Ben's Words at Marshall's Funeral

When I first heard the news, I couldn’t believe it. It is hard to imagine a world without such an amazing friend by my side, much less to accept it as reality.

It's kind of funny, but my best memory of him is the only time we ever fought. It was in paintball and he had a new gun which seemed to just fire all the time. He had tagged me, but didn’t hear me call myself out, so he just kept shooting. Well, I got pretty mad and we ended up about four feet away from each other still shooting, and in a lot of pain. I still have scars from that. But I think it showed how strong our friendship was, because we always looked back on that and laughed.

Although I mourn his absence, I now understand the true nature of heaven and its eternal joy, for in the face of death, one thought shines through: the face of Marshall within heaven’s gates, welcoming me at last to my home.

- Ben Lopez, November 29, 2006

Family Update

Hi, Everyone,

Things are not changing as rapidly as they have been for the past few weeks. With Mason being home now, things seems a tiny but more "normal" but it will never feel the same. Last night we had dinner together as family (well, without Hannah and Marshall of course) for the first time in a really, really long time. I like routine, and having meals together at home really refreshes me.

Madison's school is letting him off for the rest of the month! It was hard for him to focus on school and we would love to have him home.

Mason is doing well. Mom does his dressing changes in the morning. He goes to outpatient on Saturday. He still can't put any weight on his right foot, but he is getting proficient with his crutches. He went up and down the stairs twice yesterday!

I have been trying to be faithful with my school work; Derek has been a huge help and supporter to me in that. I took a performance exam yesterday, I have a final tomorrow, a make-up test on Friday, and then my last final is next Tuesday, the 19th. Sometimes it is hard to focus on studying, but I really want to get this semester over with so I can move on and have my Christmas break.

Hannah has called frequently and is really busy with catching up in school and work. I can't wait to see her when she comes back to Austin for Christmas! I miss her so much.

Mom is starting to cook and clean and do her mom things again ... when she made my lunch for me last week I knew she was doing well. :-) Christmas has been a huge issue to work through ... none of us felt like we wanted to have Christmas this year. But after talking about it together, we decided to try to do things as normally as possible. I offered to help Mom with Christmas decorations and such ... I think Derek and I are going to try to get a tree on Friday. It is hard to go on, but I think doing at least some of our Christmas traditions this year as family will help in the healing process. Plus, we don't want to skip out on celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Dad is glad he doesn't have to work for the rest of the year. He has a long to-do list but he is so faithful to do the tasks set before him. Mom said to us kids yesterday, "You guys don't even realize how most guys are not like this." Dad always called it the "do-it-now principle" and he lives his life by it.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, notes, calls, and gifts. God is faithful and He continues to sustain us.

Love,
Heidi


P.S. If you have any questions, or want me to update you on something specific, just make a comment to this post or email me or something. :-)

Mason is going home!!!

Mason got discharged today! His wound care this morning went really well, and they only bandaged his lower right leg and his left ankle; the rest they left open to air. His IV was discontinued and he has a prescription for oral pain medication. I am so excited to have him home! It will be nice to be together at home instead of back and forth from the hospital. He will stay downstairs on the fold-out couch and can use crutches to get around. He will go to the outpatient burn center at Brackenridge on Sunday and probably every few days after that. Mom will do his dressing changes and help with his mobility. I hope I can help too.

Praise God for his quick recovery and that he can go home today. Thank you all so much for your prayers.

Love,
Heidi

No More Meals

The Hagens are going back home today and Mason will be staying downstairs. So, Kristin will be able to cook in the kitchen and is looking forward to it. With that we will not be providing anymore meals to the Hagens.

Thank you everybody who provided a meal and everybody who offered to help. The outpouring of people willing to serve was enormous and very encouraging.

Mason is Leaving the Hospital

The hospital is releasing Mason sometime this afternoon. He was able to handle his wound care with oral pain medication, so he can continue that care at home.

He will be going back to his house today to continue recovering there (with some visits to the hospital). Please pass on the news to anybody who is planning on going by the hospital soon.

Letters from Marshall's Army Commanders

A Captain and a Lieutenant Colonel from the Army both wrote letters to us about Marshall. They both knew him personally and their words were so uplifting. Here are a few excerpts.

"Marshall was a true hero who loved being in a Cavalry Squadron and it showed in everything he did. Throughout our tour in Iraq, Marshall performed exemplary and was always willing to execute the most dangerous missions. He often spoke of being back from Iraq and spending time with family and friends. Marshall was mature and reliable for his years and as a young Specialist he was already doing a Sergeant's job by taking care of and counseling all of the younger Soldiers in his section. He inspired us all to strive to be the best that we could."

- James J. Love
Lieutenant Colonel, Armor
Commanding

"Marshall has provided inspirational leadership to this troop as well as anyone else he has come into contact while he was a Buffalo Soldier. A true professional, he set the example for all other Soldiers to follow in both words and deeds. Marshall was a great person to be around. He was one of the Soldiers that everyone liked. Marshall was deeply religious with a strong moral center. He truly enjoyed being in Crazy Horse Troop. I will miss him dearly. … I just want you to know that Marshall was not only an outstanding Soldier, but he was a good man."

- Kevin W. Brown
Captain, Armor
Crazy Horse Troop Commander

More good news!

Mason's wound care this morning went really well! We were all so encouraged. He only had to use Dilaudid and no Versed, so that means he can be moved back up to the 8^th floor! He will be in room 843. He will be transferred sometime today. His burns look so much better and his hand is almost completely healed. His right inner ankle is still the most painful place, but it is bright pink and red now instead of white, indicating growth of new skin and blood vessels. I hope this means he will be able to come home soon!

His room number will be 324-7843. In general, the phone number for a room in Brackenridge is 324-7_ _ _ where the last three digits are the room number.

Love,
Heidi

Mason turns the corner

Yesterday was a turning point in Mason’s recovery. Mason’s doctor, Dr. Uecker (pronounced EEE-ker), said that Mason does not need to go to the burn center in San Antonio (yey!). The wound care yesterday was the best yet. Mason said it was an 8 out of 10 pain level, which seems high to me, but he said it was much better than usual. They changed his PCA (patient controlled analgesia) from morphine to dilaudid, which still did not sedate him, but Mason said the pain was more manageable. His hand looks really great – it is almost completely healed! The plan as of now is to continue on the 6^th floor doing wound care under conscious sedation until the pain gets better, and then transferring him back up to the 8^th floor. When his pain can be managed on PO medications (by mouth), then they can send him home. I don’t know how long that will be – maybe a week?

Specific prayer requests:

-Please pray for his mobility. He hasn’t been able to walk since the surgery debridement last Thursday. It is too painful to bear weight on his right leg.

-Please pray for no complications, such as pneumonia, infection, blood clots, etc.

Today marks two weeks since the accident. It feels like it happened months ago. I tried to go back to the girls’ house where I was living, but it was too hard. I felt so alone and sad away from my family. So I went back home and I think I will just stay at home until I feel ready to go back. I am trying to do school this week, but it is so hard to focus. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.

Love,
Heidi

Bigger room!

They moved Mason to a bigger room! He is now in room 610. So the phone number is 324-7610.

Heidi

Mason moved to 6th floor

Yesterday, Mason was moved to Intermediate Care (IMC) on the 6th floor. He is in room 608. After the surgical scraping they did on Friday, wound care was even more painful for dear Mason. Leslie did his hand and half of his right leg, but the pain became so unbearable that she stopped and didn't even unwrap his left leg. On the 6th floor, they will be able to perform the wound care with Mason under conscious sedation because of the increased monitoring they have there (continuous heart, respiration, blood pressure, oxygen saturation monitoring, etc.). This means he will probably be in the hospital longer than Monday. He may leave by the end of this coming week. His burns are healing very well, but, as the deeper areas improve, they become more sensitive and more painful. Where he couldn’t feel before is now extremely painful. He might be moved back to the 8th floor in a few days.

The rules for this unit are stricter than on the 8th floor, especially related to visitors. There are certain visiting hours. Doors to the unit close and lock when visiting hours are over. His room is also smaller with only two chairs.

The visiting hours are:
5:00-5:30am
10:00-10:30am
12:00-1:30pm
3:00-3:30pm
5:00-6:00pm
9:00-9:30pm

The room number is 324-7 608.

Heidi