At 7:15 AM, my phone rings. Mom's first words are, "Tiff and Jared are fine but they were in a car accident up by Bakersfield." For being half asleep, I woke up real quick and my heart stopped. What did that mean? She said she'd call back when she knew more. I woke up Peter to tell him and he was in shock as well. Knowing neither of us could do anything and that Mom would let us know more as soon as possible, we gave way to sleep since we'd been up from 6:30 am to 12 pm Christmas day after being with lots and lots of family.
At 9 am, we get another call. It's Jared this time. He wants to know if Tiff should take Advil or something else for her headache. Peter, having just woken up for the second time, is in quite a stupor. He asks Jared what happened in the car accident.
We learn that Tiffany fell asleep at the wheel and woke up just in time to hit the side of a semi truck. She then over corrected and hit the median. Her CRV rolled over 100 feet and landed upside down. She called out to Jared and it felt like forever to wait for his answer. They crawled out Jared's door and waited for help to arrive. Help did arrive but not much...A firetruck came, did a quick assessment and left for the tow truck to clean up the damage. Jar and Tiff gathered their clothes that were scattered all over the road. Amidst the chaos, Tiff was able to easily locate her shoes, coat, phone, and purse. This is no coincidence folks, in times of trial, God does not abandon us.
Back to the question at hand, "Should Tiff take Advil? We know we don't want anything that would thin her blood." Peter stammers, "Um, well, were you guys assessed? Are you going to the hospital?" Jared calmly responds, "We feel fine." More "ummm...umm...ummm"s transpire. We hang up a little fuzzy and completely shocked about what happened, how it happened and how they walked out. Needless to say, it seems nuts they weren't headed to a hospital. Peter wakes up a little more and calls his parents to see if they were thinking similarly to him. They talk and confirm Peter and I's thoughts....they need to make sure everything is OK on the inside of their bodies.
I call Mom just a hair below frantic and try to choke out, "They need to go to the hospital!!!" Being sick did not aid this situation because I was physically unable to speak, my voice was broken. Mom agreed but felt stuck...what was she suppose to do?!?! I said we would talk to them and we did.
Peter calls Jared, in a completely different state of mind, and strongly states that they needed to go to the hospital. Immediately Jared agreed and said they were already talking about it. Sobs of relief spilled out of me and Tiff got on the phone. She reassured me she knew they needed to go to the hospital and were on their way with his Aunt Becky. Praise the Lord! I let Mom know and as before, she'd let me know when she knew more. Peter specified they needed to go to a trauma hospital because of their injury. They walked into Huntington Memorial in Pasadena where Mom and Dad were anxiously waiting for them. They were never more eager to squeeze their kids and not let go.
They waited with the others in pain and Tiffany got to wear a very stylish neck brace. After 2 hours, Tiff was taken back and given the proper tests. Jared was seen shortly after.
Once tested, cleaned up and fully assessed, they were released from the hospital. Tiff had a minor concussion (hence the headache) and Jared was fine minus scrapes and bruises. It was a profound moment when they all walked out of the hospital together thankful that all the things that could have happened didn't. God protected them. Clearly, he has big plans for them.
They went back to his Aunt's house to pack their things and prepare for their alternate transportation...a plane taking off at 8:25 pm. Mom and Dad dropped them off and they landed later that night to meet his family. Like my parents, they were eager to squeeze Tiff and Jar and never let go.
These past few days, they have been in pain but not nearly as much as one would expect. The doctor told them they shouldn't be alive. That was nothing we didn't already know but we do know why they are alive. God showed up in many ways that day. Miracle after miracle took place and we are praising God for all his goodness and faithfulness. I am absolutely crazy about my sister ad brother and I could not imagine life without them. To think we were all together just 24 hours before, opening presents and laughing together, and then to see this picture of their car is absolutely crazy. We are so thankful, beyond thankful!
xo, p&l
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