Tuesday through Thursday, June 5th through 7th

Hello again,

I spent Wednesday evening visiting Chelsea and family at the ICU in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center which I am unfortunately well acquainted with. Marilyn posted an entry on the site in regards to an accident Wednesday morning and it actually took us a little while to comprehend exactly who Chelsea Jensen was. We eventually figured it out and Chelsea's mother is a friend and responsible for all of the beautiful Pray4Tori bags created in the past. To meet her again and to meet Chelsea as well in the ICU was moving indeed and I am so thankful that she is recovering so well from an auto accident that statistically should have taken her life. Chelsea was ejected from a car following a high speed rollover and it truly is a miracle she escaped with 'only' a fractured skull and road rash on her entire backside. She has 40+ staples holding the three fractures in her head together but her brain swelling has stabilized at this point so no shunting should be necessary. She is also coherent and talking and even told me "I love Tori". In my and many other's opinion she is the luckiest girl on this earth and our prayers and thoughts are certainly with her and her family at this time.

So tonight's update will be very different from those in the past because based on this incident and the many, many others that resemble it which I view and read everyday on the television and in the newspapers, I am finally going to speak about the details surrounding Tori's accident. Thank you so much Marilyn for giving me the courage to finally do this and I honestly feel I have been doing a great disservice to the literally thousands of young kids and their parents who monitor this site regularly. I am deeply sorry for this. To quote our beloved friend Marilyn directly: "Life changes so fast. I would like to tell you new teenage drivers to please be careful and don't goof off behind the wheel. Very serious things happen that change lives forever! Drive safe please." Today is the day and if the following information can save just one family from enduring everything we have gone through it will be very well worth it.

After hearing Chelsea's father describe the horrific accident scene I reflected back to my unforgettable day in Delta nearly 9 months ago where I visited Tori's accident site and to this date have never spoken about. So to close tonight's update I am posting the never posted update created almost 9 months ago in it's entirety. Please, please kids drive carefully and safely. And for all of those parents of young drivers out there please instill this mindset onto your kids as well for there are often tragic and avoidable consequences otherwise.

September 19th, 2006:

I can honestly state that I have been in a ‘mini slump’ lately with regards to Tori’s and our family’s situation. The toll on our family is incredible given Tori’s painfully slow progress, her overall condition, the overwhelming obstacles and challenges she faces, various outside family pressures and our somewhat dismal family life… We are still devastated over Tori’s accident and her injury and that is the harsh reality of our lives.

Today I made my first trip back to Delta in 458 days since Tori’s accident. It was a highly emotional trip as all of you can imagine. I share with all of you the details on Tori’s and often our family’s daily life but I also hold back my true feelings and thoughts at times. But I will not tonight.

I felt a wide variety of emotions as I studied and stood at the accident site where Tori died that fateful day sixteen months ago. For the most part I was just deeply saddened and depressed. Her rescuers and God brought her back to us all but by then the damage to her brain had been done. We all lost the Tori we knew and loved that day and the pain, hurt and grief will always be present... I also thought again of the great and selfless sacrifice Tori made to help her sister Whitney and cousin Ashton get out of that overturned and under water vehicle. It is hard to imagine how horrifying that must have been. Thank you Tori, we love you and you will always be our hero. Because of Tori, Whitney escaped virtually unharmed physically though she will be emotionally scarred forever along with all other members of her family. We are truly blessed and thankful that Whitney and Ashton are alive, healthy and with us today.

I also studied details and recreated in my mind the accident itself over and over again. It was truly unbelievable, disturbing and shocking at the same time and eventually it brought forth some anger. Yes, anger and disbelief because quite frankly, this accident should have never happened. I will not go into full detail at this time but there definitely was a very bad but conscious choice made that day and the results have essentially destroyed one life and devastated so many others. And the choice was not made by Tori. There were also other factors that were very preventable as well and one day, I will make all of the facts and the truth be known as to what really happened on that tragic Sunday, June 19th, 2005. If it can save just one family from enduring everything we have gone through it will be well worth it.

I visited the Delta Community Hospital as well where Tori struggled desperately for her life that day. I will never forget holding her lifeless and freezing cold hand in that emergency room as we awaited the Life Flight helicopter. It seemed like an eternity and that experience will always haunt me…

I relived that forgetful day over and over again in my mind… It continued during my ride home alone from Delta where 480 days prior we were racing as a family to the PCMC in SLC still hoping and praying that Tori would hold on until we arrived. Of course, she miraculously did survive but her injuries were quite severe… And again, this is now the harsh reality we live with each and every day.

No one knows now what lies ahead for Tori in regards to her recovery and her overall quality of life. But I promise, we will always try to push forward in her recovery and help her in every humanly possible way and we will never, ever give up on Tori who is so dearly loved by us all.

Sincerely,

-Tim