Words no wife ever wants to hear anybody say, let alone her husband. At first, I didn't believe him and I kinda laughed. Then I heard the panic of the voices in the background telling him that he needed to go to the hospital. He told me to drive carefully, but to head to the hospital. I called my father in law first and told him. Then I called a couple from our community group, who also told me to drive carefully. The drive to the hospital is a blur to me. I know I called my best friend. Beyond that, I have no idea. When I got there, Chris's boss was there and my father in law got there around the same time. As soon as I saw his boss, I lost it. I very distinctly remember him hugging me until I calmed down some. At first, nobody would give me any information. I remember I kept saying "I'm his wife". Finally someone told us he was in surgery and took us to the waiting room. The time just dragged by. Chris's boss stayed and waited with us for news of his condition. I can't remember what conversations we had. I'm sure I made jokes. When I'm in uncomfortable situations I tend to do that. Still more hugs though. The memories of the hugs are just so etched in my mind. I've only worked for one company where my boss would have done that.
At some point, the police came to get him so that he could take the keys back to the office for them to process his truck. You read that right, his truck was at the office. He drove the rest of the way in after he got shot. Thankfully, he was only about a half a mile from the office when it happened, but still...
This is what his truck now looks like. The bullet went through his tailgate, the back of the bed, through the back wall of the interior, the backseat and the driver's seat and ultimately into my husband.
He was on his way in to work when he was passing a fender bender in progress. As he was passing by, the vehicle in the very front of the fender bender sped around him and cut him off. That was the intended target. That person put my husband between themselves and the shooter.
Shortly before the police came to the waiting room, the surgeon came to tell us where the bullet went, what they had to do and the next steps. It was still several hours until I was able to see him. The bullet had gone into his back under the ribcage and about an inch away from his spine. It missed all the major organs, nicked his small intestines and landed in the front of his abdominal cavity. The outcome could have been so much worse when you think of the trajectory it took and how close it came to being a much different conversation. It was still pretty bad.
This is what greeted me when I got to his room. They cut his belly from just below the sternum to right above his pubic bone. In order to make sure there were no fragments or other possible injuries, they had to pull out the entire length of his intestines, search inch by inch, then put them back. There is a tube in his nose that is doing the work of his intestines in this photo. This tube was in for almost a week before his digestive system started to work again. Until that point, all that he was getting was coming from several IV bags. That had to stay in until his bowels started working again. I stayed every night. I know I left at some point to take his truck home and get some clothes, but beyond that, I never left him. I couldn't. I was too afraid to.
The first thing he was allowed when the tube came out was Jello. You can see that he was very excited about that. Later on it was the liquid diet, then soft foods, then full on solids. The silliness in these photos make my heart happy. He was still in pain. He had 27 staples in his stomach. He still found something to smile about though. His faith changed. In a good way. His boss came to visit, several of his coworkers, friends and family. Our church rallied around us also. Those that couldn't come called. His parents were my rock to lean on during this time too. I am so very thankful for them. For their love. For their support. For all the hugs.
They had him up and walking almost right away and I walked every step with him. He wasn't always happy about it, understandably too. This was the first walk taken after they took the tube out of his nose. I'm not as squeamish as I used to be. My parents raised the threshold of what I could see and take. Seeing the tube come out though....everything went white and my stomach turned. Eight days after this nightmare started, I was able to take my husband home. He was home a few more weeks before he went back to the office and was back to full days by the time school started. Through all of this, he did not miss a single day of pay, nor did he have to use his vacation time. His co-workers donated vacation hours so that he wouldn't have to. This company, it's more than just a job, it's our family. I am so deeply grateful to them. For every hour donated to my husband. For taking him to the hospital in the first place. For staying with me while he was in surgery. For all the visits. For everything that was done for us and for Chris. I love each and every one of them. They made us their family and in doing so, became our family too. Thank you! I will leave you with the following video as well as the link to the video on YouTube. The video on YouTube can be shared. At this point, we have heard nothing from the police in regards to the investigation. My prayer is that the video will be shared and somebody will remember something and will contact the police.
