The Hazard Chronicles

Where do I start this week? It was one of those weeks that was so full of activity and emotion that it seemed to linger on forever. It is hard to believe that just a few days ago we were sitting at home in Cleveland planning our spring break vacation...

I suppose I'll start at the beginning. That would be on Monday when my spring break started. We have been wanting to visit Washington DC since the day we moved here, and finally here was an opportunity that seemed to lend itself nicely to the occasion. Monday was full of planning and preparations. Tuesday came quickly and we left that morning. Evelyn was a great traveler and the miles rolled by smoothly until suddenly we were turning off the exit for Washington DC. And then the phone rung and time stopped moving.

It was Wendy, Rachel's mom. She told me that her husband- Rachel's dad, Kelly, had been hit by a car and that we should make preparations to come to Utah as quickly as possible. He had severe brain damage.

We tried to get tickets out of Washington for that night but all of the airlines were sold out. Instead we spent the night at a fantasic little campground that was just 10 miles away from the capitol (Greenbelt Park- consider this place seriously if you ever need to do DC on a budget) and left the next morning.

When we got to the hospital we found that Rachel's father was being kept alive by a number of highly sophisticated machines. He had severe damage to his brain and brain-stem and would never be able to have a quality life away from these machines. He was not responding to any of the neurological testing that was used to indicate that a recovery might be possible, and the location of the damage was in an inoperable location.

After much prayer the family decided to withdraw life support on Thursday morning. It was a blessing to all that he was able to hang in there until his family could be gathered at his bedside. The hospital staff provided a conference room for us to use as long as needed, which we soon filled and spilled out into the hallways. All immediate family was there, as well as a good number of the extended family and friends. Even the hospital staff (which was phenomenal) was impressed at the amount of support that was given at this time. Needless to say, Kelly was very loved and touched many lives during his brief stay here on earth.

Besides being a very emotional day, I think that everyone involved would agree that it was an overwhelmingly spiritual day as well. As we contemplated the blessings of the gospel it all became very real to us at this time. The spirit was amazing and we felt Kelly's personal presence and love at the time of his passing. We received some powerful priesthood blessings as well that helped us to understand the eternal scheme of things and to bring us a measure of comfort that was desperately needed.

There are many other details that I am leaving out. Some of these will come out in the following posts. Some won't. We will be here in Utah for at least another week as funeral preparations are made and things start to settle in. We are so thankful for the knowledge that we have of God's plan for us. Kelly's passing- or Graduation, as one uncle put it - has had a profound effect on our lives in many different ways. He was an absolutely amazing man who I (Logan) am glad to say was able to be a part of my life.