Meet the Family..Part 5 (the last one, I promise!!)

I would like to introduce you to the youngest member of our family...Jalynn Paige. Jalynn is my grand-daughter. She is almost 4 and, let me tell ya, she is a little spit fire, a total ball of energy! And, I have to say, my favorite person in the world! I could continue to brag on her. I could go on and on (really!) but I'm not going to. Instead I am going to tell you how we almost lost her. Believe me, you will hear about her...ALOT!

A little over a year ago I received the worst phone call ever. Jalynn had been in a terrible car accident and had been rushed to OU medical center. That's all anyone knew. Her mom was at work and so was I. I knew that Tiffany had no business driving so I had her meet me so that I could drive her to the hospital. I had to be the calm one, the strong one. The worst part at this point was not knowing how badly she was hurt or what had happened.

I am going to let her Uncle Vic tell you what happened. He was the driver of the car that Jalynn was riding in. Vic was 19 at the time and I copied this from his blog on Myspace. Please ignore any typos or any other mistakes, Jalynn was still in ICU when he posted this.

"i cant stop thinking about what happened. it replays in my head over and over again and again. me my sister San Juana and my niece were out for a drive when my niece got hungry and wanted a chicken nugget happy meal from Mcdonalds. she was not feeling well so we went through the drive thru. we turned out in to the turn lane at the intersection of s.w. 59 th and penn. ave. she was upset and did not want to be in her car seat. Anyone who has ever had a child has let that child into the front seat just a couple of blocks from home so they would be happy. she climbed up front and gave us the biggest smile. a maroon 1996 chevy tahoe was also in his turn lane to turn east on to s.w. 59th street. We were turnigng west on to 59 th street. the driver of the tahoe decided not to turn and instead floor his gas pedal to go south on penn ave. At 2:11 pm on saturday june 28, 2008 a maroon chevy tahoe sturck a red 1998 mitsubishi eclipse causeing the airbags to deploy with an extreme force causing 2 year old Jalynn Paige to become unconscious. We had not moved 6 inches before we were hit. With my car still sitting in the turn lane I opened my door grabbed jalynn and put her in the grass were she would be safe from more traffic or the car catching fire. she was not breathing at the time i laid her down supporting her head. The driver of the tahoe did not stop at all. he fled the scene and was later arrested at a corner store at 74 th and douglas. No one saw what i did that day. i had to pull my 2 year old niece from my totaled car and beg her to breath. Seeing the burn on the side of her face were the airbag hit her. Seeing her blood on her face. She lied thier in my arms motionless for what seemed like hours. She took a gasp of air and all i could do was keep begging her to do so. Jaylnn was taken to O.U. medical center were she is getting better and will get to go home soon. Everyone keeps telling me and san juana how it wasn't our fault and how it could of happened to any of them. I dont agree with that. they all love her just as much as we do but they only seen her in the hospital begging for her to be okay and fighting for her life. A fight that Jalynn won. I cant stop seeing her lie in my arms lifeless with my tears falling over her begging and praying for her life to return to her body. the moment she began to breath again and let out that first cry of the pain.It killed me to see her that way knowing that she was left in our care when this happened and knowing no matter what i did. This time Jalynn was not going to open her eyes forget what was going on smile at me and say "thanks vic" or " I love you vic". I am sorry for what happened. I LOVE YOU JALYNN. Jalynn will get to go home soon and i cant wait to tell her that i love her and can't wait for her to say it back."

It's been just over a year ago and she doesn't have any scars, no brain damage (she had a brain bleed), and no hearing or sight problems, which were a concern. I am so thankful that she is ok. I praise God everyday that her life was spared. This precious child is such a blessing and my life has been changed because of her.