Blink of an Eye

Welcome to Blink of an Eye. I'm Louise Phipps Senft, your host. Together, we will explore life stories of trauma, loss, awakenings, and epiphanies, beginning with my own story when I got the Call that one of my 5 children, Archer, then a 6’2” teenager, was in a catastrophic diving accident at the beach, shattering his neck, rendering him paralyzed from the neck down. You will hear my written in real-time journal entries sent to my family that were later posted on social media and read daily by over 50,000 people who joined me and us in the fight to save Archer’s life. In Blink of an Eye, I will introduce you to some of the extraordinary people behind the scenes through guest interviews woven throughout the journal entry recordings.  And you will meet others with extraordinary life stories, as well as wise men and women with life-changing knowledge for healing that you and I can learn from, consider, and grow into, especially if you happen to face a crisis, a trauma, or a deep loss. 

Together, we will explore the true nature of our relationships and interconnectedness and how to advocate for what is possible even in the face of traumatic events that change everything.

On a hot summer day in 2015, a prominent professional and mother of 5 receives the phone call that will change the rest of her — and her family’s — life.  One of her children, her son Archer, while at the beach, dove into the Atlantic Ocean for a quick, cooling swim as he’s done hundreds of times before. But this time, something went terribly wrong.  Join Louise for the powerful pilot episode of this extraordinary journey of life and death, trauma and epiphany, featuring the impact of trauma on her and others and interviews with people at the scene on both sides of a rapidly unfolding timeline of life-and-death decision-making. A remarkable story of loss, advocacy, and resilience begins. 

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 1 The Call. August 5. DAY 1. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from

Jacqui Schmucker, a co-worker of Archer's that summer at the Beach Club,

Davis Barsby, the Assistant Manager at the Beach Club, the head lifeguard at the time of the accident, and a lifelong friend of the Senft family.

This episode is sponsored by the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury. Visit SpinalCordRecovery.org to learn more.

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

In the chaotic moments and hours immediately following Archer’s spinal cord injury, a series of “standard operating procedures” leads to more questions than answers. Scrambling for real answers, Louise realizes among scattered startling questions, the possibility of harm caused by hospitals’ policies set up for routine and risk management rather than healing. “My preference is to live” are words that will strike you deeply as she perseveres to experience the power of connecting cheek to cheek. 

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 2 He Talked with God. August 5. DAY 1. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from
Davis Barsby, Assistant Manager of the Beach Club in Cape May, NJ, head Lifeguard, and dear family friend of the Senft family
Pete Senft, Louise's oldest son, who lives and Baltimore and was her advocate
Dr. Ken Williams, who has been the Senft family doctor in Baltimore since Archer was a young boy. #hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

Tunnel Vision can happen when we are in trauma. As part of a survival instinct, our brain locks us into tunnel vision to stay focused on what is most essential at that moment. We have blinders on to all around us, including those who are trying to help. It's nothing personal, we are in love survival mode. But, even in Tunnel Vision, we can be aware enough to see the angels put in our path. In this episode of Blink of an Eye, Louise visits with several people who have first-hand experience with Tunnel Vision. She also talks about what if’s for hospitals.

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 3 Tunnel Vision August 5. DAY 1. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from

Dewey Senft, Louise’s son who is 24 years old, and at the time of Archer’s accident was 19 in college. Dewey is now a fund accountant in Boston.

 Sue Wunder, a special ed teacher for 30 years in the Cape May County Special Services School District, New Jersey. Sue is also the mother of Robbie Wunder, a quadriplegic.

 Mary Lou Healy, a middle school math teacher at the Cathedral School and now Calvert Hall in Baltimore.

 Dr. Kris Radcliffe, a spinal surgeon with the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia and Archer’s neck surgeon at Atlanticare

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

Pray hard…

It’s an uncomfortable room. The chairs are heavy, the air is still, and all eyes are on Dr. Kris Radcliff. This was a family meeting no one would ever forget.  Louise knew that a Family Meeting with Archer’s surgeon was her family’s chance to be together to ask questions. Like most of their other Family Meetings, it was an opportunity to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. But this time was different. It was far from their typical family meetings and would have a lasting impact. Through two interviews, Episode 4 explores this moment from both sides: through the eyes of Dr. Kris Radcliff, who performed Archer’s initial neck surgery, and from the perspective of Archer’s big sister, Paula Senft Easton. And, you’ll hear parts of a voice memo that was recently recovered from the night itself.

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 6 The Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda’s August 6. DAY 2. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from 

Paula Senft Easton, Louise’s eldest child, and only daughter who was 24 at the time of Archer’s accident and is today almost 30 and Associate Director of Admissions for the Friends School in Baltimore

Dr. Kris Radcliff, a spinal surgeon from the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, and Archer’s initial neck surgeon at Atlanticare

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

If you hear of another person’s tragic news and think there is really nothing you can do, please reconsider. There is something you can do. Louise asks for prayer, your prayer. See what happens when Louise texts a few friends that her family is in trouble and to pray hard.  “Stay strong” or “Keep the faith” are good concepts, but see what happens when the heart is stirred being called by name. Louise’s friend, Betty Hines shared, “Even those of different faith and different religions came together because this was about someone's child.”  Louise recalls a Dominican nun who taught at her high school answering her question about people of other faiths, or of no faith, telling her, “We are all called to be one”. 

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 5 Prayer Warriors Unite. August 6. DAY 2. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from 

Cathy Giannascoli, a friend in Pennsylvania and the Senft family’s summer neighbor in Cape May

Mike Determan, Archer’s friend from grade school days in Baltimore, Maryland,

Loretto Kane, a friend in Seattle, Washington, and Hospitalier of the Order of Malta

Betty Hines, another friend in Baltimore who had been chapter chair of Louise’s Women Presidents Organization group

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

I could’ve insisted he do something else. I should’ve taken the time to see him again.

We could have prevented this.

Right? 

When our children experience trauma, we as parents are haunted, ripped apart, kept awake, and often paralyzed by notions of all we could’ve, should’ve, would’ve done. In this episode, Louise recalls Bill’s and her own such thoughts, which threatened to tear apart their marriage, and more importantly, their journey of releasing these damaging patterns of thinking, struggling to stand on solid ground in a chaotic unfamiliar Intensive Care Unit. 

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 6 The Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda’s August 6. DAY 2. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from 

Joanne Quenzer, a dear friend from Philadelphia who drove up from Cape May with a robust CVS care package

Davis Barsby, the Assistant Manager at the Beach Club and the head lifeguard at the time of the accident, and a lifelong friend of the Senft family

Danny Giannascoli, Archer’s good friend and Cape May neighbor whom he's grown up with 

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

Louise begged to know, “Will he get his hands back? He needs his hands because he’s an artist and a cook!” Truth is devastating and tough to swallow. The response was no different, “Not likely.” Sometimes people hold information that we are owed. They try to protect us by tucking it away until “the right time” or a better time to share it with us. They also withhold hope when the answer isn’t truly concrete and based in fact. There is not a good time to hear bad news. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the truth and combine it from several sources, weigh it against what you want to believe and hope for, and what is factual. But it can be delivered with gentility, compassion, and love.

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 7 The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth August 6. DAY 2. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from  

Dr. Kris Radcliffe, a spinal surgeon with the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia. In August 2015, Dr. Radcliff was an associate professor of orthopedic surgery with a joint appointment in neurological surgery. On August 5, 2015, he was Archer’s neck surgeon 

Lisa Melancon, family friend and mother of one of Louise’s son Dutch’s best friends in Baltimore

Dr. Kelly Willham at AtlantiCare, New Jersey, a trauma surgeon in the ICU

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

Sweet but painful visuals as Louise looked around the house where a lacrosse stick, a razor, even a tree reminded her of the past, how it was, and the now. This tree that Archer grew up with “Archer’s tree” as they called her was the only tree in the area with leaves falling. It was as if she knew what had happened to Archer. As Louise surveyed the house, and the yard, she was bombarded by not only those details, but of everyday skills and tasks that we take for granted. Do you believe your emotions are the pathway healing? Louise does and invites us to love deeply. She also makes promises to God, the Divine, that she, Louise, will experience daily life as precious. 

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 8 Archer’s Tree Weeps Too: She Knows August 7. DAY 3. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from
Parker Mitchell, Archer’s good friend from Baltimore lacrosse and high school who was visiting the Senfts 

Danny Giannascoli, Archer’s good friend and Cape May neighbor whom he's grown up with

James Schmucker, Archer’s good friend in Cape May

Patty Schmucker, Mom of James and Jacqui Schmucker who both worked with Archer at the Beach Club

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything

No one called to tell her. Returning to the hospital from the first time she’d left Archer’s side, a pitstop at home for a few hours’ sleep and a shower, Louise was shocked and enraged at the situation she walked into. Tubes like garden hoses now protruded from Archer’s chest. Within a matter of hours, her son had undergone two emergency surgeries, and no one had called her. 

Feeling anger and bitterness surge through her like venom, Louise reminded herself to look for small mercies and sweet moments. One of her sons sat reading to his brother, who lay motionless next to him. Texts from friends. The power of a specific intention. The warmth of being called by name by someone who loves us. Even in chaos, even when your child looks like he is on a barbecue spit, grace and beauty surround us. 

Join Louise for this episode of Blink of an Eye: Episode 9 Pray for Archer. August 7. DAY 3. In this episode, you will hear interview excerpts from
Nan Waller Burnett, Louise’s mediator friend from Denver

Mike Determan, Archer’s friend since grade school days in Baltimore

Kathie Okun, Louise’s friend in Baltimore from Women President’s Organization

Cathy Giannascoli, Mom of Danny Giannascoli, Louise’s friend, and the Senft’s summer neighbor in Cape May  

And many texters.

#hopeforeverything   #obtaineverything