Just Last Week

These pictures were taken last week during our family vacation near Vernal, Utah. We went to a Harker Family Reunion and then went to the Dinosaur National Monument. We had a wonderful time at the reunion and enjoyed special memories camping and exploring the Dinosaur Monument together. Jennie and I were glad to have a long-over due break. This was an amazing time for our family.

Here are a few pictures from that special vacation.

More Details

So here's an update on Jennie. Jennie has been off the sedatives for two days now and has not made any significant progress. She is in a coma due to the injuries to her brain. She is breathing on her own although she is still ventilated to protect her airways. She still has a feeding tube and is running a fever off and on. They are hoping to see some signs from Jennie to indicate that she is waking up. We would like to see a response to auditory commands or pain recognition. We also are looking to see her open her eyes. We are praying and hoping to see some response from Jennie and are grateful for all your continued prayers and support. Please Continue. Jennie needs all help she can get right now to come back to us.

It's Not a Coincidence

The following email was sent to Richard from a dear friend who lives in Vernal, Utah. It has touched Richard and the family and we wanted to share this with everyone. A special thanks goes out to Stacey for sharing this with Richard.




Hi Richard,
This is Stacey Taggart... I hope you remember me from CLP Ward in Fort Collins.  :)

We heard about your accident and we want you to know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, especially Jennie.  I'm put her name in the Vernal temple too so know that every hour, people are praying for her.

I'm not sure how to bring this up but I thought you might be interested to know...  

You may not remember due to the shock of the accident, but there was a couple that stopped and helped you guys right after the accident.  Andy helped you give Jennie a blessing, Tawnie got you some water and got Teagan's shoes out of the car for him.

They are our very good friends here in Vernal and our former next door neighbors.  They were headed up to Wyoming for the weekend and came upon your accident right after it happened.  They came home concerned about you guys and telling us about the accident but we didn't know who it was until we put two and two together last night.

I'm telling you all this to let you know that Heavenly Father is very mindful of you and especially Jennie.  I don't know exactly how to say this - and I don't want it to come across as irreverent - but based on what Tawnie told me, I know that Jennie is in Heavenly Father's hands.  

You see, Andy and Tawnie were supposed to leave for Wyoming on Friday night but at the last minute decided to wait until the next morning.  Then the next morning, as they prepared to leave, they couldn't find their car keys anywhere!  They searched high and low for two hours and then finally found them in a place where they had searched several times.  Finally they left Vernal but much later than they were planning and they came across your accident just minutes after it happened.  Tawnie told me that as they were trying to help, she was silently praying wanting to know how best to help (She could tell that you were very concerned about Jennie) and the idea popped into her head to suggest giving Jennie a blessing.  

Tawnie said she felt like you guys were LDS so that's why she asked even though she was nervous about it.  :)  She said the Spirit was very strong during the blessing and one of the most powerful experiences they've had relating to blessings.  

She was very concerned about Jennie as they could tell that she was very badly hurt but Andy said he felt comforted after the blessing that she would be OK.  They couldn't remember her name though as they continued on their trip, and she's been concerned all week and told me about it.  Tawnie's been scouring the internet trying to find some information on the accident because she's been so concerned.  It wasn't until Mason told me about your email and the blog that we put two and two together.

I'm not sure if you'll find this interesting or not but I thought that perhaps you might.  I hope that you find it somewhat comforting. :)  I feel a strange combination of sadness and relief.  I'm feel so sorry for the pain that you all must feel but I feel relieved knowing the circumstances a little bit and how Heavenly Father provided someone there to enable you to give Jennie a blessing right away.  I feel grateful that some of my friends were able to help our other friends.  :)  I just don't feel like I have the right words to say all this.... but I hope you understand.

Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you guys.  We're 3 hours away in Vernal and will be coming to SLC in July for some doctor's appointments so please let us know if there is anything we can do.  We will be donating to help pay for some of the medical costs but we also want to help in any other way we can too.

Love,
Stacey Taggart

Family and friends fast

We are inviting you to join us in a family fast this Sunday, July 1st. Jennie has been running a fever the last couple days. The Dr.'s and the family will be having a meeting that same Sunday, so we can use all the prayers we can get. Richard needs to attach his bank account to the PayPal and they aren't open on weekends, so hopefully Monday we can accept donations. Again thank you for all your love and support.

Jen-erosity for Jen

Jennie did not have any insurance. Donations are greatly appreciated on behalf of Jennie's 2 surviving children, Teagan and Hartley. The PayPal link is now working. Thank you for your continued support and love.

Happy Birthday Richard!

Today was a great day. Jennie is breathing on her own, with the ventilator only providing oxygen. She got her hair washed and fixed so she could look pretty and her face color was good. Today Richard turned 30 and we made sure he felt like an "old" man with lots of cane jokes etc. We convinced him to let us take him out to lunch knowing Jennie would want him to celebrate. Cheesecake and perfect strangers singing "Happy Birthday" made his day, well it made mine haha :) love you Richard!!

The Day After

Jennie spent the day recovering, she was taken off sedatives and they are waiting for the drugs to work out of her system. Next they will reduce her dependency on the ventilator based on how her body reacts. She seemed to respond to Richard's touch when he came into the room. It was a positive day. Richard was seen by the Orthopedic Dr. and he will not require further shoulder surgery. He will have a cool new bump on his left shoulder. The kids had a blast swimming with Aunt Karla.

Surgery Update:

She underwent back surgery last night to repair damage to the 4 areas that were unstable. She now has rods connecting the areas with the worst damage. Everything went well, the surgeon finished and hour earlier than expected, which we took as a good sign. The brain swelling pressures were down after surgery, which is awesome. Jennie squeezed my hand as we visited her and it warmed my heart. She is a fighter. We love you Jen.

The Accident

While traveling home from a family vacation, Jennie and her family were in an auto accident. The children and her husband are fine. During the accident Jennie sustained several serious injuries. Her spinal chord was injured mid-chest, her back was broken in several places and she will likely be paralyzed from the chest down. She also has head injuries with some swelling in her brain. Jennie has been unconscious since the accident. It could take 2-4 weeks for her to regain consciousness. She is scheduled for back surgery on Tuesday, June 26th. The surgery will repair the breaks in her back and it is estimated that the surgery will last 6-8 hours. We will update as new information becomes available.


She is fighting her battle in Salt Lake City, Utah with loved ones at her side. We know she is a fighter and she can pull through anything with the Lord's help. We love her so much. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes.


Jennie is an angel, the sweetest person we have had the privilege to share our lives with. We are very hopeful she will wake up and smile at us and be able to hug her darling babies and wonderful husband.

Family

A little about Jennie's family. Her husband Richard is a grad student in the Department of Chemistry at Colorado State University. They have two darling children; Teagan who is 4 and Hartley who is 18 months. Jennie is a fabulous Mom first and also helps support her family as a part-time Dental Hygenist.

Purpose of our Blog

This blog is dedicated to Jennie Cornwall who was in a severe car accident Saturday, June 23, 2012. We would like to share information about Jennie's progress with her many friends and family who can't be by her side. Information regarding Jennie's progress will be updated regularly. We would love to have you share your memories, wishes and encouragement.