Gerrish family update

Paul Gerrish provided us with an update to share at our synod assembly, which we also share in this post.

We would like to say thank you to so many for all the care, love, support, and prayers we are receiving since the tragic accident that took Heidi from us and injured Katherine, Justin, and Stephen so severely.

Cindy, Julie, and I have stayed in CA as we and Justin’s and Katherine’s families work through their recoveries in the hospital in the midst of Covid protocols being put back in place that has dramatically limited our ability to be with them in person.

We are grateful that Stephen is out of the hospital now and with us making terrific progress with his back and other injuries healing well, and that Katherine and Justin are making steady progress towards being discharged from the hospital here, though both of them face a long road ahead in their recoveries. Katherine will require transplant surgery of a small intestine and Justin will require additional reconstructive surgery of his abdomen in the future.

There are still many uncertainties on the timing of discharge and next steps and we ask for continued prayers for Kat and Justin and for all of us supporting their recoveries. We are anxious to get everyone home to AZ where we will plan to have a celebration of life for Heidi later on this summer.

We know we are not alone on this journey and appreciate having and being with this extended community to grieve and heal together. Bless you all.