Tammy's Dad

We continue to be camped at the Methodist Tower Inn attached to Methodist Hospital in Indy where Tammy's Dad and step-mother are.

Her dad has had some tough days but seems to be improving. I wasn't in the room when the doctor gave them an update but it seems they are cautiously optimistic about their progress in saving his foot. Tammy's brother and stepsister will go to Muncie today to check out a couple of rehab facilities that they might transfer to later this week (while Tammy stays with her dad.)

This link is to the obituary for the other gentlemen who was involved in the accident. It kind of personalizes his death to learn that he was an ordained minister who had served in the Wesleyan Church as a minister of music.

"People who looked like Pilgrims."

There have been a lot of Amish folk in the hospital visiting the victims of the accident from the story below. I wondered if Gabrielle was noticing until she asked me about the "people who looked like Pilgrims." She spent quite a long time talking to these children including following the girls around holding their bonnet strings like reins. I would just love to hear what she was saying (or more likely what pronouncements she was making) with her hands on her hips and her belly pooched out.)

Tammy and I have each seperately met the Dad of the Lengacher family mentioned in the article below. He is a very friendly guy (probably younger than us) who has his wife and two youngest children (of his 5) in very critical condition.

Indianapolis - Five people were killed Sunday afternoon when the van they were
riding in flipped on Interstate 69. The van was carrying families from Amish
communities in New Haven and Rockville.

State police say at one point last night they had seven helicopters lined
up in the northbound lane of I-69 to transport the victims. Some were taken to
Indianapolis hospitals, others to Fort Wayne. Five were pronounced dead at the
scene.

State police say around 4:45 pm Sunday afternoon, a 15-passenger van was
headed southbound on I-69 when it left the roadway, crossed the median and
flipped several times before it landed on its side in the opposite lanes of
traffic. The roof of the vehicle was shorn away.The impact threw four people out
of the van - an adult and three children, killing them. Another adult, the
father who was driving, was also killed. He was trapped inside the vehicle.

The victims were from Amish communities in Indiana, police said. Troopers
believed that the van may have been taking people home after a church function.
Amish people generally shun modern conveniences and sometimes enlist non-Amish
as drivers. But police say Melvin Fisher was driving the van.

Three crash victims are still in critical condition at Methodist Hospital, including Ida Lengacher, 32, of New Haven, her daughter Julia, 3, and son John, 1. Leon Fisher is also in critical condition. Matthew Lengacher, 9, Mary Beth Lengacher, 7 and Nathan Lengacher, 5 are in fair condition.

Another Update

I'm just back at Tammy's dad's home for a few minutes to pick up clean clothes and wanted to give a brief update.

We've been very blessed to have a hotel room provided for us in a small hotel attached to the hospital so we can be a five minute walk from Tammy's dad and step-mom. We're additionally blessed in that we hope to connect with our dear friends Randy and Jane Huff who will be in Indy for Thanksgiving.

I know that a lot of people have been praying from the calls and e-mails we have received and we are so thankful.

Tammy's dad, Tom Morgan, is suffering from a broken left ankle, broken pelvis, broken rib and broken nose. He has had his first of 3 to 5 operations on his foot. He will also require surgery to repair his nose in the next week.

Tammy's step-mom, Mary Morgan, is suffering from a broken ankle and wrist as well as a fracture to her t-12 vertebrate. Hopefully her injuries will not require additional surgery.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Update on Tammy's Dad

By way of praise, the surgeon just came out to update us. As it turns out, Tom's most serious injury is his ankle and this hospital has signifificant experience dealing with this type of injury on race car drivers. According to the surgeon, his odds of having his foot survive are greatly increased since he is being treated here.

Urgent Prayer Request

We are in Indy at Tammy's dad's home. We were driving behind them (Tom and Mary Morgan) when they were involved in a horrific accident right in front of us.

I am posting this from the waiting room at Indy Memorial. Both Tom and Mary were airlifted here. Tom is in Surgury and Mary is awaiting her turn with the same surgeon. Tammy's uncle Mike is with us and Gene Hood and Mike's pastor have been as well.

At the present it appears that neither of their injuries are life-threatening though Tom especially is looking at "many surguries" and months of rehab for a "pulverized ankle" and broken hip.

We had come across 28 from Muncie to Alexandria (past Woodland Family Camp) to see the Gaither studios etc. We were following Tammy's dad in our car and the accident unfolded right in front of us. Debris from the back of Tom's truck totally dusted our car.

You can see photos, etc here... Tammy's dad was driving the white truck.

http://www.heraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_324153935.html

Thanks for your prayers.
Wm Brown II

You been farmin' long?

At the Rural King in Muncie.

Papa Tom with Tom Turkey...

On the way to Muncie, In.

Rockin' Ron

With Friends like this...

Some of my blog reading friends, who are also blog reading friends of my blog reading friend Mary Ellen Olsen Huff are probably wondering what I could have done to deserve the abuse she has heaped upon me on her blog recently. (Not everyone would have the confidence to provide this link)

To hold up to ridicule my choices of glasses, socks and other apparel from early high school seems like a really low blow.



Nevertheless, I admire the restraint that I have exercised to this point but I was wondering if anyone out there was at all curious what I might have done to provoke her.

---

Mookie

Borrowing Gabrielle's doll thing.

Nasty rental house fridge after. Thanks to my partner (in business, not life.)

Nasty rental house fridge before.

(Yes, those are maggots.)

We haven't gotten a clear picture of what exactly happened but what we know for sure is:

1. Angelina Ballerina was playing on the VCR.
2. Gabrielle would definitely have been spinning around.

We suspect that Gabrielle bumped/pushed Cameron into the corner of a shelf resulting in copious amounts of blood and 5 stitches.

Who was it?

At the Wycliffe Bible translation banquet here in Salisbury last night, one of our distinguished table mates came back from the restroom trailing some tissue from the right foot in the surreptitious photo above.

I'm thinking about trying to get some private detective work given the quality of this image.

Sing together, "Cleanup, Cleanup..."

This is not a crime scene. This is North Carolina red clay.

Gabrielle (5) came in from outside unbeknown to Tammy and her quote was something like this...

"Mommy, I made a big mess in the bath tub, but I already cleaned it up."

I would love to have seen this before the cleanup. I know what you're thinking, "Just rinse it down the tub drain." Yeah, we'll try that with the tub handles and the floor.