Houston, We Have a Problem – NCEA 2013 Day One
On my first day in Houston for the 2013 NCEA convention, I expected to tell you all about the city, the conference center, and meeting Barb Gilman and Nancy Caramanico for the first time. But life seldom goes as we expect.
The scene from the airplane as I left Seattle…
Barb and Nancy were involved in an automobile accident on their way from the Houston airport to the hotel. The shuttle van they were riding in struck a barrier in the road and flipped, crushing the roof and shattering the windshield. Their injuries weren’t life threatening, but they were shook up all the same.
The scene of Barb and Nancy’s shuttle accident as I arrived in Houston…
The entire story is theirs to tell, so I won’t go into all the details. But after spending about four hours in the emergency room, they finally made it to the hotel where I got to meet them in person–bruises, blood, and all.
Thankfully their injuries weren’t worse. Suddenly the NCEA convention doesn’t seem as important as it did a few hours ago.
A friend emailed this to me today. I had planned to speak at NCEA on my new book. I too was on the shuttle but I suffered 4 broken vertebrae, 4 broken rib and a broken nose. I was in the Houston hospital for 5 weeks and then another 7 weeks in my Community’s nursing home. I am back in VA where I teach at Marymount University. I am alive, without brain damage and able to walk. I still have to pace myself and will need to do so for a good year or so. However, I am grateful to the Lord for so many prayers – my Community, my university, NCEA, my parish and people in the Arlington Diocese. I remember it all but never saw a picture. Thanks for sharing.