Norman Lynas

Welcome to Norman’s website everyone.   Our ENTIRE family is so grateful for the outpouring of love that continues to pour in for our beautiful Norman as well as us. The great thing about this site is it allows  Tristan,  Adam, Julie, Aly, Jerimaya, me and many other family members and close friends to also care for ourselves (for Norman) through  the months ahead.

Ok, so here goes the bottom line of the first36+ hours.  

Thurs: July 30, What a difference a day makes.

We went to the beach in Bermuda for the Cup Match holiday and waves were quite rough.  
Norman stubbed his toe on a rock and the next thing we knew, we were on the way to the 
hospital because his left foot needed a little medical attention.   About an hour and a half later, antibiotics and bandage secure, with Tylenol in his system we headed for home.  Fast forward, we went into bed by 10pm,   Because of the painful toe, we switched sides of the bed so he could keep his foot out.  

Around 1130-ish (I think), he got up to go to the bathroom.  I heard him and asked if he needed help because of the foot.   He responded groggily,  “I’m OK Hon”.  I heard him in the hall and must have drifted back off a little.  Next I hear loud banging kinds of sounds and our Yorkie Katie went crazy barking.  I yelled ‘Honey, where are you”?   It was very dark. and I finally 
realized with Katie‘s help that he was at the bottom of our basement stairs.

 It is our assessment now, that with the disorientation of the painful foot, sleeping on the opposite side of the bed, and being as exhausted as he was (as the fact that my husband always goes into very deep sleeps), Norman got disoriented and instead of opening the bathroom door on the left, he opened the door to the basement/garage.


This is a rental property in Bermuda.  The stairs are cement as is the floor and cinderblock wall at the bottom of the steps.  In short, he fell down 10 cement steps and landed on his head with his body pushing against his neck and head.  Blood was seeping out both sides of his head.  Time froze. 

The ambulance was there in less than five  minutes I think.  (And what a blessing that we live two minutes from the hospital.).  On my way to follow the ambulance, I called our dear friend 
Fr. Paul Dean who was immediately was on his way.  We agreed one more call needed to be made that night.

Norman‘s boss, and also our dear friend,  Bishop Nick Dill was on his way.  It was now I think around one in the morning… I lost time.  Norman was in the ER, and they wouldn’t let me until they assessed everything.  

Both  Paul and Bishop Nick stayed by my and Norman’s sides.  Only the Bishop was allowed to be in with me,   Paul held vigil in the waiting area. 

I was very grateful for both of their presences that night.  I asked Nick to stay w me through the doctor consults.  Bishop and I heard phrases such as: broken neck, paralyzed  from the neck down, long road ahead, air lift off the island (inside my head I’m 100 miles an hour thinking: With Covid? Where do we go?…God please help us, God please help us, God please help us, God please....God.... 

Nick and Paul remained powerfully  calm, supportive (as well I’m sure having their own shock I’m sure, because their own “Brother in Christ” relationship w Norman.

With their presences,  I felt upheld by angels and God‘s grace . 

More medical and then caseworker angels at King Edward Hospital in Bermuda, our insurance company BF&M, Medway Airvac and more,  gave their all over the hours that followed.

At 9pm, less than 24 hours later,  we landed at Lahey medical clinic in Burlington 
Massachusetts.  (Right outside Boston)

Every person who put all of the complex logistics together and touched our lives yesterday,
I will remember for the rest of my life.
******
Back to the most important person of this story - our beloved Norman. 


The first huge  miracle is that he has no brain damage (thank God).  His cognitive function is 
perfect and he’s a sharp as ever. There is also no damage to his wonderful Irish personality and sense of humor.  

Norman broke the C4 vertebrae up in his neck. Currently he is paralyzed from the neck down and classified as quadriplegic physically. He’s in tremendous pain which they are managing as well.  

He is being assessed right now for the next steps which we have been told preliminarily will probably be rods placed surgically in his neck - to fuse the broken vertebrae.

The glimmer of light in the story is that in Bermuda,  the doctor told us that  the bone went right back into place and there’s a chance that this paralysis is temporary.  (We’ll take every ounce of hope possible.)

At Lahey, he was finally resting and midnight, I got into my bed at the hotel..

I will post an update each day for now... perhaps sometime short sometimes long depending upon what there is to report. 

Any messages of love and support which you post, will be read to him.  

Feel free to share this website with anybody you wish who will support his journey with love and prayer.   

For those of you who are not of the prayer mindset, I invite you to go quietly  within yourself and simply send him all the love love and more love  you can.  Tell him how much you love him and that you believe and know he’ll come through this with all the love that is surrounding him.   God is Love and Love is Love is Love.  Just please send it.

We just celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary on July 17th..  We have a made a promise that we will do everything we can with God’s grace, to be be dancing together (with his arms around me) by our 9th. 

In Ireland, America, Bermuda and France, (and anywhere else), welcome to Team Lynas.  

God bless you and until tomorrow. Stay safe and well.
💝💝💝💝💝