Support Lisa Mason after car wreck

On the afternoon of Monday, April 8th, we, the Mason kids, received an SOS alert on our phones that Mom had been in a terrible accident just a mile from their house. As dad quickly arrived at the scene, the damage of the two cars involved showed this was a severe wreck. Dad remembers coming to comfort her in her trapped condition and her mouthing, “Jesus, I need you,”. Mom sat in intense pain for over an hour as the many emergency responders worked to free her from her car by using the jaws of life tools to tear apart her smashed Wheelchair accessible van, finally putting her in the ambulance, where they started to assess the damage. Her broken body, felt every move of the ambulance since they were unable to get an IV for pain, but half an hour later arrived at Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo. With concerns about her breathing & neck fracture, the trauma team rushed her into all the tests, scans, and x-rays and that night it was discovered that she was literally broken from head to toe with 23 total broken bones. The most alarming being a C2 neck fracture. The conversations with doctors and nurses began immediately, and despite the solace, we knew the Lord was working in the midst of the sea of unknowns. One real sign of God’s hand was the fact that Mom never had any internal bleeding or head trauma. He also provided an Orthopedic Surgeon that was in Mom and Dad’s Sunday School class. Friends and family began praying for the nurses and doctors caring for Mom while she awaited next steps. Even though there was worry and fear for Mom, she was comforted seeing ways the Lord was working through the surgeon and friends providing care. After much discussion over her complicated case, Wednesday morning began a five hour surgery to repair her right tib/fib with plates and screws, right femur with a rod, and a totally rebuilding of her shattered right knee cap. He also reset her right arm for comfort. Then five days later, Monday, her next surgery was to repair her left femur, right elbow, and right wrist. Joel and Mark traveled to Amarillo to be there for the surgery portions and to support Dad in the waiting room.

After the surgeries, Mom rested in the ICU at Northwest for about a week. Those long days were incredibly painful for Mom, as she was in and out of sleep. It was a dark week of unknowns for her and Dad. Not knowing how long this journey would be and thinking through all that had happened felt overwhelming. We are deeply thankful for the many visitors who came and prayed over Mom as she laid there. It brought light to the darkness and reminded us that only the Lord will carry Mom through this journey. Unfortunately, our family is very accustomed to hospitals due to Mom’s MS causing her sickness off and on. Although, this is a different beast compared to what Mom has been through before.

Two weeks after the wreck, on Tuesday, April 23, Mom was transported to NWTH Rehab Hospital. Moving there felt like a breath of fresh air. She was now in a nice corner room, bigger than the others. One of the nurses told Mom as they left the previous area of the hospital that she had to say Lisa was one of the best patients of all the ones she had worked with. She continues to work hard in Rehab. She does about 4-6 hours of physical and occupational therapy each day. Her body is sore and she is worried about all the moving and tugging breaking more bones. Grace traveled to Amarillo and was able to help with PT for the last week of April. The Therapists and Hospitalist are wonderful, quick to encourage while also pushing Mom to improve a little bit each day.

We are so proud of Mom and the hard work she is doing in the midst of so much pain and frustration. Anne Marie visited Mom at the beginning of May and cheered her on in rehab. She even helped Mom go outside for the first time in a month! The birds chirping were refreshing to her soul.

The big question Mom and Dad continue to ask is, “How long will this recovery take?” They’re holding onto the motto from the Doctor - “Turtle wins the race.” It will take time and day after day of little improvements turning into big improvements. Dad visits the hospital and rehab daily to be right by Mom’s side. Mom and Dad want everyone to know that they hold fast to the fact that God is Sovereign in all situations and God is Loving so He is good, even when we can't see what He will do.

Many of you have reached out asking how you can help. We have constantly been encouraging Mom that only the Lord can give the strength, endurance and peace she needs to recover, so first we’d ask you to pray with us daily for Mom’s strength to continue to improve and for her mind and spirit. She is battling a difficult road to recovery and constant reminders to keep fighting encourage her spirit.

Secondly, we ask if you are in Amarillo, to please go visit Mom. Visitors lift her spirits and make her long, repetitive day more enjoyable. Best visiting hours are from 4:00pm-8:00pm when PT is finished and she is resting in her room. Friends, family, and personal encouragement are the best medicine for Mom during this journey.

Lastly, we set up this GoFundMe page and would ask you to consider supporting them financially as they face the mountain ahead, which continues to grow. There are so many unknowns in the midst of medical bills, wheelchair replacement, insurance, rehab, and eventual home health, etc. We are prayerful that the Lord will provide, as he always does, in mighty ways. Would you help be a part of His provision over them? We’d love for you to prayerfully consider giving any amount to this GoFundMe.

We are so grateful for the Amarillo community that has shown up for Mom and Dad in big and small ways; to provide meals, check on Dad, pray over Mom, and keep us updated if we can’t be there. We couldn’t do this without our communities in Corpus Christi, Texas and Branson, Missouri (and so many others!) praying for our family and checking on each of us. We have felt so loved, even throughout such a terrible season, because of the way each of you have shown up for us.

God’s plan may be difficult to see at times, but we trust He will use Mom’s tragic accident and her life story to give glory back to Him and tell others of his love.