I am not home yet

I have not lost God.
I have lost my brother, my childhood companion, my adulthood confidant.
I have not lost grace.
It is in the midst of grief, mourning, and pain.
I have not lost faith.
I have reassurance in the life-everlasting.
I have not lost hope.
I have prayers never-ceasing.
I have not lost love.
I have family, friends, and puppies.
I am not lost.
I’m just not home yet.
I have not lost God.
He never leaves me. He gives me faith, hope, and love.

Wake me up

Wake me up to that Sunday dinner before the wreck, Mom's good food, Mike's big grin, fun and laughter.
Wake me up to February 14, 1970, to see the look on Mom and Dad's faces as they gaze at their baby boy.
Wake me up to the day Mike proposed to Laura, to the smiles, tears, and little sister beaming with pride.
Wake me up to June 3, 1998, as big brother Mike becomes a Daddy.
Wake me up to one more moment in the ICU, where I can hold and craddle my big brother just one more time.
Wake me up in Heaven where the hurt, pain, and hole are no more.
Wake me up to today, Lord, to your Word, your Will, to Life.
Without you Lord, do not wake me up tomorrow, for You are what sustains me.

Thanks for the chicken and dumplings

Among the many wonderful expressions of love is the gift of food. One of our precious family member's brought chicken and dumplings for Easter Sunday lunch. As I have tried to sum up the experience of Monday night's visitation in my head, I keep thinking of chicken and dumplings.

Both sets of our grandmothers (and mother) often made chicken and dumplings. Think about your memories of this food if you are fortunate enough to have grown up with it. Chicken and dumplings is warm, it's nourishing, it's comforting, it makes you tired and sleepy and ready for a Sunday afternoon nap, it is love.

As we all gazed at the numbers of people who so graciously waited to express thier sympathies and mourn with us, I am sure it was pretty obvious that we were overwhelmed and worn.

Yet somehow, after waiting a couple of days to really reflect on it, I was able to come to this conclusion; every single one of you brought us warmth, nourishment, made us tired and sleepy and ready for a nap (we ALL slept well Monday night-much needed), and you brought us LOVE.

On behalf of the Mike Watson, Jr Family...
THANKS FOR THE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS
Love,
Rhonda

Memorials for Mike Watson Jr

From Mike Watson Sr.

Thank you for your prayers of support and love you have shown us. Hold dear to your loved ones, hug them and keep God in your life. Without Him it is difficult if not impossible to bear the tragedies that life sometimes offers.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that memorials be sent to:
Jonesboro United Methodist Church
407 W. Main Street
Sanford, NC 27330

Arrangements for Mike Watson

Thank you for your patience as we plan our "see-ya's," (no good-byes) to Mike.

A visitation will be held at Jonesboro United Methodist Church Wesley Center, Sanford, North Carolina, Monday, April 13 from 6pm-8pm.

Honoring his wishes, Mike will be cremated. There will not be a viewing.

A Memorial Celebration is planned for Sunday, May 3 from 3pm until... at the same location.

Thank you for your prayers and outpouring of love as we grieve our brother, son, father, husband, cousin, grand child, nephew, uncle, friend.

We hope that after some time to mourn the loss, you will find the reasons to celebrate Mike's life as he would want us to. Please bring those celebrations to the Memorial Celebration.

Let Easter Sunday sustain you with reassurance that we have a God who knows what it is like to lose his son. Know that Mike is living in eternity with the Father.

Once again, on behalf of that big Teddy Bear and family,
Rhonda

April 10, 2009 4:45 PM

Michael has gone home to be with the Lord.

April 10, 2009

Mike did not change much during the night, however his fever did break and BP continues to stay in a desired range. This morning a blood clot was found in his right leg, the same one that is fractured. Unfortunately not an unexpected development. Treatment is being started for that. He is responded positively to some venilatory changes. We are grateful for that. He desperately needs to improve his ventilation.

You hear so many seemingly hollow statements during times like these..."just pray," "we're holding up," "one day at a time," "moment by moment." Know this, these are not hollow statements. These represent our reality. We look at pieces and parts of Mike's progress and are constantly thankful that he is still here.

Many have asked questions about the wreck and what happened. We honestly do not know the details. The basics are as follows, he ran off the road approximately a half a mile from his house, about 15 feet off the road into trees. His truck caught fire. At this time, until we have more factual details, we will not put out any more information than that. While we need to understand how we got to where we are, we are trying to focus on where we are at now versus exactly how we got here. The injury pattern from the wreck explains enough right now. Please be patient and understanding as we are not focused on that part right now. We understand that the wanting to know is a part of your love and concern for Mike. That is what we are immensley grateful for.

Hunter is with family and friends today. Pray for a fun and child-like day for him.

I am reminded that today is Good Friday. As we head into this Easter weekend, remind yourself of the Lord's sacrafice and difficult walk he had. Remind yourself of the glorious resurrection on Sunday. Life is hard. God is good. Don't get the two confused (words of wisdom from some wise friends).
Love, peace, and humbling thanks,
Rhonda for the Mike Watson Family

From Laura - 5:00pm, April 9, 2009

Sooo, I just went in to talk to Mike (he's still being quiet in these conversations), and I got some great updates. Right now, his BP, temp, O2 levels and kidney function are within normal ranges. His CO2 has come down 20 points or so, and is nearly normal. Halleluia!! God is so good!

While I was in there, I also dug around amongst the CT scan records and found out that he only has one facial fracture - the right side of his nose, the nasal bone. His jaw is dislocated, but apparently not broken.

While Hunter was here, he was able to go in an see Mike. This is the first time he has seen Mike. Although he was upset, he was amazingly strong. I cried the first time I saw him, too.

Thank you for all of the prayers. I am totally humbled by the outpouring of love.

Post surgery

First of all, Mike is still with us. Surgery findings were minimal but beneficial. He had large amounts of brusing from this trauma and scar tissue from his previous trauma. The surgeon put in a chest tube for an air leak and left his abdomen open to allow pressure release. While he is not remotely out of the woods, simply relieving pressure in his abdominal cavity will allow better lung expansion. It also allowed his kidneys to start working better. These are seemingly small improvements but will also allow his blood pressure and perfusion to improve.

I cannot help but emphasize Mike is still here. For all rights and purposes he should not be.

Hunter has come to the hospital today. The first time since Monday. He is being a stoic boy. I love to look at that face and see my brother's grin.

I don't know if you are all familiar with the roller coaster that is Mike. This is part of a day in the life in Mike. Never a dull moment and always keeps us guessing.

We are thankful we are still on that ride.

The Mike Watson Family

AM update

The decision has been made to do exploratory surgery due to Mike's deterioration. He is not stable enough for surgery but he is not stable enough to continue down the treatment program thus far. There is a good chance he won't survive the surgery. I can give you every reason why Mike should not be here or make it but if we don't have hope we have nothing.

I can look at every piece and part that is broken and every diagnostic tool and it's treatment purpose. All of it is ominous. But I look at my big brother and can do nothing but turn to the Lord for healing whether it is here or with Him. I can give you every medical reason Mike should not be here but my God is bigger than that.

We continue to feel your embrace. Hug us tighter and pray harder. We need it in this hour.

Rhonda

April 9, 2009

Mike had a rough night. He developed a high fever and his morning chest x-ray shows a "whiteout." They are having increasing difficulty ventilating him and are using very aggressive venilatory therapies. Mike had been moving the excess fluid out of is body very well (peeing a lot) but that decreased throughout the night. I could give you all the medical reasons this is happening but to sum it all up he remains very critical and unstable. The orthopedist and burn team have wanted to fix his leg and wrist fractures and debried his wounds but he is not stable enough to go to the OR for that.

All of us wish we could individually thank and hug each and every one of you out there for all the prayers, calls, and support. Know this, we all feel it immensley as none of us could handle it without you and the loving arms of Jesus. We feel the embrace.

There are many stages to the coping process. Frankly, we are all still in shock. While nothing Mike gets into surprises a lot of us, (yes, you can laugh) this is unreal, even surreal at this point. But it is real as we look at him lying in this bed with tubes and lines coming out of his broken body.

We will continue to hold vigil at the UNC ICU waiting room.

If you listen to Christian music, Casting Crowns "Praise you in this storm" is resounding in my head.

On behalf of the whole Mike Watson family, peace and love,
Rhonda

Michaels mailing address at UNC

The address is:
Michael Watson Jr.
SICU Bed 1
The University of North Carolina Hospitals
101 Manning Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

From Laura 4/8/09

Whew! Well, folks, the Watson roller coaster is going again. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has called, prayed, asked, loved , and kept the faith.

We thank God for our neighbors Ronnie Johnson and Gwyn (sorry I don't know her last name!). Gwyn was first on the scene and called 911. My heart goes out to her for the trauma I know she endured. Ronnie called to check on Mike after the wreck - without that call we do not know how long it would have been before we were notified.

I have to give a big shout out to whatever angel of the Lord cleaned our house. First of all, you are a brave soul. Secondly, you have done me especially a huge favor.

Thank you to Marsha and Travis for looking out for our herd of doggetts.

Thank you Rhonda for interpreting the jargon and setting up this site.

Thank you so very much to Julia and Robert who have opened their home to Hunter and are entertaining him very well.

Lee Christian and Lee Senior have been very understanding.

We love you all and know your prayers are with us. Keep praying.

Laura

Here we are

This is Rhonda, Mike's sister doing the blog. Some of the terms and words I will use will be very specific and medical and seem a bit distant. Bear with me as I use that as my own coping mechanism. This is day 3 after Mike's wreck on 4/6/09. The details of the wreck vary so I will provide basic details. Mike's truck ran off the road down a 15 foot drop off into trees and caught fire. He was life flighted to UNC. The extent of injuries are as follows- fractures of cervial spine 5-7, thoracic spine 1&2, multiple rib fractures, sternum, manubrium, jaw, R ankle and L wrist. He is on a ventilator and having difficulty with his lungs and elasticity of his lungs. He is in the process of developing pneumonia. He is fully chemically sedated and paralyzed. He remains in critical condition and not really stable. All that said, we all know Mike is a strong, stubborn fighter. This is the beginning of a very long road for all of us.

I ask specifically for prayers for Hunter, his son. He is an amazing child and needs the "village" to help in his coping. Laura is a rock and has been down this road with Mike before. Pray for continued strength and patience. Pray for mom and dad. Mike may be 39 but he is their child. Pray for the neighbors that found Mike and called 911.

Pray that my bull-headed brother remains as stubborn about living as he is about everything else.

He is at UNC SICU. Please do not call the SICU. Please ask to be directed to the ICU waiting room or call one of us.