On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, Lisa was dog sitting a familiar dog when the dog attacked her. Thankfully, she was on the phone with a family member who was able to call 911. Police officers arrived and tased the dog off of her. She was taken to the local hospital where she was stabilized and then air flighted to the nearby trauma center. She broke both arms, sustained facial fractures and trauma to her nose and cheeks. Unfortunately, her right arm couldn’t be saved and was amputated above the elbow.

We are thankful she is home after just a few days in the hospital. She has a large facial reconstruction and nerve surgery scheduled to help with phantom pain this week where she’ll stay a night in the ICU then will be discharged home after a few days. She will have more facial reconstruction surgeries over the next year and once she is healed up, she will be fitted for a prosthetic to her right arm.

Lisa and our family appreciate everyone’s prayers so much. She is very positive and is determined to recover, heal and get back to work and life as soon as possible. We are all astounded at how her spirits remain high as she navigates this challenging life event. She is thankful to God that her injuries weren’t worse, she is alive and attributes her positive outlook to her faith in Jesus. Please keep Lisa, her 4 year old daughter and our family in prayer over the next few weeks, months and years.

If you feel led to contribute money it will go towards medical bills, hospitalizations, surgeries, a prosthetic arm and it will help with living expenses and any loss of work. Thank you so much for your prayers and God bless you all.

February 22nd UPDATE*

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the love, prayers, thoughts, donations, and support you have poured out for me. This brings me a great amount of comfort. I am beyond grateful for every donation, kind word, prayer, and every person you have shared my story with. My faith and your support allows me to continue moving forward with a sense of peace knowing everything will be okay.

I returned home from the hospital Sunday, February 19 after my 2nd successful surgery. My surgeon is one of the best and most recommended at Cleveland Clinic. He performed a targeted muscle reinnervation in my right arm that lays the foundation to accept a more functional prosthesis.  He also removed cartilage from my rib cage to aid in the reconstruction of my nose. The surgery lasted approximately 7.5 hours.

My favorite part of the surgery was the beginning stages of recovery where I had a very memorable dream about SpongeBob and jelly fishing under the sea. My family told me I provided much needed comic relief when I recounted this. Apparently I got quite upset when I told them I never even caught a jellyfish, ha! I saw the video evidence afterwards and don’t remember a thing. I’ll have to delete the videos before they end up going viral on social media.

My third facial reconstruction surgery will be in 2 to 3 weeks and the surgeon will focus on shaping the nose and skin around my left eye. The surgeon said there will be multiple surgeries yet to go with the 4th one happening in approximately 3 months. The entire process will take about 1 year.  My vision is still normal but the lower tear duct and lower lid/lashes need to be rebuilt.

Overall, I feel very good. My spirits are up, and I have a very positive outlook on learning new ways to live with one arm. I am strong. But I also know it’s okay for strong people to have hard moments. It will all become part of my story that I pray can make a positive influence on others.

Please continue to pray for strength, wisdom for the doctors, and comfort for my family and especially my sweet daughter. The Lord’s plan for my life is perfect.  I trust Him and will continue to follow His lead.