night phone call

When the phone rings in the middle of the night....the chances of it being good news are slim...last night at 2 am my phone rang.

It was my sister telling that that there had been a bad accident.....a bonfire and gasoline....my nephew Alex...burn unit at University Hospital by Ambulance....get mom.

We could not get mom by phone so Jeremy went over to pick her up while I got dressed. It seemed like forever so I made fresh team for my littles to have in the morning...unsure what the night would bring....What we would find when we got to the hospital.

We arrived and found the burn unit and....and my sister crying into her crutches....she has a broken foot.  When your baby is hurt...it hurts you....no matter how old your baby is ....that is just part of being a Moma. We comforted and talked and waited....

 Finally they told us the preliminary extent of his injuries....both hands...belly...chest...right hand and face would need skin grafts probably....plastic surgeon would be in.....and the nurse told us he was so upset to scare and disappoint his family....we took it all in in choppy doses of information...processing it all slowly but what we got from it in the end was that he was not going to die....there would be a great, long battle to recover but he was going to be here to fight it....and in that moment that itself was a victory.

 Finally we were able to see him...and he looked awful...bandaged and the raw skin peeking from under the bandages...the smell of singed hair in the room....and although the long eyelashes were gone....his beautiful blue eyes were right there...

 He said he was sorry....we told him we loved him.....we told him we would get through this...we told him we loved him....we told him to take his pain meds and get some sleep.....we told him we loved him....and he told us he loved us too. The ebb and flow of he speaks...we speaks..was nice....his voice...unaffected by the accident was comforting to hear. He was still here...we could touch him and talk to him. This night could have ended very differently...but it didn't...

I cried seeing his girlfriend Sara see him for the first time all bandaged up....she is his first love.  One word...Tender.

He wouldn't rest until we all left so slowly, reluctantly we all headed home....hugging everyone goodbye just because they were there to hug....

It will be a long, slow, painful recovery for him....

It had been a long night but that is the thing about nights...no matter how long they are....they always end...bringing with them a new day....and new hope. Praying for comfort and healing....and offering support and love very step of the way. We love you Alex Clay.