God's the One who Lifts Up our Head. Wyatt's Story

Beloved Family, Friends, and Supporters,

On May 1st, our son Wyatt's life changed forever. This part of his story shouldn't have happened, but it did. Some will say it has been a series of unfortunate events. But we say, in all things, God has a plan, and we trust in our Lord Jesus and know that He uses very difficult circumstances for His purposes. Through His Spirit and His people, God has been with us, providing our daily bread. Early in this journey, Psalm 3:3 spoke to us, helping us to navigate these very troubled waters. Our prayer for Wyatt, and all of us really, is that God will be the shield, the glory, and the lifter of heads.

We would have preferred to tell you this story face to face, having seen God direct our relaying of this story as we engage and connect with the listener, but we pray the Spirit will encourage you through this written telling, nonetheless. Somewhat unexpectedly, the telling of Wyatt’s story has provided us with some amount of healing and therapy as we are humbled and reminded of how God has held us close to Him from the start.

Our story begins early on a Monday morning, as Wyatt was headed to work on his motorcycle. Wyatt was just telling us the day before at a celebration for his sister's upcoming wedding, how he was enjoying the landscaping team he was working with, as well as working outdoors, even in the Texas heat.

Wyatt was heading westbound on a four-lane divided highway, when a car turned onto the highway heading in the wrong direction, directly into Wyatt's path. Sadly, there was another vehicle in the other westbound lane traveling next to Wyatt's motorcycle which prevented him from changing lanes, so, he did what they teach you to do in your motorcycle safety course, he laid down his bike as he attempted to avoid and/or minimize the inevitable collision.

When my wife and I arrived at the hospital, Wyatt was still in surgery. Four hours later, the surgeon explained that Wyatt suffered serious fractures to his left femur, radius, ulna, and humerus. His diaphragm was torn over 20 inches on his left side and his spleen was ruptured and was removed. He suffered other internal and external contusions and even some bruises to his head within his helmet. He was being held in a medically induced coma until they could repair the major fractures in his left arm and leg. Thankfully, though he was in critical condition, he was stable.

Late Tuesday afternoon, they took him for surgery to repair his femur. We were told the surgery went very well, and the femur should be weight-bearing right away. They would repair the fractures in his upper left arm on Thursday. To our relief, they were estimating he would be in the hospital for approximately 2 weeks. However, this was not to be the case.

After my wife and daughter arrived very early that Wednesday morning to spend the day with Wyatt in the severe trauma unit, the neurosurgical team came into Wyatt's room to inform her that he had suffered a massive stroke, his brain was swelling, and an emergency craniectomy was necessary. The doctor told my wife, “I’m not going in to fix Wyatt, I am going in to try and save his life.”

They removed Wyatt's bone flap on his left side. His brain swelled and herniated into the opening now in his skull. He was now in a coma due to the stroke. All we could do now was pray and continue to manage Wyatt's other medical issues. It was explained to us that it takes time for damage to the brain to settle enough to get an accurate view of the extent of the damage, so eight days after the craniectomy, the doctors ordered an MRI.

The MRI revealed damage over an estimated 70% of the left hemisphere. As if that wasn't enough, there was also damage (to a much lesser extent) on the right side of his brain. They described the right-side damage as a bunch of small, localized mini-strokes. This was terrible news. Discussions now shifted to whether we should remove Wyatt from the ventilator and his feeding tube and let him go home to our Lord, or not.

As parents, sometimes we bear the horrible weight of asking questions like, What could the future look like for our child? Will he wake up? Speak? Walk? Will he be able to feed himself? Work? Worship? Marry? Or even want to live? Amid these heavy questions, we sensed God asking us, “Can you give him a better life than Me?". We knew then, that whether Wyatt's story ended soon here on earth or continued in heaven, Wyatt's story would be complete as God allows and redeems. Being reminded of God’s perspective and sovereignty, we moved with the peace that passes all understanding. Not that some days haven't been extremely hard, but trusting and knowing we are not walking this journey alone.

After much prayer and discussion, we decided to get another opinion from a neurologist. This neurologist agreed with the prognosis that Wyatt's brain scan images looked terrible. Further, Wyatt was also now battling pneumonia. However, the neurologist noted that Wyatt was withdrawing all four limbs in response to pain and would even move his left arm significantly in response to the discomfort of a covid swab placed up his nose. He stated, "Wyatt is young, and we can't say with certainty what he will be capable of. Let's see if he starts to become more aware if we stimulate his brain". So, on May 15th our game plan was to provide Wyatt with a brain stimulant medication, hit the pneumonia hard with antibiotics, and place a trach for his breathing and a PEG for his feeding.

The next day, Wyatt started opening his eyes. He would only look to the left, and he didn't seem to be able to see that we were there, but he was showing signs of being more alert. Four days later, he couldn't look to the right side yet, but he could track some to his center line. Further, he was moving his left arm and leg and even squeezing a stress ball with his left hand. Wyatt was coming awake and beginning to interact! Over the next several days and weeks, he continued to improve his ability to interact and track and even on occasion would follow some basic commands. It was time to start thinking about rehab. We couldn't be more hopeful!

We know the days ahead for Wyatt, and those of us supporting him, are going to be challenging and demanding, full of ups and downs. However, we are so thankful for the family and friends who have prayed, worked and sacrificed alongside us as Wyatt continues to make progress every day. As we navigate the plan for Wyatt’s future, we turn to our community, friends, family, and compassionate strangers, to seek your support. The costs associated with Wyatt's medical care, extensive rehabilitation, and necessary equipment will be substantial and far beyond his means and ours. It will be a long time before Wyatt can reenter the workforce at some level, but that is one of his goals. We don't know what his ceiling to recovery will be, but thanks to his young age, so far, he has shown a miraculous ability to learn/relearn with no obvious physical roadblocks.

On behalf of Wyatt, our resilient son and Marine, and our entire family, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your compassion, love, and support during this most difficult time. We will be praying for our Lord's blessings upon you, and we covet your prayers for Wyatt and our family, as we walk this path thankful for our daily bread.

Thank you for rallying behind Wyatt and for standing with us as we work towards rebuilding his future, one task, one step at a time.

With profound joy and thankfulness,

Craig and Kimberly (Wyatt's Parents)