A Note From Greg Werner

God is good… all the time!!!!!

This is the long awaited update that I wanted to send. I am so happy to report to you that after 111 days in the hospital and rehab I have been released! I am currently undergoing outpatient therapy and waiting to see my orthopedic doctor to help make a new plan. I have two surgeries still waiting for me. The first will be on my right hip to remove calcium making my hip unusable. The second surgery will be to repair torn ligaments in my knee. I am not sure when we will schedule these, but the first should be sometime this winter. We will know more after we see the doctor.

I want to take time to thank those of you who have stood with my family through this ordeal. Many of you have given money, food, comforting words, cards, and prayer. How can I possibly begin to say thank you? This has been the longest tragedy that I have faced to this point in my life. April 10th will go down as a life changing day for my family. The vehicle accident is forever etched in our minds! Though we would never choose this event, God has been faithfully reminding me to count my blessings. I am so grateful to be alive and sending this update. I could easily have been killed in the accident. I was ejected from the rolling car more than 70 feet down the highway. I have had three surgeries to date to repair my pelvis, which was shattered, and to remove my spleen. I was in a coma for many days and can’t remember any of the accident. That within itself is a blessing. I slept through some very difficult procedures and days! My greatest blessing is my amazing family. From the very first day my boys have risen to the need! They have served me in numerous ways. Brandon and Rachael took on all of bill pay duties personally and for the church, and kept an ongoing blog to help keep you updated. Thank you so much! Jon took care of things at home and really became the man of the house. I am so proud of him, he also took over my Glory Seals class. Lauren called and visited me often and loved me unbelievably. Justin is still healing but spent many days under the loving watchful eyes of Terry and Cyndi Myers. You guys are amazing!

The blessings don’t even start to end there. God has been so faithful. He has provided the most amazing staff of doctors and therapist to help me. So many men stayed with me through the night. Odus Compton visited me often; Pastor Jerry gave me incredible love, support and council, and many of you served us, all so amazingly. My mom and my younger brother stayed with me constantly. They have provided me with unbelievable support throughout the entire time I was hospitalized. So many of you have loved me and served me through prayer and acts of kindness that they are too many to recognize in this article. Let me just say thank you all so very much for loving us and giving us support!

I would miss this opportunity if I did not recognize my bride Kim. No one has loved me more than she has. She has been with me every day since the wreck loving and encouraging me. She is a rock! The Lord has given me the perfect help mate! We have laughed and cried many tears together. She has always been there to encourage me and to love me.

I still have a long way to go. I can’t walk without a walker or help. I still have the surgeries ahead of me. But through it all I have learned to trust Jesus more and more. He didn’t cause this to happen to us, but he has been with us every second of the day. His word says that he will never leave us or forsake us. He is faithful! I certainly could not be here today if not for His blessing. He remains the greatest blessing that I can count. I have often said that the greatest asset of our lives is the blessing of Christ. He is good all the time!

Please continue to pray for us and keep us in your minds. We still have a long road ahead of us. God will provide and protect us giving us everything that we need. Thank you for loving us so much and praying for us so often. May God richly reward you for your investment in our family.
God bless you all! Greg Werner

Dad also asked me to include with theses pictures a huge thank you to Ken Haywood and the Hobby Lobby team who did a GREAT job on the remodel of the bathroom. It is beautiful and will be much enjoyed long after the "need" for it is gone.

Double sinks with the vanity built in such a way that dad's chair can slide right up to the sink!

The shower is awesome with no ledges so that there is nothing to step over. It is AMAZING!!! I love the colors and designs of the curtains. Courtesy of Aunt Tammy Werner.

Please Pray with Us Tomorrow!

The following is the latest from "Ella's Journey". Please be praying for her tomorrow!

Surgery is scheduled again for tomorrow. They say Ella will be first case in the morning, maybe second case. That is hospital time in case you didn’t know. :) The plan is for the surgeons to complete the procedure they began last week. As I am sure many of you remember last week’s procedure didn’t go as planned. They began the first of a three part series to fix Ella’s heart. However, once they got started there was more swelling and damage than they originally thought and so they did a very temporary fix and closed her up. They wanted to more seriously consider a heart transplant. After reviewing the options they decided to continue pursuing the three surgery series fix. So, the goal tomorrow is to complete the first of the three surgeries. This is a very high risk surgery. It should take several hours and her recovery will tell a lot about the surgeries success.

Here are the specific requests:
1.)The Lord’s hand to be guiding the surgeons and giving them wisdom
2.)Ella’s healing and protection
3.)Ella’s other organs to be protected and to continue functioning properly
4.)Peace for…well, everyone. :)

I will let you know as soon as I hear when Ella goes into surgery. Please pray tomorrow when you are prompted!
Psalm 10:17O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear.

In the meantime enjoy, with a tissue, this video we made for sweet Ella. Then go and give your kids a hug and kiss. Each child truly is a blessing and a miracle!

Ella Likes to See Mommy Getting Kisses!

Ella is currently stable. She had a procedure yesterday that didn't go exactly the way it was planned. When they started the surgery there was more damage than they anticipated and so they only did a temporary fix adn will be making a decision on how to proceed within a day or two. This video was taken after Ella's surgery and was good way to end a somewhat difficult day.

Praise the Lord!

Update from elladawn.blogspot.com
We never recieved official word of when Ella's surgery started. She went to OR right away but last we heard the doctors where talking about the best approach. However, I just recieved word that Ella's surgery is complete! The doctors are very happy with the outcome. There were a few things that were a bit more complitacted than planned but it all went well and they did not experience any of the major complications that can sometimes come with these surgeries. Ella is doing well. Oh, my goodness I love her!!! Thank you Jesus for all you have done today! Please continue to be with Ella throughout the night!


She will continue to be closely moniotored throughout the night.

Amy is hurting pretty badly. She so badly wants to see Ella. She is trying to find the balance between taking enough medication not to be in intense pain but also not taking too much to make her recovery time to seeing Ella delayed. Please pray for her.

Thank you all for your prayers today. Take a minute to thank the Lord for what he has done and keeping praying!


Aunt Rachael

She's a Fighter! Update from Ella's Journey

Update from "Ella's Journey"

Ella's is still stable and is holding her own. She has been a fighter from the beginning.

Ella's first surgery has not begun yet. This is a good thing; the doctor's are not rushed and they are able to be thorough and examine every detail before they begin. We are doing our due diligence and trusting God for His best.

Here is a picture of sweet baby Ella! Please keep this precious baby girl in your prayers.

Amy is resting and recovering well. Jon is at Children's Hospital with Ella. More updates will be posted as we receive new information.

Ella is Born

This is an update from "Ella's Journey"

Ella is here! She was born at 3:23pm and weighed 7lbs. 1.7 oz. The family waited in a room just of the main hallway for several minutes as a team of more than 20 doctors worked to stabalize Ella and Amy and prepare Ella for her first surgery.

Around 3:55pm we saw a short glimps of baby Ella as the medical staff rushed her down the hallway. Ella has already been through so much, but her journey is just beginning. Please continue to pray!

We just heard from one of the RN's who said that Amy is doing well. They asked us to give them 30 minutes before we try to go see Amy. For now, we know that Mom (Amy) did great. We saw Dad (Jon) walk by with Ella giving her his full attention. He is a great dad already.

We won't have an update on Ella's progress for quite a while. Please check the blog often. We will post as soon as we have any new information.

Most importantly, pray.

Keep Praying for Amy!

My sister's c-section has been postponed until 2:00pm today. Please continue to pray!!!! I will be updating Ella's blog at elladawn.blogspot.com.

Thanks You!
Rachael

Sorry for the delay in updates! We had a very successful mission week at church over the past several days! I will try to post pictures and a highlight video soon.

After our request for visitors Dad got a staph infection. Yuck! Fortunately it wasn't too bad and after several days of antibiotics he was fine. However, he has now been discharged from he hospital for good! Praise the Lord!!! He will be having out patient therapy often. Please don't feel neglected or forgotten if you have asked to come visit Dad. After the staph we have been dealing with the adjustment of being home. He is doing well there and now we are just trying to figure out his schedule so we can resume visitations.

Currently I am in Dallas. Tomorrow morning my little sister will bring my new niece Ella Dawn into the world. Her c-section is scheduled for 9:00am. Would you say a prayer for her when the Lord brings it to your mind? Ella has a rare heart condition and on top of that has a secondary even rarer heart condition. I truly believe God can heal her and that is my prayer. I am excited to meet her! I will try to post often with updates for those interested in her progress. My first blog priority will be Ella's blog which is Elladawn.blogspot.com . There you will find the most recent updates. We so appreciate your prayers!

Sent from my iPhone

Blessings,
Rachael