In a split second things can really change.

A week and half ago Paul and I were excited about the weekend in front of us. We had two motorcyle trips planned. On Saturday we were planning to go to a place south of London called Oakhurst Cottage to see how the common folk lived in the 1600's. The day was beautiful--that in itself a rare treat. Anyway, I was sitting at my desk doing some email while Paul was outside my window getting his motorcycle ready for the trip. Suddenly I heard a gasp, looked out the window and saw Paul holding his right thumb. Anyway, short story even shorter, it had gotten caught in the chain and the upper third cut off. We grab what we could think of and headed for the emergency room. Then we were transported by ambulance to a hospital that had a hand specialist unit. They were not able to reattach his upper thumb which was really sad. But they fix up what was left and 12 hours later, we were home again...a bit in a daze and wishing we could start the day over again.

We knew we needed the prayers of friends as we began to process what had happened and the ramifications of it all so sent out an email to friends and family. The responses back were overwhelming and we felt cared for and loved. Some sent great Scripture passages where we found comfort and encouragement. Others were humorous which also brought comfort and encouragement. Our daughter wrote that she would be praying for complete healing..."well, if you were a starfish it would be complete". Another friend said he was sure Paul would give him a "thumb's up" if he had one....and the list could go on. It was good to hear chuckles coming from Paul's office as he read so many emails from friends and family. We felt overwhelmed by the reponse and so grateful.

The stitches are due to come out on Thursday (June 11th). Paul loves to work with his hands. As a friend of his and Paul used to say to each other during times of frustration or weariness from the work, "let's go make some sawdust". Losing even a third (from the first joint up) of his thumb will limit what he can do. We are praying for good healing and adjustment.