Double trouble

Love trumps all!

I recovered fairly quickly from my bout with the flu, but Christopher wasn't so lucky.  He had to spend several days in isolation until his fever subsided and his flu was gone.  Then he was moved to a regular hospital room.  It took several more days for his body to recover, and then the slow process of getting him back up to speed on his regular tube feedings began.  It was the same old process...start out with Pedialyte and a slow drip rate per hour.  Then increase the drip rate and add formula to his tube feedings as his body could tolerate.  It would take several days to get him back to his normal, and then we could go home.

Christopher was not in the room alone.  He had a new roommate, a little boy about 4 years old.  When we first moved into the room the little boy, Sam (not his real name), was sound asleep.  He had just come out of surgery on his foot.  As he slept, several members of his family were gathered around his bedside. 

As Christopher and I entered the room, we exchanged hellos and introductions.  In time we shared our stories.  I explained to them about Christopher's paralyzed stomach, and how he needed to be tube fed because of it.  I told them he was recovering from the flu but was no longer contagious.  They expressed surprise at how an everyday flu bug could cause such huge complications for Christopher.

Twins are twice the fun.

Then they told me what had happened to Sam.  Sam was a twin.  He and his identical twin brother had been spending the weekend at their grandparents house in southern Oregon.  It was all sun, fun, and special time with Grandma and Grandpa until the accident happened. 

They tried to take precautions.  They explained the rules of being out in the yard with Grandpa while he mowed the yard with his big lawn tractor, but as toddler boys often do...they got distracted.  They were told to stay far away.  They were given boundaries to play in.  The deck was supposed to be their safety zone.  They weren't supposed to leave it.  Grandpa was vigilant too.  He kept a sharp eye on the twins as he circled the yard again and again clipping the long green blades of grass as he made his rounds. 

Why did Sam suddenly break away from the safety of the deck?  Was he chasing a passing butterfly?  Did he see something off in the distance that he just couldn't resist?  Nobody will ever really know.  Sam didn't remember either.  He was just being a 4 year old boy.  They are naturally busy, curious, and forgetful.  Whatever it was that caused him to leave the deck, what followed was nothing short of disastrous!

It was as if all the stars had aligned against him.  The noise of the tractor drowned out the noise of the squealing toddlers.  Grandpa had looked down at something in the grass just as Sam decided to leap off the deck and into the yard.  Grandpa who was trying to avoid the object in the grass continued mowing as Sam suddenly decided that he wanted to ride on the mower with Grandpa.  Bare feet are no match for the blades of a lawn tractor.  To his Grandfather's horror the mower clipped Sam's foot.  It was a horrific scene.  The Grandfather cut the motor, jumped off the tractor, and held his bleeding grandson.  911 was called, and little Sam had to be life flighted to the hospital.  He nearly bled to death right there in his grandparent's yard.

Sam had to have surgery on his foot to repair the damage.  He ended up losing 3 of his toes, his little toe and the two next to it.  He lost about half of his fourth toe.  The only one left in tact was his big toe.  Somehow it had escaped the ravages of the mower's blades.  In time his foot would heal.  He would need physical therapy and help learning to walk again with his "new" foot, but his prognosis was positive. 

Ouch!!!

Grandpa wasn't so positive, however.  He had a permanent expression of grief and sadness on his face.  Even though he was told over and over again that it was just an accident, he couldn't help but blame himself.  He kept reciting a steady litany of "if onlys."  If only he had kept a closer eye on the boys.  If only  he had made the boys stay in the house in the first place.  If only he hadn't noticed the big stick in the grass and took his eyes off the boys for that split second.  It was all water under the bridge.  No amount of second guessing could change the fact that his grandson had lost half his foot.

Grandpa tried to do anything he could to ease his grandson's pain.  He brought him balloons, toys, and special treats.  He held his hand and stroked his hair while he slept.  He spent hours playing card games and coloring with his grandson.  That poor man NEVER left that boy's side.

Sometimes while the toddler napped his Grandfather would become overwhelmed with grief and would begin to weep deep, heartfelt sobs.  I felt so sorry for him.  At one point his grandson woke up, saw his grandfather in tears, and tried to console HIM!  The little boy kept reassuring him that everything was going to be okay.

I don't know whatever became of little Sam and his Grandfather.  Christopher was released to go home while Sam was still recovering from the accident, but I will never forget the incredible bond of love that I felt privileged to have witnessed.

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this:

More tomorrow...