Update #21 on Matt's Brother, Kevin

The night we flew in from Italy (arriving four days after Kevin’s accident) Angie and I went straight to the hospital. Exhausted and tired from our travel, yet on a high from finally arriving to my brother’s side, we stayed with him our first night in the hospital. Such a strange sight. Tubes connected to him. Bags hanging around him. And a myriad of machines examining him. There were beeps of all kinds. Simple beeps, beeps with melodies. All alarms to some changing condition of Kevin, either from blood pressure, heart rate, lung pressure, respiratory rate, etc… It was all so foreign to us. It was like learning another language all over again.


The night before last, Angie and I stayed once more with Kevin. In fact, since that first night we have stayed there every other night. On the off nights staying at the hotel (like last night). There were still machines and tubes and beeps, but there were less. Less tubes going into my brother’s body. Less machine controlling him, where he has regained some functionality. Less beeps and alarms going off throughout the day and the night. The beeps that do go off are less foreign to us. For example, we understand for a certain beep it just means he coughed whether we saw it or not. We have done well learning this new language. As difficult as it has been.

Early yesterday evening, the elders from Cedar Ridge Christian Church came up and prayed over Kevin. They prayed for healing, restoration and for the family to lean on Christ.

Kevin’s flood restoration has been going well. There were some hiccups yesterday with insurance agents, but that seems to be handled and some semblance of peace restored there. Kevin’s lower kitchen cabinets have been taken out and other steps are being taken to remodel the damaged home. The family has to go through every single thing that was in the house and determine if damaged is it worth saving. I stopped by the warehouse that has all the stuff. It was the first time I confronted that world. I was at the hospital whenever the cleanup was going on, and I never saw the flood. When I first saw furniture that I have only known in Kevin’s house, I felt sick to my stomach. This was wrong. These things didn’t belong here. And it further hit me that Kevin was unable to go through them himself at this time. The next thing, that hit my mind was how it reminded me of our furniture and possessions that had been in storage in Italy for a year and a half. We finally moved to our new apartment in June and we didn’t expect to be back in the states for another two years. Then the accident. Thoughts of Italy, bring thoughts of our team that I am leading, as well as thoughts of our little dog, Brinkley, whom we miss dearly and is staying with our teammate April in Verona. Lots of questions swirl in our minds as we are faced with a future of uncertainty.

In the hours before we left last night, Kevin’s legs were particularly active. Not moving much, you understand, but slightly rocking. Kevin’s left shoulder was seen pulling back for the first time and his vitals were stable. The IV filter procedure that I mentioned in a previous update would be done in radiology, they wouldn’t need to go to an OR. During the procedure they have to see what they are doing and in radiology they can monitor with something like a sonogram, for instance.

Also, thanks for those of you who gave towards 742-DINE. The family used it last night. It worked out great. They brought the food in 40 minutes. If you do want to give towards that, the account number has changed. For the Crosser family the account number is 4374300. Thanks!

Thanks for praying,
Matt, Angie and family