Sunday, March 23, 2008

My Dear Ol' Dad

The Three Survivors

I talked to my dad today to wish him a happy Easter, and was sad to hear him a little downtrodden. Although his recovery is going steadily, it's coming slowly. It's been 10 weeks since the accident, and he's got another 4-5 weeks to go in Aspen Ridge. Above is a picture that was taken with Bruce and Nathan; the three survivors of the horrendous accident that took my dad's leg and almost took his life. He was able to take his first field trip out into public, and went to the Church Office Building to see his coworkers. His work group was very cordial and glad to see his health improving so much. But on this trip, he also needed to go to the church travel office to get his renewal passport photo taken. The assistant in the office made the comment, "Looks like you got into a fight with a snowblower and it won." Although the employee probably meant to make my dad laugh...it really hurt. It was the first truly insensitive comment that he's encountered since the accident.

He also was able to go to Stake Conference where two apostles, Holland and Ballard, and Elder Huntsman from the Quorum of the Seventy spoke. Elder Huntsman mentioned in his talk "how nice it was for David Watson to make it out today after his terrible accident." He had a great showing of support from members of the ward and stake...and hoped that it would spark some visitors. Unfortunately, it hasn't. He's been very lonely for people to visit. Between a few visits a week from my mom and siblings...he has a lot of downtime to be lonely. Once the occupational and physical therapy is done...he's left to his own devices in the facility for hours a day. He would love to have people come visit him, even if its a short stay. Even if you don't know him well, he's anxious for company and would be happy to make a new friend. Rosie and I will be flying out to see him on Tuesday, and plan to keep him occupied for as many hours as we can.

To hear about his recovery in his own words, check out his blog at davidewatson.blogspot.com

3 comments:

Janelle said...

I remember reading about your dad when the accident first happened but did not know that he lost a leg at that point. He looks really good in the picture and looks as though he is healing well. Best of luck for him and your family!

Mr. Hall said...

Thanks for the update. Hopefully some people within the state will read the blog and make some visits. Best wishes.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear all that your father has gone through. I too was in a horrible car accident (a van too) that killed one of my dearest friends and left me with countless metal in both my legs and a crippled walk for the rest of my life. I was also at ASPEN RIDGE (one near Wheeler Farm) for 4 months. I hope Lincoln and Ben were good to him in therapy. I completely understand everything he went through, reading his story was like reading my own. From feeding tube down to the long road to recovery. I heard about your father from my co-worker, Karen Osborn, her son was in the car with your dad. I will pray that he will continue to recover and find peace with this drastic change in his and your family's life. Please let him know I admire his strength and that he has someone pulling for him.

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