The Long, Dark Tunnel: A Mother’s Journey to Hell and Back

by Wehunt, Thelma

• ISBN13: 9781475927764
• ISBN10: 1475927762
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-06-20
• Publisher: Author Solutions

Summary

It had been six months since their beautiful Christmas in California, and Thelma Wehunt was expecting another wonderful time shortly. Her daughters and grandchildren were on their way to visit her in Oklahoma. Wanting everything to be perfect upon their arrival, Thelma called again to check on their progress and make sure there were no final arrangements that needed to be made to welcome them home. The voice on the other side of the line, however, was not one that she recognized. At that point, her life was thrown into a chaotic turmoil that could only be calmed by time, support, and the deep, soothing conviction of her unwavering faith in her loving God. Tragedy visits us all, but there may be nothing more deeply tragic than a mother outliving her children. In her memoir, Wehunt shares the touching testimony of her journey through the long, dark tunnel of despair to emotional recovery after losing both children and grandchildren to a terrible and unforeseeable accident.

Excerpts

At 8:45, church was over and I called Ragina's phone to check in. A man answered. "What are you doing answering my daughter's phone?" I said. "The people you are trying to get a hold of have been in an accident," he said. "Oh, my God, those are my two daughters and my grandchildren. Are they okay?" "That is what we are trying to find out. We have the police and ambulance on the way." "Where are you?" "Shamrock, Texas ..." I heard sirens in the background, and then the phone went dead. My God, what should I do? I had to get home to Ken and let him know. We needed to find out if everyone was okay. I called Ragina's husband, Jay, and asked him if he had heard anything about the girls being in an accident. "No," he said. "I just talked to Ragina, and everything was fine." I told him about my conversation with the man who had answered her phone, who, I later learned, was a truck driver who had seen the accident. Jay didn't seem to be very concerned. He just said he would call and see and call me back, which he never did. I finally pulled into the driveway at home and rushed inside to tell Ken. We immediately jumped back in the car and started out for Shamrock. It would be about a six-hour drive from Spiro, Oklahoma, where we lived. ... We were just outside Oklahoma City when Renee's husband, Tom, called me on my cell phone. "Thelma?" he said. "Yes?" "We lost Jessica, Renee, and Ragina."