*Update 10/30/23 from Lora! Thank you all for your love and support through such a difficult time in our lives. I never thought that I would have to stand next to my soulmate at such a young age and endure such tragic circumstances. It is only with your prayers and financial support that we have been able to make it as a family. I'm blessed to still have my soulmate by my side to share life with and continue to make memories. God is so good!! Joseph still has a very long way to go but he has made amazing strides in his progress. He's living everyday with his traumatic brain injury to the best of his ability. He had a positive attitude and a positive outlook on the future which is incredible after everything he's been through. Please continue praying that he continues to get better. He is currently seeing a neurologist and a cognitive therapist and speech pathologist. Soon he will start to see the orthopedic for his broken ribs, all of them on his left side, and fractured hips and fractured scapula. He has to wait until 90 days after his last surgery. We are praying for the best as it will be a long road to recovery with more than likely surgery to repair the missing and damaged rib bones. As far as his brain injury goes, he has a traumatic brain injury known as a diffuse axonel injury (DAI). It affects his short-term memory and cognitive abilities. His long-term memory seems to be unaffected by the accident. As far as his eye, the neurologist assures us that the front temporal lobe on the left side has a main nerve which is unfortunately the one that was damaged in the accident so only time will tell if the ability to use his eye completely will return. He does say that he can see better out of the injured eye than his other eye which is very ironic. His eye is tracking better after giving it a break and patching. If the functionality has not returned by 6 months then we will see a neurological opthamologist. With all that being said, Joseph remains on his road to recovery and unfortunately our family is only receiving 60% of his pay while on disability. Joseph has always been the bread winner and supporter of our family. I am currently working every hour possible while being the sole provider for Joseph at home as well as his transportation to and from all of his doctor's appointments. We appreciate all of your support and ask for continue prayers as this time proves to be difficult and the holiday seasons are coming with our family of six children it will be a challenge. We have given all of this to God and know that he has us through this entire journey, no matter what obstacle may be thrown our way. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. ❤️ ****UPDATE: Joe is AWAKE!!!!! He is finally on a floor where his whole family can visit him, and I know seeing their precious babies is so good for his soul and healing. They successfully removed the vent and he is breathing 100% on his own. It's seriously a miracle. He even got to eat his first "real food" since the accident. I bet hospital food has never tasted better. They are looking into looking term as there is still a lot of work and healing to do, especially re learning certain things and dealing with the brain trauma/TBI...but he is proving every single day that with love, faith, and great medical care you can pull yourself out of the wreckage and rebuild. When they move him next to a rehab facility this family will incur even more financial difficulty, so please continue to share as much as you can do we can do the most good. Thanks so much. Hey, my name is Amber Grunke-Guevara, and I have felt led to help my dear friends the Hennenfents. As some of you know, this past week has been an absolute nightmare for this sweet family. On July 25, Joe was in a terrible car accident. The accident was so severe that he was immediately transported and was rushed directly into surgery to save his life. They admitted him as a John Doe, and he was "missing" for 24 hours as he was unable to let his family know his whereabouts and his cell phone was turned off. He has been through multiple surgeries already this past week and he's fighting (even under heavy sedation and "sleeping") with all he has to come back to his family. Right now, financial support is critical. Joe was the primary bread winner and his injuries/hospital stay are looking to be months long. As the surgeon said, this is a marathon, not a sprint. For the past (almost) week, Lora has been spending every spare moment at her husbands bedside. However today she went back to work, for both financial reasons and for her own mental health. From work she immediately goes to be with Joe. They have 6 kids between them and she is working tirelessly to try and find their new normal. She has a plan with help from the older kids for homework and such, but extra cash to send meals, pay the mounting bills, and to help alleviate the pressure of his medical expenses would be so helpful. He is currently in the ICU/trauma unit with a traumatic brain injury, collapsed lung, perforated spleen, a multitude of broken bones and is highly sedated to help his body and brain heal without him fighting it. They finally have him stable enough to do his MRI tomorrow, and we are hopeful for more answers. Helping financially, will allow Lora a little less stress so she can support their family. Even if you think it's not enough, it is. Every little bit helps. If anyone can come back from this, it will be Joe. He regularly calls Lora the love of his life and they are such a beautiful couple and family. They do so much for our community and it will be so nice to give back. Thank you.
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