The doctors allowed Darrell and Trish to share a room yesterday
Many of you have been following our family’s story since Friday. My brother Darrell and his family were huddled in their house when a tornado hit, lifting the house off its foundation, carrying it a few hundred yards and dropping it to the ground. God spared each of their lives. Their son Collin somehow survived without a scratch on him. The rest have been in the hospital since then. It will be a long road to full recovery, but all of their conditions are stable.
If you missed the initial story, read it here. And here is yesterday’s update, which contains amazing testimony from both of my brothers.
As of today:
- Darrell will undergo surgery tomorrow on his jaw. Yesterday he was joking “They told me I have 19 broken bones, and they’re only going to fix one of them.” The rest of the bones, which include every rib, should heal on their own over time.
- Trish was scheduled to have surgery on her shattered pelvis today, but that surgery has been moved to tomorrow. This is the second time it has been rescheduled. The hospital is very busy with trauma cases, including others from the tornado.
- Caleb was scheduled to have back surgery today but the doctors now say it looks like he doesn’t need surgery. He will be in a back brace for at least six weeks, but is expected to fully recover.
- Mia appears to be doing much better; she has an MRI scheduled this morning.
Caleb has a couple fractures in his back, but he can still enjoy a video game
Thanks again for all of your prayers. One thing Darrell kept saying yesterday is “Another reason I thank God is …” and then telling some other anecdote that showed how much worse things could have gone. One thing is that the tornado brought down many power lines, which were hissing all over the ground. It was dangerous territory for the survivors and rescuers, even after the tornado was gone and the hail had stopped. But no one was electrocuted.
I’ll keep updating on Facebook and Twitter. Even if you don’t have those accounts, you can check my Twitter stream right on this blog, in the lower right-hand column.
If you’d like to help, you can:
Mia and Caleb have also been able to share a room
1. Deposit funds at PNC Bank for Darrell Gilles Catastrophic Relief Fund.
- Acct Number: 3023866564
- ABA/Routing Number: 083000108.
This was set up as a tax exempt account with an IRS IEN number. We were assured by PNC that the account is completely safe and only two people in the family have withdrawal permissions. No withdrawals can be made without identification and passwords. It has been red flagged for all transactions and is legally set up the way all memorial funds are set up. The account number and routing numbers are necessary for people outside the local area to be able to send relief funds.
2. If you’d prefer to mail a check, send it to Sojourn Community Church and write clearly “Gilles Family Tornado Relief” on the check:
Sojourn Community Church
930 Mary Street
Louisville, KY 40204
3. You can also donate securely online through Paypal, via our diasinger _ @ _ gmail account. In addition, all Noisetrade.com “tips” we receive for the “My Song In The Night” mp3 download will go to this Paypal account. To donate through Paypal, click here.
Thanks again to everyone who has prayed, donated, expressed well-wishes, followed this story through social media or this blog, and for all the links and Retweets. We are so blessed with your outpouring of concern.
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Our thoughts and prayers are with Darrell, Trish and thier kids.
If there is anything I can do to help just ask.
Kevin, Dana,Megan and Kelsey Humphrey
Marty, Lee and Kevin: It’s great to hear from all of you 🙂 Thank you all so much for your continued, fervent prayers! God is truly faithful to sustain our lives and hold all things together by His Word which never fails! It’s amazing to witness the beautiful display of God’s wondrous love and grace in our family and communities! He is so good and worthy of all praise!
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