A Run-In With A Chainsaw

      This week all of the guys in our church were asked if they could help with the construction... a big push in hopes of getting the main room done in time for Easter.  Leif cleared his schedule and committed to helping, but his help was soon halted on Tuesday when he hit a wire with a chainsaw in the frame of a window.  It jumped back at him and lacerated in and under his arm.  He ended up with a trip to the hospital that included stitches deep in his muscle and also in his skin.

     I was thankful that I was able to meet Leif at the hospital while Lena watched the kids.  This is how I found him, on a gurney in the hallway.  He lost a lot of blood, so they gave him an I.V. with fluids.  What a brave guy!  We kept marveling that the laceration was where it was and didn't get any major nerves or veins or tendons.  We know that God was protecting him and are so thankful.

     We stopped by the church on the way home, for Leif to collect his things and touch base with the guys.  These poor guys also witnessed Dima getting himself with the same chainsaw on Monday in his FACE!!  That also was a miracle that it didn't get him worse.  Part of the cut was even in his eye... a little more and he could have lost his sight... or even his life

     Here they were revisiting the site of the accident.  Leif had been up on this scaffolding, using the saw to widen the side of the window frame where there were metal wires. Once the saw hit metal it jerked back.  Leif said that if he were in North America he wouldn't have tried something like this.  But he said that being in Russia so long he got acclimated to seeing people do crazy things with chainsaws.  It just becomes normal and you forget how dangerous certain things are!

  After they bandaged him up, they put him in this plaster cast.  It kind of freaked me out at first because they whisked him away on the gurney after checking his I.V. and yelled at me not to follow.  The rational part of my mind told me they were just going to put a cast on him.  But the longer I waited, the more I started thinking about blood transfusions, etc!  It made me grateful for the informative part of health care in North America!  In this picture above, the nurse is cutting off his cast and about to change his bandages.    He has to do this every day for 12 days and get shots of antibiotics.

   The nurse and doctor at our clinic thought the cast was too cumbersome and cut it off.  So now Leif has to be more careful not to move his arm.  But I bought him a nice big babushka scarf for a sling, and that seems to hold it pretty well.

   
     I almost didn't post this picture because it shows our messy room.  But that's how it is.  And Ella was so cute helping Leif put on his socks.  It's a little more challenging around here, as Leif isn't able to do as much as he usually can (which is a lot!).   I'm actually amazed at what he can do with his left arm, though.   And we've had guests this week- both unexpected and planned, so that's been more work in regards to cleaning and meals.  But we've also been blessed by these guests, and are thankful for the strength God provides.

We trust that Leif's wound will heal well.  Again, we're thanking God for his protection!  I don't know what I would do without wonderful Leif!