Life Is a Gift

Life is a Gift

Have you ever heard the sayings "Never take life for granted, third times the charm, or think before you act"? Well in my opinion most people do not stop to think about what they are about to do until they something happens to them and it is done to late. Sometimes after people have made a mistake they wish that they could redo it, and it is just not possible no matter how bad you want it. The story I am about to tell you is an excellent example to me of a case where a young naive boy should have thought about those three little sayings.

On one cold dreary day in November of 2010 while I was at work I got one of the most horrifying phone calls in my life. In the midst of serving supper trays for the residents at work an announcement that I had a phone call came over the intercom and right at that instant I cold chill came over my entire body. I ran to the nurses' station to take the call, because I was scared something was wrong seeing how I never got phone calls at work. I answered the phone only to hear my husband on the other end with bad news. He proceeded to tell me that my ten year old stepson Robert had a four wheeler accident. This time the wreck was really serious, and I need to come home quickly. This was the third time in less than a year that my stepson had wrecked a four wheeler because he did not stop to think before he acted. I hung up the phone, and ran quickly to the dining room to find my charge nurse. With my whole body shaking and my eyes filled with tears I told her about my situation. I then told her I had to get to my family, and to tell the boss she could do whatever she felt she had to do to me for leaving them shorthanded. On my way home I was having really horrifying images go through my mind. I made a thirty minute drive in like fifteen minutes. I did not even realize that I was going so fast, because all I could think was that I need to get to Robert.

Pulling up in my in laws drive way I saw the four wheeler out in the middle of the field, and my stepson laying on the ground. I hurried out to him as quick as I could, and by the time I got there my heart was beating so hard that it was hard to breath. Shortly after wards the ambulance showed up, and pulled out into the field where we all were. They got him on the stretcher, and then into the ambulance. When they got him all situated they asked where we wanted them to take him and my husband said to St. Francis Hospital in Cape. They then decided that he really needed to go by air vac because it would be faster so that's what we did. By the time we got to Cape they already had him there and had the x-rays done. The doctor came in, and told us that he had fractured his back in three places. They sent him from Cape to the Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri by ambulance, because there was no doctor in Cape that specialized in that area.

We arrived at the hospital