Tuesday, April 15, 2008

RAK Request

To all of my talented fellow stampers:

On April 10, 2008, my cousin, Stuart Wride, was in a tragic accident and thrown from his car. He is now a paraplegic. Stuart and his wife, Julie, have two boys, ages 5 and 8. Naturally, his entire family is in need of comfort and support in dealing with this difficult turn of events. If you feel inclined, please send one of your beautiful hand-stamped sympathy cards to shower my cousin and his family with heartfelt wishes and support in this trying time. They would be overwhelmed with gratitude.

Stuart Wride's Story:
Last Thursday morning, April 10, 2008, Stuart left for work. It had snowed the night before. His son usually rides with him to get dropped off at school, but this time Julie decided to drive him (meaning Julie was behind Stuart and both were headed to Victor, ID.) Stuart was driving his little SUV. He always uses his lap seatbelt, but didn't put it on when he left. When he was only about 400 yards from home he hit black ice and his auto spun around and around on the ice. When it hit the berm, the car rolled over and over (it was completely smashed on top, so, had Stuart been wearing his lap belt that morning the outcome may have been more tragic than it is). Stuart had his two dogs in the auto, too.

A woman witnessed the accident and said she saw Stuart and the dogs being flung from the auto. Stuart landed on his back. (I have heard that the dogs are both okay.) When the woman got to him with her cell phone he said he felt lightening go down both legs when he hit the ground, and then he felt nothing. He told her that he thought he had broken his back and that he was a paraplegic. Julie arrived soon and he said to Julie, "I am sorry Julie, but I think I am a paraplegic."

The second person at the scene of the accident was a nurse (family members feel this was a miracle). She immediately sat in the snow, straddled Stuart's head and held it. As others arrived to help she took charge and directed all of their efforts. The snow he was laying on acted like an ice pack to minimize swelling. She knew how to handle someone with a spinal cord injury and was able to make sure he was not further injured while being transported to the ambulance. He has had two surgeries. The doctor removed bone shards from his spinal cord and said the spinal cord had been compressed (it was not severed). The only broken bone he had was the 12th vertebrae which was shattered. The doctor replaced the shattered vertebrae with a titanium vertebrae. He will be in intensive care for 4 more days then be moved to the hospital wing for 10 more days. At that point he will go into a rehabilitation facility.

The good news is that their friends in the little town of Victor are trying to help him all they can. The men he works with (building houses) have all visited him and offered their love and support. They even talked to the owner of a little hardware store in their town, told the owner he needed to hire Stuart to work the construction help desk. They said Stuart knows everything about construction, he can do amazing drawings, and knows all about the materials needed to do building projects. The hardware store owner agreed to hire Stuart as soon as he is able to go back to work. Then, one of the men said he owns a ranch-style home right across the street from the school Stuart's son goes to. He has already asked his rental people to vacate the house by the first of the month. He and the other construction workers are going to adjust the home to be wheelchair accessible, and Stuart and Julie can live there rent free as long as they need to. (Stuart owns a house in Victor that is up for sale, but that house has bedrooms upstairs.)

He does NOT have insurance.

Please send your cards to*:
The Stuart Wride Family
572 S. 50 W.
Victor, ID 83455

*Although they will be moving in May, they will surely have their mail forwarded.

10 comments:

Lesa said...

Oh Alana,
My prayers are with your family. I will try and get a card out this week. I wish I was in a better place financially right now, but we have never had our purse strings pulled this hard. Maybe I will be able to figure something out. Dr. Bills are ridiculous and no insurance can be so devastating. (((((((((hugs))))))))

Stampin' Meg said...

How sad-I will send a card in todays mail.

Laurie Unger said...

This story touched me! Card is in the mail!

Marilyn said...

I am so sorry to hear of your cousin's tragic accident - one never knows when they wake up what the day holds!! Thanks for sharing his story with us - I will be praying for the family and also will be sending a card in the mail today!

Melissa Cheney said...

I'm SO sad to hear this news!! When something like this happens, our first reaction is to ask, "Why him?" But the Lord can see SO much more clearly than we can and I can already see the blessings being poured out on his little family just from what you've mentioned here. It's already pulling that little community together.

Thanks for sharing this info and their address. I'll get a card sent out soon.

Hang in there with your pregnancy!!

Just call me G said...

If there is anything from England that your brother likes that can be sent over,. let me know and I will arrange it... I dont have much money but know what it is like to lose a job through ill health.

Thinking of you all... and heartened by the support he is getting from people that care

Gina x

Crafting Queen said...

So very sorry to hear about your cousin. My heart and prays go out to all of you. It has filled me with hope to hear that people around them are helping out when they truly need it.
Card will be in the post.

Soguesswhat11 said...

Oh my goodness. What an awful accident. I am sorry to hear of his injuries but am happy to know that he's alive and will have a job and a place to live. I will pray for him and your family. Please let us know any updates that you can give, as this post was from April and it's now nearly July. We'd love to know how things are going. Blessings~

Lorraine said...

checking in to see if you are ok. Please let us know how you are doing!

Lesa said...

Alana, I tried to email you a couple of weeks ago and it didn't go through. I am missing you and wondering if you are doing ok? It has been very quiet here for some time. Let us know how you are doing. You and your family are and continue to be in my prayers. I am a little worried about you Sis!