Joe's Valley Excitement

I don't have any photo's, but wanted to post about the excitement and scare that we had over the 24th of July weekend. I'm sitting in a Hospital room with John as a the patient, this is John's 5th and hopefully last day here. Let me explain how we got here.
John went with Nichole, Erik, Brig, and Nate to his family reunion at Joe's Valley. They were suppossed to camp there with Greg, Freddie and some of their kids for 3 days. Noah was at boy scout camp and I opted to stay home with the two youngest kids rather than tent it this year.
I got a phone call at 1:30 pm on Friday, their second day at Joe's Valley, from Nichole. The conversation went something like this:
Nichole: Hi, Mom.
Mom: Hi Nichole, where are you? (Knowing she should be out of cell phone range all weekend?)
N: I'm on top of the skyline drive on a 4 wheeler ride.
M: Who's phone are you using? (I didn't recognize the caller ID.)
N: Uhm, just a friends. (???) (It was an off duty police officer's.)
M: Oh, are you having fun?
N: Yea, Mom, I need to tell you something, (pause), but I'm going to cry. (as her voice breaks up.)
M: (alarmed) Nik, what is going on?
N: Mom, there's been an accident. Dad is fine, but they are "life flighting" him to a hospital in Salt Lake. (crying)
M: (forceful) Nik, I need you to stop crying and talk to me, I'm having a hard time understanding you. What happened?
N: (getting control) Dad had an accident on the 4 wheeler, he is fine, there is a nurse here with us keeping him still, but the helicopter just landed and they are taking him to the hospital, but he is fine. (she then tells me what hospital)
M: Tell me more Nichole! What is wrong with Dad?
N: Dad is fine, they are just life flighting him to the hospital.
M: (LOUDLY) Nik, If dad is FINE, why are they LIFEFLIGHTING him to the hospital! Tell me more!!! (I KNEW he wasn't FINE if they were life flighting him!)
N: Dad is fine. The nurse thinks he broke ribs and probably his shoulder, but his vitals are fine.
M: Can I talk to him?
N: No, the just put him into the helicopter. Meet him at the hospital in about an hour.
M: Who is with you? Are you all okay?
N: (Tells me that Uncle Greg is with them, and a woman who happend to be a Nurse came upon the accident immediately.) We are o'kay, I love you mom, I've got to go.
M: I love you too. Please call me back in a few hours so we can communicate on what is going on with Dad and what you all should do.

This is a phone call no one ever wants to get!!! I was fixing lunch for Isaac & Gracie one minute and then the next trying hard not to panic or fall apart in from of my little ones. I called my sister Heidi & my mom. Then I went to my bedroom and closed the door to kneel and pray for John. I prayed that he would be o'kay and I prayed that I could handle what lie ahead for us. I knew if the accident involved John's lower body, he could be confined to a wheel chair the rest of his life. I had a real calm feeling come over me. I felt that John was going to be o'kay. Heidi brought her kids to my house to watch my kids and then she drove me to the hospital. I was grateful to have her with me not knowing what I'd find at the hospital. In that hour between getting the phone call from Nichole and meeting John at the Hospital I feel that my heart was aching for what John and my kids left up on the mountain where going through. And I felt that my mind was having a hard time comprehending what was really happening. I didn't cry much, but I was shaking on and off. I tried to push all negative thoughts away and geared up to focus on helping my husband and getting my kids home.
I met John in the emergency/trama room. He was in a lot of pain, but was calm. He was more worried about "messing up everyone's vacation" than he was about what had happened to himself. The doctors and staff here were just wonderful, keeping us informed of every step/test of what they were doing and looking for. I really felt John was in the best hands. I also started to hear from John the story of what happened and realized really all the little miracles that were in place to help John up on that mountain.
John's injuries include 5 broken ribs and a punchered lung. While very painful and potential dangerous, especially the lung, we feel very blessed that it wasn't worse. It sure could have been. The doctors put a chest tube into John's lung to drain the blood that collects there. They also gave John and epideral pain block in his upper back. This has made John quite comfortable to be able to take deep breathes. Rib pain cause people to breath shallow, quick breaths. This can cause the lung to collapse and the hole in his lung not to heal properly.
Within 48 hours of the accident they have had John up and taking several walks in the hospital halls every day. This afternoon they have taken out John's chest tube and his epideral. We are hoping to go home tonight. They are going to take a chest x-ray in a few hours and if it looks good they will give him a prescription for the pain and let us go home. It the x-ray reveals something different, we may have to be transfered up the U of U Med Center. Our insurance co. wants us in a hospital they contract with and will not cover us here past today.
Thanks to many of you for you well wishes, phone calls, visits, and most important your prayers.