Chapter 11: Visions of Grandeur

The next morning Ty and Amy woke up to a squeeze of their hand. Amy, "Ty, did you feel that!" Then again, another squeeze.

Ty, "I did! Lyndi if you can hear me, squeeze our hands. Lyndi squeezed both of her hands and Amy let out a burst of emotion. "Lyndi, sweety you are going to be alright. We love you, Lyndi! Ty, go tell the nurse!"

Ty immediately heads to the nurse’s station to give them the news. Lyndi is ventilated so she could not talk but was struggling to say something. Amy, "Baby, don't try to talk. You have a ventilator that is helping you breathe so you can't talk. Please just relax!”

As the nurses entered, Dr.Bernam, who was making rounds came in behind them. "Well, it looks like all that praying has given us a miracle. The swelling in her brain is gone. That is why she is responding to you. This really reduces the risk of today's surgery, a lot! Amy grabs Ty around the waist and hugs him tight.

Dr. Bernam, “Well, hello there young lady. It seems like you had quite the accident. Why don't you just relax for a few minutes while I take a look at you. I might even be able to get that contraption out of your mouth so you can talk to us."

Still concerned about any brain damage from being without oxygen, the doctor was anxious to pull the vent and ask her some questions. He directed the nurse to do so. "Lyndi, I want you to blink twice for yes and once for no. I need to ask you a few questions. Ok?" Lyndi blinks twice. "Do you know who these two nice folks are?" Lyndi blinks twice. "Do you know what happened to you?" Lyndi blinks once. "That’s ok. You had an accident and you have been injured. We are going fix you up today. It appears you have broken a few bones." Lyndi has a tear roll down her cheek. Amy wipes it away and says, "Lyndi, your dad and are with you, sweety. We will get through this, ok? Lyndi blinks twice.

The nurse comes back with the tray to remove her vent. Dr. Bernam asks Amy and Ty to step back so they can remove the vent. Once all the ventilator pieces were removed, Lyndi struggled out a few words. "Mom, Dad. What happened? Ty looked at the doctor and he nodded his head. So Ty begins to tell Lyndi about the fall down the Canyon. Lyndi, "Was I riding Flash? How is the horse? Is he OK? Mom?”

Dr. Bernam "Well, it looks like her brain response is all there. I don't believe I have ever had a patient respond so quickly after an accident like hers. Even when you were injured, Amy, it took a while before we knew if any real damage had occurred. She seems to have only lost her memory of the accident, which is very normal. And she probably will regain those memories back."

Ty, "Lyndi, we were so worried about you but we prayed and turned this over to God and he blessed us with this miracle!"

Lyndi, "God is great! But tell me about Flash!"

Amy, "Flash is fine. He got spooked and when he rared up, you fell off of him and into the canyon. I think he didn't like the trail we were on."

Dr. Bernam, "Lyndi, shortly we are going to prep you for a little procedure to fix your legs and hip so you will be able to run and ride your horses again. Are you up for that?" Lyndi looked at her mom and shook her head yes. Amy brushed back her blonde bangs and kissed her on her forehead. "You are my little angel aren't cha!" Lyndi blinked twice and smiled.

Ty went into the hall to call Jack and give him the news. "Jack, we got our miracle! Lyndi regained consciousness and they have taken her off the vent. We were able to talk with her and it appears outside of her loss of memory of the accident, she is ok! Thanks be to God, yea!"

Jack, "That is great news! So, you feel better about the surgery today?"

Ty, "Much better. I think the doctors are more confident, too!"

Jack, "Well that is great news, son. I will pass this on to the family and we will see you guys later this morning. You tell that little angel her GG was praying all night for her and I can wait to see her."

Ty, "Will do, Jack. See ya soon!"

Ty came back into the room and relayed the message to Lyndi from Jack and says that GG can't wait to see her. Lyndi, "I can wait to see him, too.

The doctors come in and sent Amy and Ty back to the waiting room while they perform the surgery. Before they leave, Ty asks if they could say a prayer over her. The surgeon, Dr. Bernam, the nurse, Amy and Ty hold hands while Ty voices a prayer to ask God to see this surgery through. At the conclusion, Amy and Ty kissed Lyndi and returned to the waiting room.

The family made it to the hospital during Lyndi's surgery. After about 4 hours Dr. Fredeicks came into the waiting room, "Well, all is good! We were able to set pins in both of her legs. Her hip was a bit more challenging, but we were able to make the necessary procedures so that it will heal back properly. All in all, it looks like she will have about 6 months of recovery and therapy but should be back to 100% and continue her activities as usual. However, for the next few weeks, she needs to be in traction to ensure the bones set correctly. We would like to keep her here during this time to observe and assist her."

Ty, "Doctor, we want to thank you for taking such great care of our Lyndi, however, we want to take her home as soon as possible. We can set up a room at the ranch with all the equipment necessary and have the family attend to her every day. We have a doctor right down the street that can be available if necessary."

Doctor, "I am not sure about that. We can do a better job here and keep her more comfortable."

Amy, "Doctor, I think her recovery will go better if she were able to do so in her own room around her family and friends."

After several more minutes of debate, Dr. Fredricks gave in and said, "Ok, but she needs to be here for the next few days so we can make sure there are no complications with her hips. That will give you time to get the house set up for her to go home and she can get into a wheel chair for transport.

Amy grabs Ty and hugs him. "Lyndi's coming home!"

Ty, "Lyndi's coming home!"

The family was listening to all the discussion and Tim spoke up, "Guys, I don't want to be in your business, but I really think Lyndi would be better off here recovering, than at Heartland. You just don't have the setup at home like they do here in the hospital. Who is going to watch her, Jack? What if she really needs some assistance, like going to the bathroom, or things like that? You think Jack is capable of doing that?"

Amy, "Dad, Me and Ty will be there for her, too!"

Tim, "You guys are busy with the seminars and Ty with his veterinarian practice. Your horse behavior business. How in the world do you guys think you will have time to tend to her?"

Ty, "We can hire a nurse for the first few weeks to stay with her, if necessary."

Georgie, "Tim, Katie and I can take a few weeks off of training to help out as well!"

Tim, "Ok, ok, I just think keeping her in the hospital would be a better decision!"

Ty, "Then it is settled. Lyndi is coming home."

The next few days were spent getting the room at Heartland set up and Ty hired a nurse to be with her during the day. Lyndi was recovering well with no apparent issues from her head trauma and her broken limbs. Amy had a sit down with the twins to bring them up to speed and lay some rules down before Lyndi got home. "Guys, come here we need to talk about what to expect with Lyndi coming home. She is going to be very sore and will have a cast on both of her legs. You guys need to turn the energy down when you are around her, so she won't get to excited. Remember, you must make sure you don't bump her or make her move abruptly. Do you get that?"

Tyson, "Yes, mom!

Amy, "TJ?"

TJ, "Yes, Mom! So, when is she coming?"

Amy, "We are going to get her in the morning. If you would like, you guys can come, but remember the rules. I know she is anxious to see you two!"

Tyson, "We want to come!"

The next morning, the Borden family piled into the SUV and headed for the hospital. Tyson, "I can't wait to see Lyndi. I really missed her."

Amy, "She really missed her brothers. That is all she has been talking about."

Ty, "Remember the rules guys. No horseplay around her and turn your energy down! We should be there in a few minutes."

Ty Pulls up to the delivery exit and parks the SUV. The family goes inside to the room where Lyndi is sitting up in the bed. The boys start to run to her, but Ty immediately says, "Guys, remember the rules!" They slowed their pace and walked up to the bed. "Lyndi, are you ok, boy we were scared. Are you going to be able to play with us again? Can I sign your cast? Did you hit your head?" The barrage of questions coming from the twins to Lyndi had her taken back a bit as she looked at Amy and smiled. "Maybe we should rethink my coming home. Not sure I am ready for all these questions."

Tyson, "Sorry Lyndi, we just missed you and can't wait to get you back to Heartland!"

Lyndi, "I missed you, too! And I am just kidding!"

The nurse walked in and gave Ty and Amy some last-minute instructions while Lyndi and the twins caught up. When it was time to go, they loaded Lyndi into a wheelchair and brought her out to the SUV. Getting her into the car was quite a challenge since Lyndi had never used crutches and her hips were still very sore. However, she was so excited to get out of the hospital and get some fresh air, she endured the pain and got into the SUV. On the way home, with every bump in the road came a sharp reminder that she has broken bones that have not mended yet. Ty noticed the grimace on her face. "Lyndi, are you ok?"

Lyndi, "Yea, it’s all the bumps. I can feel every one of them."

Ty, "Sorry, I will try to avoid them. We should be home soon, and you can lie down and we can give you something for the pain!"

Lyndi, "Thanks dad."

At Heartland, they got Lyndi settled into her room gave her a few minutes to recover from the ride. They rigged up the intercom from when the twins were little so she could communicate any needs. After a few hours, Ty decided to go and check on her. As he walked into the room, Lyndi opened her eyes and looked at her father. Ty, "What, you look like you want to say something!"

Lyndi, "Dad, I wanted to tell you something that happened to me that I can't figure out."

Ty, pulling up a chair next to the bed, "What is it, honey?"

Lyndi, "I am not really sure. It might have been a dream, but it was so real. There was a bright light and a doorway. I am not sure where I was but the doorway led to this beautiful vineyard. It was the most awesome place. So peaceful! I was filled with joy and wanted to explore the vineyard. There was this white horse that was just standing inside the door grazing. Then, out of nowhere, Lisa and two other ladies appeared and started talking to me. I think one of the ladies was my grandmother and I think the other was Mama GG. I asked them if we could go for a ride on the horses, but they told me that I had to go back. I didn't want to because the place was so overwhelming and wonderful. But they insisted. They said I had more things to accomplish, and that God was not ready for me to come home yet! Each one of the ladies gave me a hug and a kiss, and immediately I was back to the canyon and Mom was giving me CPR. What do you think that was?"

Ty, taken back by Lyndi's story recants back to his out of body experience. "Lyndi, I have never told anyone this, not even your mother, but when you were still in mom's tummy, I went to Mongolia to work with Vets without Borders and got very sick. When I finally got back home, I was in the hospital and my heart stopped. I had a very similar experience; except I saw my dad and he was asking me to come in. I refused and when I stepped back, I woke up in the hospital room and people were also trying to resuscitate me. Later, I found out that my heart had stopped, and I quit breathing. I think I died and came back to life! Lyndi, when your mother got to you on the canyon floor, you were not breathing. She gave you CPR and you started breathing again. Maybe, just maybe, you had the same experience."

Lyndi, "But it was so real. When they reached over and hugged me and gave me a kiss, I felt it!"

Ty, "I know, it was for me, too!"

Lyndi, "Mom doesn't know about that? Why didn't you ever tell her?"

Ty, "I don't know! It was such a turning point for me. You were born several weeks later, and I vowed to be, for you, the father I never had!"

Lyndi, "Dad, you ARE the best father a girl could ever have. I think we should tell Mom about this and see what she thinks!"

Ty, "I think you are right."

That night after the twins had gone to bed, Ty tells Amy, “hey, let's go check on Lyndi. There is something we want to tell you. So, they headed to her room and pulled up two chairs alongside the bed. Amy, "Ok, so what is this thing you guys need to tell me?"

Ty begins to tell Amy his experience when he had to be resuscitated after he came back from Mongolia. Amy looked at Ty and asked, "Why is this the first I am hearing of this, Ty. Why didn't you tell me that back then? Boy, does that explain some of your fathering behavior when Lyndi was born."

Ty, "Up until now, I didn't think much about it. Thought it more to be a dream than anything else. Lyndi, tell mom your story!" So Lyndi begins to tell her the experience she had. While she was telling her story, Amy's eyes began to tear up as she got to the part with the horses. Then, as she says she saw Lisa and her grandmother and great grandmother, Amy was totally overwhelmed. Ty, looked at her and embraced her and said, "What is the matter, honey?"

Amy, "When my mother passed away in the car accident, I had a very similar experience but never told anyone. I thought it to be a dream too, so I just passed it off as that. But in my experience, it was my mother and grandmother, Lyndi, who came to me and said that I was to continue on with my mother's business. She said she would be with me every step of the way and I have always thought it was through her journals, Pegasus, and Spartan. Also, my grandmother told me to continue with my singing because it made Grandpa feel her presence. How awesome is it that we can share these experiences and know that our family is in heaven looking down on us! I feel so overwhelmed. Like you Ty, I have never shared that experience with anyone. Not even you!"

Lyndi, "So mom, dad, you think my experience was real and not just a dream?"

Ty, "I think so! I know in my case; it changed the course of my life. I knew at that time I was going to be the father that I never had, and I would love your mother unconditionally."

Amy, "I have leaned on that experience since it happened. I knew my calling was to help troubled horses just like my mother, and I learned how to sing, and Grandpa and I have kept the Lyndi Bartlett music alive all these years."

Lyndi, "So I guess my calling is to continue with our horse business."

Amy, "Sweety, I think your calling is far greater than that. You have single-handedly introduced our whole family to the power of faith, and we have applied it in our daily lives. I think God has much, much more for you to do than just the horse business. Maybe you will bring both OUR business and dad's together and become a veterinarian. Also, you know Heartland has become much more than a simple ranch. Our operation has become quite a business and one day, you might be the person to continue the legacy of all of us!"

Lyndi, "Wow, TMI! I need to go to bed! Mom, Dad, I love you guys so much. Thank you for everything!"

Ty and Amy kiss her on the forehead and go back to the living room.

Ty, taking a seat on the couch next to Amy, "How is it that both of us had these incredible life changing experiences and we have kept it from each other? I am so sorry that I did not tell you about my meeting with my father, but I guess I just wanted to show you the husband and father I would be, instead of just telling you."

Amy, "That is pretty incredible. I know that my experience with grandma and mom gave me the courage to continue her business and gave me the confidence I needed to do all the things that I do. Ty, I am so glad you are my husband, and we can share these things together. We have been extremely blessed and I don't want to take anything for granted."

Ty, "I agree. I love you so much and look forward to spending my life with you.