped at the exit where the Cow Car was.  We got out all of our belongings (which was a lot since we had been on a road trip) and locked it up.  We headed back to Pittsburgh to move into our rental home.

Still in shock and kinda dazed, I found out that my parents were already on their way up to Pittsburgh.  My dad had been adamant that they needed to come and help.  I disagreed and was mad that they were making this sacrifice.  Boy, was I wrong.  Having them here for 4 days was the best thing for us.  They did things that I wouldn't have been able to do for weeks.  They were sounding boards as we expressed fear, discomfort, and frustration.  They cooked for us!  Mom did laundry!  My dad was even the Chick-fil-A Cow TWICE!

The insurance company has decided to total Mark's car because it is so expensive to replace airbags.  Even though we are really disappointed about this, they are giving us a really good amount for it.  We let our contractor know about the accident, but told him to keep pushing ahead with the house.  We've been to see an oral surgeon twice here and he said that everything is healing very well in my mouth.  I've had another appointment with the OBGYN and everything with the baby is right on track.  We are blessed!

We keep joking that we're going to use up all of our insurance coverage before the baby is born between home owners, car insurance, and medical.  I still have questions and am lost for words or explanations, but I know that God will not give us anything bigger than we can handle.  I have had meltdowns for sure.  There are days that I do not know what is the priority- the house, Chick-fil-A, the car, or the baby.  I promise we are drama-free people and used to live a less stressful life!  However, God is teaching, guiding, and molding us one day at a time.  Thank you for your prayers!

PS- My next post will be an update on the house!