The Accident

DISCLAIMER:The following story is very graphic and difficult to read. But many of you have asked what really happened and in some cases, the story has been getting skewed. So thanks to our sister-in-law Brooke Osborne, here is the recount of the tragic event of why we are where we are today.It was Friday night at Chuck and Sue Osborne's house (grandpa & grandma). Cameron and Brooke Osborne were there with their children Madison (4) and Corban (2). They were getting them bathed while grandma finished preparing food for the weekend coming up. Grandpa was working on making the ice cream. Beau and Nicole and their family were expected at the house any minute. They were going to leave their children, Bryson (4), Reagan (2), and Kennedy (1) at the house and then head to Columbus. They were going to pick up Bea and Lusimi at the airport. Bea was the Osborne's foreign exchange student while the kids were in high school. She was bringing her husband to America for the first time to show him around and visit with the family. Beau and Nicole were going to take them back to Berlin for the night and spend some time the next day showing them around. They were then planning on coming back to Marion on Saturday evening so that the entire family could visit with them. Beau and Nicole pulled in shortly after 8:00pm. We were all out there to welcome them. As soon as they got out of the van all the cousins hugged and Bryson started telling us how they spent the day at the county fair. He and Corban then immediately started play fighting. Nicole took Reagan and Kennedy in to give them a bath and Madison went with her to help. Bryson and Beau stayed outside playing around with Grandpa. Grandpa started cutting the grass and Bryson stayed outside to run off some energy. Grandpa was cutting the side lawn. Cameron walked outside for a minute with Corban and they watched Bryson running around from the porch. Beau walked in the house and it was at that second that Bryson darted to the side yard of the house (between the house and the little creek) where Grandpa was cutting grass. A split second later, Cameron heard an awful noise and Grandpa screaming repeatedly. At the same time Brooke was in the big family room and heard the same awful sound. She looked out the window to see Grandpa throwing the lawnmower off of Bryson, who was lying on his back. She ran in the kitchen and grabbed the phone (which praise the Lord was easily accessible). She started dialing 9 1 and at that moment heard and saw Cameron come running screaming to call 911. So she finished making the call. Cameron also saw grandpa throw the lawnmower off of Bryson, which grandpa does not remember doing. Cameron ran in the house and got Beau and Nicole who came running, not sure whether to really believe Cameron or not. At first Beau did not even think Bryson was that hurt because he was trying to get up and seemed to be in a sort of kneeling position. He quickly turned over though and they saw the severity of the injuries: his knee was destroyed, unrecognizable, resembling a piece of meat. They then held Bryson and tried to keep him calm. In the next few seconds 911 told Brooke to put pressure on the leg, control the bleeding, and elevate the leg. Beau quickly ripped off his Ohio State jersey, wrapped the leg, and held on tight with his arms. Nicole then positioned herself over Bryson caressing his face and hair trying to keep him calm. During this time Grandma and Cameron were getting the two girls out of the bathtub, keeping Madison and Corban calm and just making sure there was nothing else that could be done. Brooke then tried to encourage Beau and Nicole and helped hold Bryson's heel. Beau and Nicole did a great job. Beau laid his head on Brooke's shoulder because as he held pressure on the leg he could feel the bones moving back and forth. Nicole kept talking to her precious baby and we were all praying. At one point Nicole tried singing to Bryson, which he quickly let her know that he DID NOT want sung to! Although Bryson did scream and cry it did not seem to be a cry of pain, but of fear. He was fearful because we were all fluttering around him crying and screaming. A woman did stop by to help and the officials on site were wonderful. Although it seemed like an eternity the EMTs did get there quickly and came and took over. Nicole calmly told them that it was his leg, heel, and private area. The EMTs immediately started talking to Bryson and asking him questions such as, who is your favorite football team? Bryson replied loudly and excitedly, Go Buckeyes! Beau and Nicole were not allowed to go in the ambulance with him. However, before they left Nicole did hand them a 4 inch piece of femur and Bryson's kneecap which she had picked up off the ground just in case they might need it. The ground was quite a mess. The strength God gave was a miracle and He used it to save Bryson's life. They came in the house and after getting sick themselves they quickly threw on clean shirts and headed out the door with Grandpa and Grandma to follow the ambulance to Marion General Hospital. The EMTs left on the site told us that the helicopter was already on its way to MGH and that they would be life flighting him to Columbus Children's Hospital. Nicole did get to ride on the helicopter with Bryson because she was able to stay calm and help keep Bryson calm. Through all of this Bryson was alert and his mind continued to work very sharply. When they were cutting off his shirt he got mad because he had just received his brand new Ohio State football jersey that morning. And as they put Bryson in the ambulance Beau jokingly told him not to smile and Bryson got a big, ornery, smile on his face as if God was telling us, things will be okay. I'm the one really in control here. We later found out that if the bleeding had not been controlled so well, Bryson would have died. We praise God for taking a near fatality and saving Bryson in so many ways. The emergency team was wonderful. They later came back to clean up the site as it was very graphic. As the helicopter arrived in Columbus Bryson was taken immediately to surgery. The waiting room quickly filled with friends, family, and relatives. Beau and Nicole were quickly faced with a major decision. The doctors informed them that they needed to know whether to try and save the leg or amputate it. They let them know that if they tried to save it his leg would always be shorter than the other one and that his future would be full of continual painful surgeries. His leg would also be stiff because he lost his kneecap. If they amputated, the possibility of a prosthetic leg would give him much more freedom and less pain. I am sure you can only imagine the agony of the next few minutes as Beau and Nicole tried to make this difficult decision. After a lot of praying, crying, praying, wailing, and just plain agony they decided to allow them to amputate. It was difficult for them to make this decision as Nicole could not imagine having to tell Bryson that they told the doctors to cut off his leg. But, they knew this really was the only option if they wanted Bryson to have the greatest opportunity for a normal life. All of the family gave them their support that they felt they made the right decision. A few hours later the doctors came out and said that the amputation was complete and that it went well. They then headed in for the second surgery. As they left Beau picked up the Bible and started talking to all of us. He shared one of Nicole's favorite passages about God caring for His children during difficult times: Isaiah 43:1-4. He then also shared Jeremiah 29:11-13, For I know the plans I have for You declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Beau assured everyone that he KNEW God had a plan for Bryson, without a doubt he believed God could use this for good and that Bryson would be okay. But, he said that the only way he would be okay was if we encouraged Bryson to seek God with all this heart and allowing Him to fulfill His great plan in his life. He pleaded with us to join him and Nicole in praying that Bryson would trust in God. He said that as he was lying on the floor sobbing outside the operating room door after giving the surgeons the go-ahead for the amputation, Nicole held him and eventually reminded him that this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where the faith we've always talked about has to become real. He then ended by asking us all to join him in singing the doxology, Praise God from whom all blessings flow. What a powerful time of prayer, praise, and worship. What seemed like an eternity later the surgeon came out at 4am and told us that the 6 hours of surgery were over and that Bryson was in the recovery room. The surgery on his private parts went better than expected in some areas and not as good as hoped in other areas. There is a lot of hope for that area and we ask that you continue to pray for God's perfect healing in that area. It seemed as though Beau and Nicole could finally breathe for a split second. The waiting room of support headed home so that Beau and Nicole could try to rest a little while as they waited for Bryson to get taken to the PICU. They then got to see him and sleep in his room for the next couple of hours. We praise God for saving Bryson's life! Thank you dear Jesus!!!