Saturday was a most bittersweet day. We were celebrating my niece’s seventh birthday at a private pool in one of the local subdivisions when a horrible accident occurred. It was all family except for a classmate of the birthday girl who was there with his mom and his younger brother and sister. My sister-in-law was going to grill hotdogs so she fired up a small grill that sat on the concrete well away from the pool.The younger brother (probably no more than a year old), of the classmate was wandering (and wondering?), around playing in the sun. Suddenly he started screaming. He found the hot grill. There were six adults present and five children all told. For just a second he slipped below everyone’s radar and went straight for the thing that would hurt him the most.
His mother took him to the local emergency room and we later learned he was carried by air ambulance to the regional burn hospital in Augusta, GA. He suffered second degree burns on both hands. Surgery was performed Sunday morning. The surgeons used artificial skin to cover the wounds and reported that the damage to his hands was not as bad as originally believed. It’s not much consolation but fortunately the boy is so young his body will do miraculous things in healing him. He will most likely never remember the event and additional surgeries will help with the scarring.
My sister-in-law is wracked by guilt believing that the accident is her fault. I’m sure the mother is feeling much the same. The mother called my sister in law and told her not to worry that it was not her fault and there are no hard feelings. It was a most noble gesture on her part to resist the temptation to place blame, to lash out in anger.
Please pray for everyone involved in this terrible situation. My sister-in-law is already facing a number of major life issues. Because of some on-going health issues she is facing the prospect of permanent disability and can no longer work. This is the last thing she needed to worry about. Her name is Carrie and her daughter (the birthday girl) is Catherine. Please raise them up in prayer as you also pray for the boy and his family.
9 comments:
Prayers ascending from Down Under.
Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
Many years to your neice.
That is hard - everyone must of felt so scared for the little one...
Kids are so naturally exploratory and everyone get's distracted at least for a second from kid watching. usually this sort of thing does not result. :(
my small prayers this morning.
Prayers are going up from the Lone Star State!
Kyrie Elesion!
We have a friend whose son did much the same thing only the "hot" thing he touched was the glass front doors on the fireplace. His little hands were wrapped in gauze for a very long time, but he recovered quickly and well - with virtually no scarring.
Kyrie Elesion!
My prayers are definitely going out for the little boy and for all the people involved, especially the boy's mother and your sister in law.
Praying for everyone concerned......
Happy Birthday to your niece. Prayers for the little boy and your sis-in-law.
thank you. and thank you for writing this.
PS...the boys name is Brendan, and his mother's name is Stephanie. Please pray for them both and their families. I have spoken to her quite often, and Brendan is doing well.
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