Broken: A Mother's Story

By Laura Koepp

Broken is an emotionally driven rollercoaster of ups and downs of the countless struggles they endured. This raw testimonial will inspire you to never give up, no matter what adversities you are facing.

Relive a mothers painful experience as she picks up the pieces of their lives through hope, faith, and trust in God!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490876238

Laura Koepp

Laura Koepp is a wife, mother, and naturopathic doctor. She maintains a private practice, guiding others on the path to wellness. She has taught many classes and served as a speaker at numerous events. Laura resides in Darien, New York, with her wonderful husband and their two beautiful daughters.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 Laura Koepp.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7622-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7624-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7623-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905672

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/30/2015

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:  Snow day

Chapter 2:  February

Chapter 3:  March

Chapter 4:  April

Chapter 5:  May

Chapter 6:  June

Chapter 7:  July

Chapter 8:  August

Chapter 9:  Senior Year

Chapter 10:  Walls

Chapter 11:  Physical Therapy

Chapter 12:  Winter

Chapter 13:  Driving

Chapter 14:  Road Trip

Chapter 15:  Camping

Chapter 16:  Graduation

Chapter 17:  Surgery

Chapter 18:  Work

Chapter 19:  College

Chapter 20:  Specialists

Chapter 21:  Progressing

Chapter 22:  Thankful

Thank You…

I dedicate this book to

God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

for without Him, we are nothing.

For my loving husband and our

daughters, Cassy and Candice.

Thank you for your love and support.

I love you all so much!

INTRODUCTION

W e were an average American family going about our daily routines, too busy to realize how fragile life is and guilty of taking the little things in life for granted, when our lives were turned upside down. We almost lost our daughter in a horrific car accident.

We suddenly embarked on the most terrifying journey of our lives, thrust into a world of pain, suffering, heartache, and uncertainty. Our daughter’s hopes and dreams for her future were shattered. She was, and is, faced with a long road of many obstacles to overcome.

Our heart-wrenching journey was the ultimate test of faith. We placed all of our faith and trust in God, knowing He is the one in control of everything. God gave us the strength to walk through the fire of affliction, as He used our afflictions to bring us closer to Him. Our family bond was strengthened like no other. God promises He will never leave us nor forsake us. He loves us so much.

Jeremiah 29:11—For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

It’s inevitable that we will experience adversities at one time or another. Although we may never understand why bad things happen, we do know that God will turn them around and use them for our good. This raw testimonial will inspire you to never give up hope, no matter what adversities you are facing.

Romans 8:28—And we know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

I hope and pray that Broken will touch your heart, inspire you, and bless you in some way, giving all the glory to God!  38617.png 38619.png 38621.png

CHAPTER 1

Snow day

I t’s Thanksgiving Day. As I sit down to have a cup of coffee and catch some of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I can’t think of anything but how thankful I am—so thankful for where my family is now compared to where we were twenty-one months ago. I can hardly believe, looking at my beautiful daughter now, how much has happened and all that she has been through—several surgeries, countless sleepless nights, therapy, tears, and lots of prayers! She is truly a miracle. We are so blessed! It is unbelievable when tragedy strikes, whether it is sickness, death, natural disaster, or a horrible car accident. You never think that it could happen to you. When life is so perfect, all is well, and we think we have it all under control—but in one split second, our lives can change forever.

It was a bitterly cold February morning. School was canceled because a snowstorm was moving in and the road conditions were deteriorating. Soon, the snow began falling heavily; it was so windy that hardly anything could be seen on the country roads. The conditions were getting worse by the minute. The heavy snow combined with the winds made for treacherous whiteout conditions. I couldn’t even see out of my windows.

I always loved snow days because the girls could catch some unexpected downtime at home. After I finished up in my office, I asked the girls if they would like for me to bake some cookies. Of course, they thought cookies would be great! Cassy wanted oatmeal cookies, and Candice wanted chocolate chip. I pulled out the baking ingredients and got busy right away with the first batch.

I took my time baking throughout the afternoon while thinking about my husband getting home from work safely. As I worked my way into the batch of oatmeal cookies, I noticed that Cassy had been upstairs for a while. It was almost three o’clock in the afternoon when I went upstairs to check on her. There she was in the bathroom, fixing her hair and putting on makeup like she was going somewhere. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me she was getting ready to go out. I responded firmly, but quietly, because I didn’t want my other daughter and her friend to hear me, that she had no business leaving the house in a snowstorm. I said, The weather is horrible! You can’t see, and something could happen. A very bad feeling came over me as she said that she was leaving anyway, heading out of town, no less. She rolled her eyes at me and said, Oh, Mom. Nothing is gonna happen. Why do you always worry? Teenagers—invincible, aren’t they? Nothing can happen to them. Angrily, I answered, There is no reason you need to go out! She said, Too late. My ride is almost here to pick me up. I told her, So what? You don’t have to go. She didn’t seem to care about what I was telling her; she was leaving. Why is it that teenagers never seem to listen?

I went back downstairs to get cookies out of the oven, the oatmeal ones that I was baking for her. In the meantime, my husband, Pete, had come home from work and was plowing the driveway before coming in. As soon as he got in the door and began taking his coat off, Cassy’s ride pulled in. I was in the kitchen tending to the cookies and barely had the chance to tell Pete what was going on before Cassy quickly left the house. Her dad caught her at the front door and said good-bye to her as she was rushing out. She didn’t even grab an oatmeal cookie on the way out. She was gone in a split second!

Pete came into the kitchen while he was trying to get out of his work clothes and asked me where, exactly, she was going. I told him that I had told her not to leave the house, that it was ridiculous for her to go in such bad weather. I had a horrible, gripping feeling of dread. The positive, optimistic person that I am was so afraid something was going to happen. My guts were churning inside—I could just feel it. It overwhelmed me after she left. I would have had to pull her back in the house by her hair to make her stay home, causing a battle. I should have! My God-given motherly instincts were kicked into high gear. After I filled my husband in on where she was headed, he was, of course, upset that she was out in the bad weather. So we decided to text her and ask her to call or text me every fifteen to twenty minutes so I would know she was safe until they got to their destination.

All of a sudden, my phone rang, and it displayed Cassy. I answered, Hello? Hello? Cassy? Cassy! Are you there? Nothing. There was no voice. I started freaking out, panicking that her voice was not on the other end. I hung up, my phone rang again, and again it said, Cassy. I started screaming, Cassy! Cassy! Honey, are you there? Again, nothing. Pete looked at me and asked, What’s going on? I told him that her phone had just called me but that she was not there. We were now both in a state of panic when the home phone rang. Pete answered and heard, There’s been an accident. He could not believe his ears. The voice on the phone told him that crews were working on getting Cassy out of the car. At that point, I didn’t know what was being said to him or who was on the phone, but I could see him, and he looked petrified. He jumped out of the chair and yelled, No, no, no! Cassy’s hurt! I gotta get there! He threw the phone to me and started scrambling to throw some clothes on so he could go find her. I caught the phone in a state of complete disbelief. I began crying, trying to breathe, and I did my best to take in the information that the lady was trying to tell me. I yelled, Who is this? She said, I work with your husband. Please tell him not to come here. In a minute flat, Pete was dressed and running out the front door to find our daughter. I told her, It’s too late. He’s coming. I can’t stop him! I asked, What’s going on? Is Cassy okay? Is she hurt? She said, She is pinned inside the vehicle. We are trying to extract her from the car. I was falling apart, just like I am right now while writing this—it was a feeling so hard to describe that I have inadequate words. It was like being punched in the stomach several times while your whole world shatters into a million pieces. I was gasping for a breath, and my tears could not be stopped. I continued asking questions. What? Extracting her? All I wanted to know at that point was whether she was alive. Is she breathing? I asked. Is she alive? Please tell me. The woman on the phone hesitated, and in that one split second, I thought, Oh, no. She’s not breathing! She didn’t want to say anything—I felt it—because she didn’t know what was going to happen. It was that bad. But then she said, I think so. She told me to wait by the phone until she called me back to tell me what hospital they were taking Cassy to. I told her to please hurry and call me as soon as possible. I would be leaving the second I heard from her.

In the meantime, I knew that Pete was getting to the scene of the accident, and at least she would have her daddy there. As soon as I hung up the phone, I could hardly speak, but I had to try to tell my other daughter, Candice, what I had just been told about her sister. Candice and her friend who was visiting were both shocked and started crying and hugging each other. I didn’t want Candice to panic, so I told her that it would be best if she just went home with her friend until we found out what was going on. She agreed. We needed her to be in a safe place while we were at the hospital with Cassy.

I couldn’t think. I was numb inside. I was walking in circles. What was I supposed to do? I was muttering, praying, God, please help Cassy. Please, God, help her to keep breathing and stay alive. Help the EMTs, Lord! I prayed this over and over. My thoughts then turned to more practical things. Oh, I have to leave the house. I have to shut things off, lock up. And what about our dog? I have no idea when we are coming back.

Finally, I think eight minutes had passed, though it felt like an eternity, and the woman called me back to tell me that the crews had gotten Cassy out of the car with the Jaws of Life and were taking her to the local hospital. I rushed out the door to get to the hospital as quickly as I could, while Candice and her friend went back to her house in that treacherous storm. I couldn’t think of anything else at that time but rushing to the hospital to get to Cassy as fast as I could.

The snowstorm was horrible. I couldn’t see anything in front of me; I couldn’t drive any faster than twenty miles per hour, and there were snowdrifts everywhere. I couldn’t see where the sides of the roads were to make sure I was actually driving on them. It was so scary, but I could not get there fast enough! Every second seemed like forever. I prayed to God the whole time to keep Cassy alive.

I finally arrived near the area of the accident and thought that I would ask the people at the roadblock for sure where Cassy had been transported. I pulled over and saw one of Cassy’s coaches, who immediately radioed the crew down the road to find out what hospital Cassy went to and to see if Pete was still there or had followed the ambulance. She told me after a minute that Cassy had been taken to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester and that Pete was coming to get me. She told me to pull the van over on the road and leave it there, that they would get it home for us later so we could get to the hospital. That’s exactly what I did. With the key in the ignition, I ran out of the van and into Pete’s truck as soon as he reached me. He was trying to tell me that she was on the way to the hospital, but he was in total shock. He wasn’t himself. He was talking, but he sounded different than usual. His eyes were huge, it seemed, and his face was filled with fear. All I could get out was, Let’s go. We have to get to the hospital! Then I asked, Did you see her? Is she okay? He told me they wouldn’t let him see her in the ambulance. He had tried to fight his way to her, but people were grabbing and stopping him, holding him back.

Pete