WHY MY DAUGHTER!!!

"I want to die! I want the earth to open and swallow me, now! I want to scream...I want to hit something! God please...not my baby girl! How can this be happening to my Shelly? NOT MY SHELLY! The baby girl that I longed for, cried for, loved, nurtured, and raised! She made it to college and now this? How can this be happening? How? She is the most beautiful, sweet, funny, strong, outgoing, loving, caring and responsible young woman I've ever known! Why her? Why not some evil, murdering child molester? WHY MY DAUGHTER!!! I want to know WHY? Why her? Aren't there enough horrible people in the world who deserve punishment? SHE IS NOT DESERVING OF THIS!!! God please save my little girl from this!

How will she ever get over this? How am I ever going to tell her? I want my daughter back, the way she was on December 23, 2006! Why did her life have to change in an instant? God, please have mercy on my daughter! Please heal her right arm! Do this to me!!! I can handle this! But daughter can't! She shouldn't have to! Take me now! Torture me a thousand years...just please don't let my daughter have to live with this for the rest of her life! Not my baby! My heart breaks for her! I hurt for her! She has always been so independent! I mourn for the life she was on her way to living! She has always had such big dreams...to own her own business...have her own house...to get married and have children...now she will need help with everything...getting dressed, cooking, I don't even want to think about the things she'll need help with. My daughter should not have to go through this! I'm so ANGRY! I hate the whole world right now! I know that life isn't fair! But why do such bad things happen to such good people? God has a plan, God has a reason...I know! I've heard it over and over. But it doesn't help my little girl! I've prayed - like I've never prayed before...God hears, I know He does! I love Him...Shelly loves Him. I don't understand why God allows such things. I've read Job. I understand that He let those things happen to Job because He knew his heart, and He knew Job wouldn't curse Him. But I'm not that strong! I can handle anything except when it comes to my children!

We are here on this earth to protect our children. From the moment a woman finds out she's pregnant - she instinctively protects her stomach. She shields it, holds it, rubs it, loves it, and sings to it. Then the first movement! A mother's heart jumps for joy! The sonogram- The ultrasound- a face and a body! How miraculous! My baby, perfect and precious... a gift from God! Motherhood is a 24/7 job for the rest of your life...motherhood never ends...why should it? A women's very existence depends on the health and safety of her children. We are used and abused and I don't know another mother who would have it any other way! I would be better off if someone would rip my heart out of my chest, throw it on the ground and crush it! I can't bear to see my daughter hurt and suffer, much less have to deal with a lifelong disability with losing the use of her right arm! I will find every card she ever signed...I will find every note she ever wrote. I will frame every picture she ever drew! Oh, God...Please don't do this to my little girl!"


Doesn't sound much like a Christian, does it? During a time of crisis, we all question God...even Jesus questioned God while He was on the cross. Jesus wanted an answer from His father..."My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46. But as we all know, God will never leave us or forsake us. It only feels like we are alone. But ours prayers are heard...and the Holy Spirit comforts us in our time of need. I wrote the above on the back of our neighborhood directory (it was the only paper I could find!) about five days into our stay at U.A.B. Neuro Intensive Care Unit. We watched our beautiful 18 year old daughter fight for her life. She had a traumatic brain injury, which in itself is very frightening. She did not recognize anyone. She was scared, and fought everyone who came too close to her. She was extremely violent and had to be put in a straight jacket and tied to her bed. She had a cast on her leg. She had spinal surgery and therefore had a neck brace on (which she tried to rip off at any chance she had), and a feeding tube placed in her stomach because her vocal cords were paralyzed. Then there was the spinal cord injury which left her right arm paralyzed. She had multiple injuries, but at the time we just wanted our daughter to live. We had already decided that no matter what state she was left in, we were taking her home with us. We couldn't bear to put her in a nursing home/long term care facility. Our only prayer throughout this whole ordeal, was if Shelly died, one soul would be saved for the Kingdom of God. We didn't want her life to end without an impact on someone who was lost, and needed to see Jesus through Mark and myself. And by the way...Prayer works! Shelly walked through the door of our home three weeks after her accident. We were told she would be in the hospital for at least 6 weeks, in Spain Rehab for 4 to 6 months, and would probably never be the same. Her brain injury alone would leave her with lifelong disabilities...

Fast forward two years later...Shelly is now a junior at The University of Alabama, double majoring in Marketing and Management with a minor in Computer Science. She has learned to write with her left hand, and well, do just about everything left handed and one handed! In fact, Shelly received the Council of President's Freshmen Academic Achievement Award, and has made the Dean's list every semester since she has been at Alabama! She went snow skiing, has played tennis, learned to hunt with a crossbow, and now has a compound bow fit with a leather strap to pull back with her teeth, so she can hunt this fall! We always wondered why she was such an independent little girl, maybe even a little head strong, and now we know why! God made her that way for a purpose...to be used by God to glorify Himself through her healing and testimony! So that we can testify to her healing through prayer, and to witness to others who are going through the same thing we went through. There is hope...and there is a God who loves you and wants to be in your life. He made every atom in your body and yes, even the hairs on your head are numbered. John 14:6 Jesus answered,"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." John 10:28 "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."

If you are going through a difficult time in your life, please know that God is with you. Things may not turn out as you want, but God has a reason and a purpose for everything. We continue to pray that God will heal Shelly's spinal cord injury, and that she will regain use of her right arm, even though the doctors say it is impossible. But as Christians, we know that with God, all things are possible! May God bless you and keep you in His Holy protection all the days of your life.

Shelly's Miracle

The Whitlock’s Story
Shelly’s Second Chance

Cover Story from Birmingham Christian Family Magazine

editor@birminghamchristian.com

“Daddy, what day is it?” asked Shelly Whitlock, as she lay in a hospital bed recovering from a horrible car accident that left her with multiple injuries, including severe brain trauma.“ I don't know Shelly, I think it may be Tuesday, ”replied Mark, her dad. “No, Daddy, what day is it?” Shelly persisted.
“Honey, I'm not sure, but don't worry about what day it is, ”stated Mark. “But, Daddy, I've got to know what day it is.”

Somewhat irritated, Mark found a calendar and confirmed the date was January 14. “So, I haven't missed deer season! ”exclaimed Shelly. “If I get better, will you take me hunting?” Hardly the words one would expect from a beautiful 18-year-old young woman who miraculously survived a car wreck in the early morning of December 24, 2006. But when your dad is Mark Whitlock of Mark's Outdoors and you have grown up surrounded by camouflage and tree stands, the question reflects its motivation. For Shelly and Mark, the last day of deer season became the date to aim for in regard to her recovery.

“Momma Shelly”
Shelly Whitlock was the kind of child that never gave her parents, Dana and Mark Whitlock, any kind of trouble. “We used to call her 'Momma Shelly' because she was so responsible, ”says Dana. “I knew when she was late coming home that night that something bad had happened. She was always punctual. ”Indeed something horrible had happened. Shelly's Escalade SUV crashed into a tree not far from her home on Highway 119 in Indian Springs. The car was totaled and her body so badly mangled that emergency workers declared her 'Dead On the Scene.' Workers were considering how to remove her contorted body from the vehicle when a fireman noticed that Shelly's hand moved. They immediately went into rescue mode.

Meanwhile, Dana and Mark were convinced something was wrong. “As soon as I saw the police car, I knew, "says Mark. “I asked, "How bad and where is she?'” He replied, “Very bad and she's on the way to UAB.” They immediately headed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), passing the scene of the accident on the way. “I had to look – a dad has just
got to know, ”says Mark. “There was debris all over the road. I couldn't even identify the vehicle. ”Dana comments, “We don't really know what caused the accident because Shelly doesn't remember. We think she might have fallen asleep because an eyewitness said she never hit her brakes. ”This sole eyewitness turned out to be an 18-year-old college student named
Andrew who called 911. “We consider him a guardian angel, ”says Dana.
“We've never gotten the chance to thank him and we wish we could.”

From Bad to Worse
For the next two hours, things went from bad to worse concerning Shelly. “They told us she was paralyzed, bleeding in her spine, had a traumatic brain injury, and in a coma, ”says Dana. “Basically, they cleaned her up and told us to come tell her goodbye before they took her to surgery. She was not expected to live through it. ”Dana continues, “I remember falling on my knees and begging God not to take her.

At this point, all we could do was pray. ”Nothing could have prepared the Whitlocks when they finally did see their daughter. “She had the look of death,” says Mark. “We knew it was bad but we didn't know just how bad until a few months later. A nurse came in our store and introduced herself as one of the trauma nurses who took care of Shelly in the emergency room. When I told her that Shelly had survived, she was amazed because that night they had already ordered a death certificate for Shelly.”

Following the surgery, her parents were told she would only live 48 hours due to bleeding on the brain that could not be stopped. “At one point, I realized that all the worrying and praying for Shelly was not going to change God's plan for her, ”says Dana. “There was a peace that came over me like a warm blanket. It is the peace God gives you that cannot be explained. I knew her soul was secure because I knew what she believed.”

Shelly Whitlock's Escalade was totaled in the devastating accident. Her beloved, now deceased, grandfather had given it to her. “I didn't want any other kind of car,” says Shelly. “I loved my granddad and the vehicle reminded me of him.” On the way home from the hospital, the Whitlocks passed by Driver's Way. Amazingly, an identical Escalade was on display and soon was hers.

Daily Miracles
As time progressed, the Whitlocks were constantly being informed of new obstacles regarding Shelly's situation. However, behind the scene an army of prayer warriors amassed for battle – a battle for Shelly's life. “We had so many precious friends that began to spread the word about Shelly's condition,” says Dana. “People everywhere started to pray.” This was largely due to relationships built through Mark's Outdoors, their church family at The Church of Brook Hills and their community involvement.

Daily miracles began to happen. As soon as one obstacle would arise, 24 hours later it would improve. A broken ankle, paralyzed on the right side, paralyzed vocal chords, a feeding tube, bleeding on the brain – all were part of the battle for Shelly's recovery. One such miracle occurred with Shelly's ankle as x-rays revealed a nearly healed ankle when only days earlier it was completely broken.

“God took care of every little thing,” says Dana. “When Shelly stood up for the first time, an entire team of doctors came in the room. No one could believe it, ”says Mark. “One of the doctors said, "We're moving her to rehab immediately. '”Indeed, Shelly's healing was miraculous in its brevity! She was home within four weeks of the accident: two weeks were spent in the hospital, one week in a trauma step-down unit, Spain rehabilitation hospital for one week, and then released for home health care.

Second Chance
Though her intense injuries took quite a toll on Shelly, she coped remarkably well. “At first, it was like the movie "50 First Dates,'” says Mark. “Every day we would tell her over and over again who she was and where she was.
We didn't know to what extent she would recover from the brain injury. First she spoke only in song lyrics, then she constantly repeated everyone, and even had violent episodes.”

Gradually, Shelly did improve though her right arm is still paralyzed due to a brachioplexis injury. But she remains hopeful of healing because she has recently experienced some feeling in her fingertips. “I want to tell people to never underestimate the power of God,” says Shelly. “We try to put God in a box, but He says, 'Don't put me in a box. You don't realize what all I can do!'”

The Whitlocks took Shelly to visit the Mayo Clinic a few months ago to have her brachioplexis injury assessed. “We were in the room with Shelly and there were nine doctors, ”says Mark. “The head doctor spoke up after reviewing Shelly's chart and said, “Do you realize there are about five or six clinical reasons you should be dead? We have never had a young lady like you, with your injuries, sitting up, looking at us with your type of recovery. Everybody is given only one life and God gave you a second chance at yours.'” Shelly Whitlock takes her second chance seriously. She knows none of these events have taken God by surprise. She believes God has a special mission for her life.

And did she get to go on that
hunting trip? You bet. She's got
the deer to prove it!
Dee Branch Park