Friday, September 01, 2017 – Update on Sis. Johnson and Elder Wayment, Mission Farewell Breakfast, William Gheen Home

UPDATE ON ELDER WAYMENT – At this morning’s Mission Farewell Breakfast we were given an update on the condition of Elder Wayment who was knocked down and trampled by a horse in the barn on Thursday morning. 

Elder Wayment was walking with the un-haltered horses to their grain feeder in the barn. On the other side of the wall a crew of workers were using a hammer drill on their construction project. At the moment the horses and Elder Wayment were walking by the same wall, the hammer drill turned on and the sudden loud noise and strong vibrations spooked all of the horses. Startled, they wheeled around and bolted, knocking Elder Wayment to the ground. One of the 2000 pound animals stepped in the middle of Elder Wayment’s chest.

Elder Wayment suffered a crushed artery, 2 cracked ribs, hematoma on his sternum, bleeding around his lungs and heart and a cracked vertebrae. The life flight helicopter was supposed to take him south to Quincy ILL. but instead flew north to Iowa City. The hospital there has a “Trauma Team” and several experienced and prepared doctors were there, on hand to receive Elder Wayment.

Now, a day later, Elder Wayment is not out of the woods yet but he is doing much better. Elder Wayment’s emergency surgery to open the crushed artery was a complete success using three stints. The hematoma and bleeding around his heart and lungs required him to be in ICU for the first day in the hospital but he is out of ICU now.  This morning he was talking, laughing and able to get out of his bed. He is in excellent spirits and wants to know how soon he can leave the hospital!

I received this report on what happened to Elder Wayment and his recovery from three different people.  What I find extraordinary about it is how well he is doing considering a ton of horse stepped in the middle of his chest. Everything about these events are truly an answer to prayer, and the hand of the Lord was truly involved. For example EMT’s and an ambulance were summoned as well as the “Life Flight” helicopter. The EMT’s arrived in minutes and tended to Elder Wayment. The ambulance carrying Elder Wayment arrived at the helicopter landing spot just as the helicopter arrived. Aid was almost immediate and no time was wasted transporting Elder Wayment.  Then, the helicopter was supposed to fly back to Quincy but chose to go to the only hospital with a trauma team on duty. And the quick action and surgery by the doctors was the care he needed to save his life and he would have received it nowhere else. Miracles do happen, they happen every day and this is one of them.

UPDATE ON SIS. JOHNSON – Sis. Johnson is almost completely back to normal. She put in a full day of work and aside from the itching, she is doing great. For the previous two days since the wasp attack, her goal was to be healthy enough to play “Agatha” in tonight’s Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo show. Well, she not only performed as “Agatha” but she put on a stellar show. She is great on the stage, a natural. Who knew she had so much acting talent?

Back at work today we did another one of Richard Hancock’s new projects. We revitalized another flowerbed in front of another historic home, this time the home of William Gheen. The house has been unoccupied for a long time and the flowerbeds where completely neglected. But today they are completely redone with beautiful perennial plants and flowers to make this home’s flowerbed stand out and add beauty here in Old Nauvoo.

This morning we had our “Farewell Breakfast” for about 30 couples and Single Sister Missionaries that go home in September. Unfortunately the memory card in my camera failed somehow and “All of the files are corrupted.” I had to reformate the card and I permanently lost all of the pictures I had taken of the breakfast. Rats! 

(NO PICTURES!)