An awful fall this spring!

Poor Anna took a terrible fall from a high bar she was sitting on at Memorial Park after the AMAZING SERVICE project with Mormon Helping Hands last month. (Sitting mind you! She jumps on the trampoline, plays soccer, rides horses, runs track and then breaks her back falling from sitting!) It was a very high sit - and Emily kept saying "ANYONE, even a boy would have cried Mom!" but Anna is a strong-willed girl and would NOT cry, though she could not breath either for a minute, because her friends were all around her. Instead she got up and tried to play tag (every step was excruciating she told us later). Because of this we thought she was merely badly bruised and continued on with the weekend and week! But Anna could not bend, hardly walk down stairs, and most alarming - laugh! (Anna is ALWAYS laughing and singing - it hurt so bad she begged everyone not to make her laugh). We finally clued in and took her for xrays Wednesday morning at Mike's office. Three broken vertebrae! O Anna, how did you ever survive? (Going to school carrying a 20 lb. book bag!) We were worried about surgery, but after a cat-scan found that her spinal cord was un-compromised and she would simply be wearing a brace for eight weeks (it's even a cute little white one!). Anna kept her smile on so well, we could not know how badly she was hurt.

Thank you so very, very much to those of you who prayed for her. I feel it made all the difference. She's managed this whole injury very well, and has experienced minimal pain since the first week. SO very grateful she is OK.

Love and Thanks! Hoffmans

Thank you so very much