WHO IS DARYL?

Daryl is a 20 year old from Loveland, Colorado, currently a Senior at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Living in Loveland, he loved the freedom of being able to get on a bike and ride away into the mountains or across the plains. As an experienced mountaineer, Daryl also loved the pure feeling that comes from breaking above treeline. He was a decent high school runner (nothing to his older brother Eric) who ran a couple of seasons for Calvin's team (defending DIII back-to-back national xc champs!). His greatest accomplishment is cheating death three times in less than 6 months (just kidding - it was I who put myself in each situation, and God's hand who lead me out each time, and He who deserves the credit for such accomplishments as only He could accomplish!). Now a paraplegic, Daryl continues his active lifestyle. Though he has yet to find an athletic outlet, Daryl still partakes of many of his favorite activities from "pre-lifechanging-accident-days". He is still playing guitar and singing, and takes great delight in spending time praising God and listening to what God says through the Word and the Spirit. He uses this joy weekly in leading his comrades at Calvin in worship in both formal and informal settings. He also still partakes of the greatest of all human joys, that is fellowship with God, and fellowship with other people. Daryl loves making new friends and hanging out with old friends, and really just really, really, really loves people in general!

WHY THIS WEBSITE?

This website was created immediately after Daryl's accident with one main objective: to encourage everyone to pray for Daryl! Daryl will never tell you to stop praying, however, he hopes this site will be in addition, a place where Daryl can keep friends and family updated on his whereabouts and happenings, as well as some of the things that he has been thinking about and is interested in (and interested in making other people interested in...).

WHAT HAPPENED?

On November 24th, 2004, Daryl was driving home from college for Thanksgiving. He was riding in a small car with two of his good highschool friends when a deer jumped across the highway. Swerving ever so slightly, the car went off the road and rolled a single time. Daryl, sleeping in the backseat, was ejected from the car. Daryl's friends were not seriously injured, and were able to get out of the car and comfort him as he lay in the median until help arrived. After brief treatment in Julesburg, he was airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, where he was in the CCU for a week and on the multi-trauma floor for another week before moving to Craig Hospital, which is in the same complex as Swedish. Craig is one of the best hospitals in the country for spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury, and Daryl was a patient there for three and a half months. He was released on March 15, 2005, and lived with his mom in Loveland until September, when he returned to Grand Rapids to continue his education.

INJURIES?

Daryl suffered several injuries in the accident including a collapsed lung, skull fractures, jaw fractures, broken vertabra, ribs, and other cuts, bruises, etc. With skull fractures and the impact it received, brain swelling was a big concern but praise God there was no serious brain damage. The injury with the longest lasting effect was that he crushed his Thoracic-8 (T8) vertebrae, damaging his spinal cord. T8 is at the bottom of the ribcage, and the spinal cord injury means that Daryl has a high degree of paralysis below this level - though he has some muscular control and sensation, he has no functional use of his legs. (Eric Holmlund - the original editor's note: I believe that God will give Daryl a COMPLETE healing, and I will post small updates in the left-side column when I have time.)(Note from Daryl Holmlund: I also believe that God desires to heal me, and will heal me; and though I know not when that will be, I will continue daily asking God and believing for healing from him.)

HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED IN DARYL'S LIFE?

PRAY: Please PRAY for Daryl. It's a proven fact that prayer changes things! Please pray when you think of Daryl, and pray with faith in your heart. In the Bible, God gives us many example of how we should pray and how we should view healing; so read the Inspiration section for more info. I've seen miracles happen as a result of prayer, so this is the most important thing you could possibly do for Daryl and our family. You can also send him a note/prayer on the message board. (Note from Daryl: I am not currently in the same kind of day to day dangerous condition that I was in when this site first went up, but I will never, ever, ever refuse prayer - I myself am learning more than ever what it means to walk by faith and not by sight, and it means that prayer is a necessity. So I hope that this might remind you, help you to pray for me; but that it would remind you to pray, not just for me, but for all the people that I come into contact, upon whom I have the opportunity to share the love of Jesus, and the forgotten minority that I have become a part of - the community of the disabled - and for the other people who look at this site... Well, ok, you get the idea - PRAY! - and a good place to start might be prayway.com.)

VISIT OR WRITE A LETTER OR SOMETHING: Daryl never minds hearing from or seeing or talking to people. His current address is 120 Madison Ave SE APT.1, Grand Rapids, MI 49503; e-mail: drh4@calvin.edu. Daryl is also often hanging out at Calvin College, so you could find him there from time to you.

GIVE: What about financial need? Thankfully Daryl is covered under his mom's health insurance. However, as you can imagine, there will be many uncovered expenses. We know that God will supply all of our needs, so if you feel God leading you to give anything, you can mail checks payable to Linda Holmlund to: