We just had some very bad news. Some very good RVing friends of ours were on their way from Florida to North Carolina. They stopped in Atlanta to see some family and friends, and sometime Tuesday, while they were driving their toad, a vehicle being driven by a drunk driver crossed into their lane and hit them head-on.

Their names are Roland and Louise. We have know them for about 6 years, and they have been full-timing for almost as long. Roland has a broken wrist and is really banged up. Louise is in the ICU at a hospital in Atlanta with both legs badly broken and other multiple injuries. 

We are telling you about this because everyone needs to realize that in just 1 split second, your life can change completely. Right now, we have no idea if they will be able to RV any more or not, and that really isn't important. The important thing is that they recover from their injuries and are able to live out the rest of their lives in comfort. We never know what is going to happen to us tomorrow. We need to live today, like there is no tomorrow.

I would like to ask all of you on this forum to take a little time to think about them and say a little prayer if you would like to. Right now, they need all the help that they can get.  

We will be talking to Roland in the next few days, and will let all of you know how they are doing, and if we can be of any help, we'll be heading to Atlanta ourselves.

Thank you so much for any thoughts and prayers,

Jim and Linda

Jim and Linda -prayers here for your friends. Keep us informed on their progress please. Phyllis

Jim & Linda,
Please be assured of our prayers for your friends.
Larry & Arlene

How true....in just one split second!      Friends of ours have been full-timing for several years and had just ordered a new 2009 coach.  With no previous medical history, he collapsed a few weeks ago while at a festival in Arizona.  Twelve days later he was removed from life support and passed away a short time later.  At this time, his wife is remaining in the RV park and dealing with details.  She does not routinely drive their beautiful 43' coach and family lives in the midwest.    Since this has happened, my husband and I have discussed the "what if's".   A point well made...live each day to the fullest....and have a plan.  Sending thoughts and prayers!

Mary

Oh, Jim & Linda! I am so very sorry to hear the news about Roland and Louise. I have prayed for them to feel God's presence and healing. I have been following your blog and waiting for news on Louise's tests. Travel safely to them and keep us updated.

First of all, Linda and I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

We received a short e-mail from Roland today, and Louise has made it through a first round of surgery. It sounds like they are now going to transfer her from Grady Hospital to Emory Hospital Monday or Tuesday, for more surgery on Wednesday. 

We still don't know just exactly how bad she was hurt, but will keep all of you informed as we get more info. 

They have some family and friends in the area, and they are with them, so we will take care of some business here in FL. and then as soon as we can, we'll head up there and try to at least give them some moral support.  

Again, thank you,

Jim and Linda

What a terrible thing to happen both to your friends and also the gentleman who passed away in Arizona. We just never know when something similar will happen to any one of us which is one of the reasons that we retired early and started fulltiming. Enjoy your life while you can! Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

Jim and Linda, You are so right, In just a second things can change so much. Our thoughts and prayers are with your friends. We hope they get well and get back on the road soon. God Bless Don and Gayle

Jim and Linda, We'll certainly be praying for Roland and Louise and watching your website for updates. "In a Split Second" is why we are so glad that we decided to quit w*rking early in life and go fulltime while we are still young.

Again, Linda and I want to thank all of you who have been following this thread and giving your thoughts and prayers to our friends.

We talked to Roland last night, and Louise seems to be doing a little better. She had been under pretty heavy sedation and had been on a ventilator. Yesterday, they took her off of the ventilator. He said that she doesn't seem to be in quite as much pain as she had been, but there were still some very rough times.

They have not yet transferred her to Emory Hospital, for further surgery, but said he thought they would in the near future. Other than her legs, and a lot of bumps and bruises, she seems to be OK.

Roland has the broken wrist, and a knee that has been giving him some problems, but the doctors think his knee will heal OK.

From what I can determine, it's a miracle that they are alive. They were traveling at highway speeds when they were hit head-on. Their SUV is about 4 feet shorter than it was before the accident. Roland said that the air bags, seat belts, and the fact that God was watching over them, is why they survived.

We believe that the thoughts and prayers from all of you have helped them through this difficult time. There truly is a great bunch of people on this site, and Linda and I are looking forward to meeting many of you in the future.

Thank you so much,

Jim and Linda

Linda & Jim,
We  are  very  happy to hear  that things are a little  better with your dear friends.
 Our good thoughts and many  prayers will  continue.
God Bless.
Arlene & Larry

Wow - what a shock.  Please let your friends know that they are in our thoughts and prayers.

Randy and Pam

Sherri and I both will keep praying for them I am so sorry to hear about this. I pray they have a full recovery Joe and Sherri

Just received an e-mail from Roland this morning. He seems to be doing pretty well.

Louise has had surgery on her right ankle and her upper left leg. This surgery was done when she first got to the hospital, right after the accident.

Yesterday, she has was moved out of ICU and is now in a regular room. In past years, she has had both knees replaced with artificial ones. Both of these were damaged in the accident and will have to be replaced. This is why she will be moved to Emory Hospital the first part of next week. It is not clear if they will try to do both of them at once, or if they will do one first, and the other at a later date. 

Louise has a long, rough, hilly road ahead of her, but there does seem to be a smooth spot over one of those hills. It's just going to take time to get there.

Thank you,

Jim and Linda

We talked to Roland last night, and wanted to give you an update.

Louise is doing better. They have put both legs in full casts, reducing movement, and thus reducing pain. Roland said that she even laughed at something that happened yesterday.

We did find out why they are transferring her to Emory. There is a doctor there that specializes on joint replacement, and he will do the replacement/reconstruction of her knees. The plan, as of last night, is to transfer her next Tuesday, and then perform surgery next Thursday. It is not clear if they will try to do both knees at once or will wait on the less damaged one.

We also want to tell you that your thoughts and prayers have not gone unnoticed. I have told Roland about this web site and all of the great people here. He has visited the site, and could not believe the response from all of you.

Your thoughts and prayers have helped. Thank you so much.

Jim and Linda

Linda and I talked to Roland again yesterday morning, and I'm afraid that I have more bad news to report.

Louise has been moved to Emory Hospital. While talking to the doctors there, she told them that she had a lot of pain in her hip, so they decided to x-ray it. You guessed it. It also had been broken in the accident, and was not found. So now, she has to have surgery on it too.

Now, the plan is to do surgery on the hip this week, her left knee next week, look into her original medical problem the week after that, and do surgery on her right knee sometime after that. The doctors told Roland that she would also need 4 or 5 additional surgeries during the next 18 months!

I really don't know what to say. She has a very long, bumpy road ahead of her. Her spirits are pretty good and she has a great amount of faith. All of your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.

This thread was originally started to remind every one that you can never count on tomorrow. So many times we put things off, thinking that we can do them later. That may not be possible. Do not wait. 

This will probably be my last update about Roland and Louise, on this forum. If you would like to follow Louise's recovery, please visit our blog. Any news that we get will be posted there.

I can't begin to tell you what your comments, thoughts and prayers have meant to Roland and Louise. Please keep them coming.

What a great bunch of people on this site. Thank you so very much.

Jim and Linda

In our Duay Rheems bible, we have a book of Tobit...In it you meet Archangel Raphael, the medicine of God as he is called by some......Archangels are always close to God, and with His power effect miraculous cures as well as being guides through difficult journeys as Archangel Raphael was for Tobias. We will ask this archangel to carry our prayer to God for us that Roland and Louise recover rapidly and continue on life's journey of finding Him in their hearts and with others.

To everyone that has given their thoughts and prayers to Louise and Roland, we would like to let you know that they have helped. Thank You.

Louise has now had successful surgery on both of her legs, ankle, hip, and both knees. The surgery on the last knee, (the right one), was done yesterday, and after talking to Roland last night, it sounds like most of the bone/joint surgeries are over. Now the recovery and therapy will start.

There is still the original medical problem of the tumor that was discovered while they were down here in Florida, (Which is why they were headed for N. Carolina in the first place), but the the doctors have been monitoring it and will be addressing it in the very near future. Probably as soon as she has recovered a little from all of the other surgeries.

At any rate, everything seems to be going pretty well right now. We will be heading for Atlanta this weekend and will try to be of some help, if we can.

Again, and we can't say it enough, Thank You. All of the great people on this forum have surely helped with Roland and Louise's recovery from this horrible accident.

Thank you so much,

Jim and Linda

For further updates, please check our blog.

Some of you asked about them at the Rally, so I just had to make one more post on this thread to share the good news we received yesterday, about Roland and Louise.

Yesterday afternoon, we received a phone call from Louise, and she is now in Forest City, NC. She was released from the hospital yesterday morning and after a very exhausting trip, they are finally back in NC, and near their Son's house. She is so happy to finally be out of the hospital.

Louise is now able to get around with the assistance of a walker, and will continue rehab as an out-patient. At some time in the future, she will have to have surgery to have some hardware removed from her hip, but other than that, it doesn't sound like any further surgeries will be necessary. More than likely, they will not full-time any longer, but the hope is that they can continue to RV part time. Only time will tell.

Folks, don't ever under estimate the power of thoughts and prayers. It is truly a miracle that Louise even survived the accident, much less is walking again. I saw their Jeep Liberty, and the fact that she even made it out of there, was truly amazing. The man upstairs was shurley looking out for her.

Roland, Louise, Linda and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. You will never know how much they have helped.

Also, never forget, "just one split second" can change your life forever. Never, ever take tomorrow for granted. Do it today!

Thank You,

Jim and Linda

-- Edited by Jim01 at 08:16, 2008-07-03