Category: Updates

The last eleven days have shown us how hope, fear, pain, and love can all sit so hand-in-hand over a moment. We’ve awoken to mornings of cautious optimism from Angie’s doctors and sat together through times of anxious fear over what the future may hold. When the pain and heartache hits in such an acute way, we’re just as firmly met with the overwhelming love of God, each other, and all of you.

We are so incredibly thankful for all of you who have reached out and shown us intentionality, love, and care over the last week and a half. Both in the words and acts we’ve seen, and the prayers and conversations we can’t see, it is so comforting knowing we have such a family of support prayerfully walking alongside all of us in this. And not just walking in the pain, but walking in hope of a complete recovery of our sister, wife, daughter, and friend.

In this blur of a week and a half it’s been the little moments of hope that keep us strong.

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

A Tenacious Fighter

In the last week, Angie has really shown us how strong she is, and even now, how there’s a tenacious fighter inside of her (as we all know is so true of our Angie). Since our last post, we have so much to be thankful for:

• Her breathing tube was removed and she is again breathing on her own
• She is becoming more responsive
• She is becoming increasingly aware of the presence of Ryne and family
• Angie has begun smiling as we stand near her
• She participated in an hour of physical therapy on Thursday
• Angie is showing her true spirit as she so boldly fights this battle!

Seeing Angie gently rub Amanda’s hand with her thumb and watching her countenance ease when Ryne is by her side reminds us to find joy and hope in these little moments. All the notes you’ve sent in sharing stories of Angie’s love for you reminds us of the impact our girl has had on the world around her. Thank you for staying hopeful in this time and encouraging us with your stories. We pray and look forward to the future stories of Angie loving and caring for everyone around her. Please continue to share your stories with us.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9

We continue to find strength in the Word and are clinging to who God is as we walk forward in hope. It’s the hope in the little moments that help us get through the long days.

This has been the most unexplainable, traumatic experience of our lives. I have seen God’s grace and love abound in those who have come to our side night after night, how He has united Alex, Ryne, and myself in this process, with the people who have prayed with us and for us, and even more spectacularly, in the stories from people who came to know our Angie so well.

Angie has shared her love and light so much further than we could have ever imagined. I praise God for every day I have with her; to just kiss and hold her hand again. She truly is the strongest, most faithful, and remarkable woman I have ever known and I am so grateful God has given me the gift of being her twin sister and best friend and having been so deeply known and loved for every single day of my existence by this incredible person.

I have hope in my God and in my sweet sissy that she can and will overcome this and I am prepared to stand by her every step of the way every day for the rest my life. I’m sorry if I or Alex have not had the time to respond to all of you but please know that your love and prayers mean EVERYTHING to us.

Please keep praying and please keep sharing so others might pray along with us.

– Amanda

On Tuesday, August 21, 2018 the unimaginable hit.

To avoid retelling the painful narrative that’s now the truth in which we walk, we’ll give a brief summary of the situation. Angie was biking home in the early evening and was struck by a vehicle, sustaining a serious head trauma. Angie was immediately transported to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing and thus began the horrible dream through which we’re wading.

It’s in these moments that words cease to form and emotions overwhelm our whole being. All we can cling to is the truth of who God is. We know He is good. We know He is sovereign. We desperately cry out in pain and longing for our wife, sister, daughter, and friend, yet through our tears, trust that God’s will is being fulfilled.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 2:22-23

We look to Scripture and see how full it is of God’s people calling out to Him in anguish and suffering; and there’s great comfort in that.

We don’t need to have all the answers.

We don’t need to pretend that it’s easy to trust God.

We don’t need to cover our emotions in self-resilience.

We simply rest in the truth of who God is and trust that in every situation we can bring Him glory.

After 72 hours there haven’t been a ton of changes in Angie’s situation, but we’d like to update you on what has happened and what we can be thankful for and what we still need to pray for.

• Angie sustained a serious head trauma in the accident with multiple skull fractures
• The swelling in the brain has since come down to heightened but manageable levels
• Angie was successfully transferred to and from the MRI which is a huge success and incredibly helpful for the doctors to gauge the scope of the situation
• Continued tests and prompts have revealed that Angie’s brain is harmed, but healthy
• At this time there’s not a need for surgery and she’s out of the immediate critical risk of stroke
• Her heart is strong and veins and arteries are open and flowing
• Family has been around to comfort and provide meals

Thank you all for the continued prayers and offers to serve and love Ryne, Angie, Amanda, and Alex in this incredibly tough time. So many of you have been present and expressed a willingness to step into the providing of material needs – that speaks volumes to everyone!

To respect the continued vulnerability and emotional rawness that everyone is going through, we’ll be using this blog as a central landing point for all updates and prayer-requests. Please pass this around to family and friends that have asked about the situation. One of the best ways we can love Angie, Ryne, Amanda, and the family is to give them the space to process through this unknown and unknowable territory.

This week life hit us all hard, yet we can stand strong knowing God is our God and that is enough.