Hospital, Virginia

Well this week was pretty crazy! I broke my hand in two places and had
to have surgery in Mexico! So that was a nice little field trip! So
that took up the last half of my week after my last email! I finally
made it here to Virginia and I already love it! 
Tomorrow I get to find out my new comp and my area! So there will be a lot more to come next week! 
Sorry I really don't have a lot of time this week because today
was technically P-day! 

On Friday morning I received a call from a Salt Lake number. He asked for Sister Jacobson and I knew that wasn't a good sign. It was Dr. Harston from the CCM and he told me that Elder Jacobson was there and there was a little problem, I thought that this was surely about his ankle. He told me that Ryan had broken his hand and it would require surgery. He said that instead of flying to Virginia on Monday, he would be flying home. I assumed he meant that we would need to do the surgery here. Dr. Harston told me that, no, the surgery needed to happen right away. It would be done in Mexico and he reassured me that the dr.'s and facilities were great. I would receive an email later that day to give me more details. Justin had left on the buffalo hunt and was out of range. I was finally able to talk to him that afternoon and gave him the few details that I had.

I know other moms will sympathize with me at the stress of having your child hurt and not being involved in any of the decisions or be there for them!

I finally called Dr. Harston back Friday night because I hadn't heard anything. He told me Elder Jacobson was just coming out of a 3 hour surgery and that I would hear from someone the next day. He did say that the surgeon said there was a possibility that Ryan could still travel to Virginia. At that point the prayers became very focused. He needed to get to Virginia. 

By 1pm on Saturday I still hadn't heard anything. I called the dr. one more time and he put me on hold. The next thing I heard was 'Hola, mom'. It was great to actually be able to talk to Ryan and hear his voice. He already sounds so much older and more mature.  He said his hand felt good and he was doing ok. I'm sure the numbing and painkillers were helping those thoughts along. 

I was once again told that I would hear the following day (Sunday) if he would be coming home or going to Virginia. I was more patient at the waiting game by this point. 

I hadn't been able to get a hold of Justin since that very first day and we had decided not to tell anyone until we knew more. I told my girls Saturday so that we could begin our fast and prayers for him. 

Sunday came a no email or phone call. Our minds were whirling, but not panicked haha! Finally, at about 5pm I got a call from President Call in the CCM and 10 minutes later a call from President Wilson in Virginia. They were sending him to Virginia and we cried happy tears. 

He is in a splint and sling for 3 weeks and then no lifting or doing anything too physical for another 3-5 weeks. 

We were able to talk to him today when he landed in Atlanta and he sounded great! I know he's thrilled to be back in the U.S. and so happy to be moving forward.

I joked that he and his companion were going to become really close really fast, with him tying his ties for him :-) He said he already learned how to do them with one hand and his teeth ha! 

Joking aside, we are truly grateful that he was able to stay and our prayers are that he'll follow dr.'s orders and heal quickly and properly.

The road to Virginia has been a long one for our Elder. We know he has important work there to do, and are so thankful for all of the support from family and friends. The number of prayers and fasts on his behalf are amazing and powerful. Ryan has specifically told me several times that he can feel our prayers and wouldn't have been able to get through these weeks without them.

Our family knows that Heavenly Father hears and answers sincere and specific prayers. We know that he is very aware of Ryan and is proud of him. This Gospel is true. I wouldn't be able to let my son go if I didn't have an unshakable testimony of this work. We are so proud of him and know he will continue to learn and grow in this journey.