August 3 , 2003

Today is the 4th anniversary of Mandy's accident. With Scott McCurdy's permission, we would like to share his devotional from yesterday:

Do you really believe that he can heal all your afflictions?

          WHY DIDN'T GOD HEAL HER?

Good morning guys & gals, I think one of the hardest things to understand about God is His will for our lives. In other words, why do good people have to die when they shouldn't? Why do babies have to die and cause so much pain to the family? None of us morn too much when a bad guy dies, but the pain of a family member or a friend is sometimes more than we can take....Why Didn't God Heal Her?  I do believe in the power of prayer and I do believe that God can heal anyone who is afflicted, but why doesn't that happen all of the time to everyone? I do not have the answer to that question, but I do know that God is Sovereign, and His will will be done in and through all of us. There is a young lady in our church who has a great family, a Godly family and she was the Cinderella of life. She was smart, beautiful, loved the Lord, never got into any trouble; in other words, she was the type of girl all mothers and fathers wanted their sons to marry, and she was in a horrible auto accident that almost took her life. She went into a coma for a long time and our church prayed over her earnestly....Why Didn't God Heal Her? Now at the time that our church was praying over her and for her, I had never met this young lady, but I too prayed because I could only come to tears in imagining what this family must be going through. She did finally come out of her coma, but she was completely paralyzed, from head to toe. She was not able to eat on her own, or do any function on her own, but she was alive and her family was so grateful for that. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to meet this family and this special young lady one day after church, and what a blessing that meeting was....Why Didn't God Heal Her? I have no clue as to why God didn't heal her, but He did save her. I still to this day pray that God will heal her and believe that if that be His will, He will. The mystery may be unraveled when we die and go to heaven and see Jesus face to face. That gives me goose bumps just saying it....Why Didn't God Heal Her? I Love each of you very much, and there is a whole lot of mystery in God's Word, and yet there is so much revealed. Sometimes I get it, and sometimes I do not. But one thing I do know in my heart of hearts, is that the Bible is God's breathed Words, and I believe every one of them. But I still ask myself....

April 19, 2003

Hi, everyone! Here's a long overdue update - I'm sorry it's been so long. I'll try hard to do it more often.

Mandy is doing well and staying healthy. The operation on her feet went very well and they look beautiful! We hope to get a standing frame in July that will enable Mandy to stand up and bear weight on her feet. She has been in one before and they are great - I think it makes her feel great.

Thank you so much to all of the awesome volunteers - you all just don't know how much you help us! There is going to be a special place and many treasures for all of you in heaven. There are not enough words to express our gratitude. We love you!

I promise to update more often. Please pray for our respite nursing situation to be resolved soon and that the right person would be sent for Mandy.

Thank you for your prayers. We love you all.

Pam and all the Bradshaws

November 5, 2001

Mandy is doing pretty good -she's getting over persistent bronchitis right now, but she's getting better and stronger. Mandy has started going to a place called-C.I.T.E. every Monday morning. They are trying to figure out a way for her to communicate. It's a pretty neat place - they have all kinds of gadgets and gizmoes for her to work with. There is a computer that she might be able to work on, they are trying to get her to consistently use what they call a switch device. Right now they have figured out that it works best on her by getting her to touch the switch with her knee, so we are hoping and praying this will work. If it does... WOW!! - then she could use the computer to communicate!

Thank you all who write in the Guestbook, we print it out every couple of weeks and read the entries to Mandy. Her face really lights up with a big smile when we read them and tell her who sent them. Thank you also for your prayers, we treasure every one of them. There is a young lady we met while Mandy was at ORMC by the name of Angie, she came to the ICU about a week after her. Angie was in a motorcycle accident and her condition is very similar to Mandy's. We were wondering if you all could add her name to your prayers, we know Mandy would want her to be prayed for as much as she is.

We love you all!!!  We couldn't make it without you!
Love, Rick, Pam, Mandy and Joey

Hi Everyone, It's been a while since the last update, Mandy's overall health has been excellent, she has been in good spirits, laughing all the time, vocalizing a lot and smiling.  She has been to church a few times, went to her Aunt Shannon's wedding, around Cranes Roost Park a few times, and even went to the movies (thanks to Robin).  She saw "What Women Want" - Robin said she laughed more than anyone else did (typical Mandy, she hasn't lost her sense of humor at all) so we have a lot to be thankful for.

She is moving her left arm a lot, even knocking pillows off of the bed, she wants to talk so much!  Please pray that God would give her that ability to communicate somehow, some way.  If you know Mandy you know she loves to talk.

We want to thank everyone for their continuing support, prayers, meals, exercising Mandy - you all mean so much to us - more than we could ever ever put into words.  When we all get to heaven, God will surely pull each of you aside to give you a special reward.  We love you all very much.

Love,
Rick, Pam, Joey and Mandy

October 2000

Mandy has come a long way since the car accident, but still has a long way to go and needs a miracle from God, and we believe it will happen!

The doctors are saying that she is still in a light coma, which is a little hard to understand - when we talk to her we can tell that she understands us because she responds with her facial expressions. She responds with laughter when we say something funny, and when she watches TV she laughs at the appropriate time when something is said or done.

.
Anyone who knew Mandy before this accident can recognize that she hasn't lost her sense of humor.

It seems as though she is locked in to herself, because besides facial expressions and laughter she doesn't seem to be able to communicate with us any other way. When someone that she recognizes comes into the room her face lights up and a smile is never missing (unless she's not feeling well). Sometimes she moves her arms and legs, we hope because she wants to make herself comfortable, but we're not sure.

Please pray for a miracle: that Mandy will be totally restored to her former self.

(written by Pam Bradshaw)

For more details around the time of the accident, see the story by Eva Marie Everson.