Special Update from LeAnn Stubbs

Former Plymouth Pastor LeAnn Stubbs and her spouse Tracy Sabus were involved in a serious car crash in Colorado. LeAnn suffered numerous broken bones and Tracy is recovering from a concussion. Below is a letter to Plymouth from LeAnn regarding her recovery:

Dear Plymouth Church,

Five years ago today, I had just settled myself at my desk, when the phone rang. It was a call we had been expecting: a beloved Plymouth member had just died, and the family was starting to gather. As I drove to their home, I listened as NPR confirmed that COVID-19 had reached our shores, and the shutdowns were beginning. During those next bitter-sweet hours, as we laughed and cried and planned a funeral, none of us could have imagined that it wouldn’t take place for a year and a half--and then only with family present, masked and live-streamed.

 For five years, in gatherings large and small, in and out of homes and hospitals, for five years I never caught COVID. But never say never! I am currently down for the count. Nose running like a faucet and a cough that rattles the windows.

 And this, less than a week after learning that I need to have yet one more “procedure” on my leg. My surgeon says that there was so much damage to my joint area that it has simply filled up with scar tissue. This is why my knee doesn’t move. So now, I have the very first early morning surgery spot at Methodist West on Wednesday the 19th. It is supposed to be a quick procedure…most of the time will be spent prepping for anesthesia and then bringing me back awake. They will put me in PT that afternoon, and then I will have daily PT for a while after that. 

This is the accident that keeps on giving!!!

But here’s the deal. When I reflect on the trauma of COVID, what I carry with me is the tenderness with which we treated one another. The notes you all sent to each other, and all the phone calls you made, checking in with family and friends. Words of comfort offered during on-line evening prayer. The “chat” that never stopped during YouTube church.

And I know that when I look back on this time of car wreck trauma, what I will remember is the tenderness that has surrounded me. How will I ever find enough words, the right words, with which to say, “thank you”?

Thank you for all the ways in which you all have contributed to my journey of recovery. Thank you for all the prayers. You, and they, have sustained me, body and soul.

And God is good. And prayers are answered. And despite all the ups and downs, I am recovering. And today, at least today, my plan is to start back to work mid-April. Way opens. One step at a time.

Pr. LeAnn