Ever since David confessed his desire to be a Firefighter I have dreaded that fateful phone call. You know the one where you are called and told that your husband has been injured while doing his job and is being rushed to the trauma center.
Well, my wait is over. I finally received the dreaded phone call this morning around 5:30am. Thankfully, it was from David, so right away I knew he was ok enough to speak to me. What I didn't know at the time was that he was speaking to me while being tied to a back board with C-Spine. He told me he was being taken to the trauma center, only this time HE was the patient.
Let me preface the following story by saying, he is Ok. Sore, and a bit battered and his hand is torn up, but nonetheless able to walk, talk, and function. Thank God he had a Guardian angel watching over him. He was VERY lucky. So here's what happened (at least from my understanding)...
His crew was fighting a warehouse fire and had just extinguished it and was working to clean up. They were inside the warehouse and David was on a 15 ft ladder hosing down some shelves that were continuing to ignite. There was a surge in water pressure due to another hose line and such being shut off quickly. This caused all of the water pressure to come through Dave's nozzle causing such pressure that it threw him back off the ladder. He landed on his SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) which landed on some metal landing of sorts (which apparently was VERY lucky for David. Had he not had the SCBA or landed differently he could have broken his back or even have been paralyzed). This metal landing sheered the metal right off the SCBA causing it to break away from David and spin.
Well this is never a good situation as the SCBA is what helps you breathe (he has a mask on). He couldn't get air, so another firefighter helped pull Dave out. The people who saw him said they thought for sure that he had broken his back because of the way he landed. They said they were surprised when they saw him slowly turn over and start crawling away.
He was checked out at the trauma center and released to go back to work. His hand was damaged (can't tell if they are steam burns or cuts and scrapes). He also cracked his helmet.
Needless to say, I am VERY grateful that David is ok. This has been a scary experience for both of us. When I married David, he wanted to be an English teacher...not a firefighter or a hero. I can only thank God that he was watching over David. I appreciate all of the help that the firefighters gave David and the kindness and concern that they showed him after his experience. It's a bit of a wake up call. Life is short, and in an instant your life can change or even end.
Thank God that today was not that day.
So my parting advice to you is to go hug your family. Tell your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, mother, father, daughter, or son that you love them and appreciate them. You never know when a time may come when you won't be able to tell them.
About Me
- Mel
- California, United States
- I'm the wife of a firefighter, a mother of two wonderful kids and a full time employee with a crazy busy life. But hey, at least I'm not bored :)
It has become a tradition that when Amy and Steve Marco come to town we feast on all-you-can-eat sushi. I love this time, as I get to spend some time with friends, and shovel my favorite food into my mouth.
It was great seeing Amy and Steve again. I miss them so much - they became potato people and moved to Idaho...I guess they heard the Russet potatoes were to die for :)
We visited and laughed. Nicole even taught Caiden how to be a sushi Walrus. He loved it! She also entertained him by drawing tools and he would guess them. We had a great time...although come to think of it...Amy didn't pull a Premiesberger *aka...lean back and upbutton the top button of your pants to make room*(hmm...should have given her more unagi).
This past Saturday, Caiden spent some quality time with Grandpa Lance putting all of his tool skills to use as they demoed the kitchen. Lance and Susan are having their kitchen remodeled, but felt that the demo portion of it they could handle themselves.
Caiden wasted no time in helping. That is ALL he could talk about. He was SO excited about being able to use a "big hammer". But like all good tool guys, safety was most important (actually, I said he couldn't play unless he wore safety goggles). We had to try a few pairs of glasses until we found something that worked.
Caiden LOVES working with tools, so this was a very special opportunity for him. 
So for those of you, who were concerned about Tom the Turkey, be concerned no longer. The news was delivered to me today that Tom the Turkey is...no longer. I know, I know...I was pretty much inconsolable.
Above is a picture of what I envisioned Tom to look like.
Below is a picture of what my friend's neighbors envisioned Tom would look like.
They won.
The sad part is that I heard that Tom has a friend - A friend that is being saved for Christmas dinner…Kris Kringle (the name that I have given to the new turkey in a last ditch attempt to humanize it and spare Kris's poor life). Hopefully, Kris will not meet the same fate as Tom. No longer will Tom run around happy in his turkey life…
Let's all observe a moment of silence in memory of Tom...silence over...can someone pass the mashed potatoes. :P
Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving, but we also celebrated my brother-in-law's (David's) 40th birthday! And might I add, I have never seen a cake glow like this before *hehe*, and the smoke that came off those candles...well, all I can say is that I was glad that we had a firefighter there - just in case! :P
I can say these things because we have about a 10 year age difference...so, I know what lies in store for me...I know that 10 years later Dave will get his revenge...that is if he can still remember me :) Just kidding.
Anyway, we had some VERY yummy birthday cake that had BLUE frosting. Gigi, Caiden and I proudly showed what blue frosting does to one's tongues. It was pretty funny. 
So like every divorced family, we have multiple holiday celebrations. I guess I'm ok with it. I mean let's look at the positive side here. I get at least 2 holiday dinners (that I NEVER cook), get to spend 2 whole evenings with family (and watch Caiden get spoiled, plus I get a bit of a break), and the best part of the multiple celebrations...2 sets of Dessert!!!!!! That's right, you heard me...more opportunities to pack on the pounds.
Hey, so I should actually BLAME my family for my impending obesity, possible diabetes and whatever other ailment I can blame them for. Just kidding. (I love you guys, really I do) :P
Anyway, the day after Thanksgiving was a bit of deja vu, although instead of going to Big Bear, we went to Coto de Caza (my mom's house). I proceeded to get on EVERYONE’S nerves (mainly Phil's) early on...you see, I hadn't eaten and I was VERY hungry. They kept telling me a few more minutes, but I think it was more like chucks of 1/2 hour increments. I was then shooed from the kitchen, the pantry, and basically told to be patient and wait for dinner. Have they met me? I mean, really...when have I EVER exercised patience? You would think by now my family would know that I missed that virtue when they were handing it out.
Anyway, we laughed, talked, ate and then instead of the after dinner coma that most families get lulled into - we exercised! Well, sort of. Dave showed off his strength by doing push ups with Caiden on his back (he's 28 pounds). I decided to give Dave more of a challenge, so I got on his back (I am more than 28 pounds...a lot more thanks to the multiple celebrations and dessert options)...Dave did well until Caiden jumped on my back...that did him in. :) 
Caiden and Gigi used Caiden's new tools to build things, and then Uncle Dave and Caiden played horsey...after that Dave took Caiden around for piggy back rides. It was an exhausting day (hence why I am posting this so late). I know, but you'll forgive me right? Can I claim Thanksgiving food coma 3 days later?
Dave, Caiden and I drove up to Big Bear to have Thanksgiving dinner with Papa Jim and Grandma Sue. We had a wonderful time. All of Jim's family was there including his two nephews. We all got stuffed on the wonderful food that they made. Dave and Caiden even had to retire to the bedroom for a traditional Thanksgiving nap, while Sue and I delievered Thanksgiving food to some sick friends that were unable to make dinner.
We always love going up to Big Bear to see Sue and Jim, and this time was no exception. Thank you for a wonderful time. Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for what you have, and I can definately say that I am grateful to have family as wonderful as you!
Well, what better thing to do on Thanksgiving than go fishing? That's exactly what we thought, so when we drove up to Big Bear, we didn't hesitate to go fishing with Papa Jim and his nephews, Woody and Robby. Each of the kids maintained their patience and refined their fishing skills under the watchful eye of Papa Jim (or Uncle Jim, depending on the kid) to catch 2 fish each. They had a blast, and I got some cute pictures. Caiden was infatuated with the net (which happened to be bigger than him), and he was even brave enough this time to TOUCH the fish that he caught. 
We'll be eating good tonight! Congratulations to all of the boys who caught fish, and a big thanks to Papa Jim!!
This is Caiden catching his first fish of the day with a little help from Daddy, Papa Jim and Robby.
In honor of the holidays, Caiden has put his artistic side to work to create the ever popular Turkey Hat. I'd like to introduce "Tom the Turkey", Caiden's hat. Now, I have named it Tom in honor of a friend whose neighbor has a turkey that they would like to slaughter for Thanksgiving. I figured if I named it and humanized it a bit then it would be more difficult for them to serve Tom for dinner beside the stuffing and sweet potatoes, but I digress.
Caiden made this cute turkey hat in school. He even added the colored paper and feathers. I am so proud of his work. So, from Caiden to you...Happy Thanksgiving...gobble gobble.
P.S. Spare Tom!! :)
And it happens to be served on our brand new dining room table. Let me tell you this thing is HUGE!!! It has 3 leaves so that we can extend the table out to much bigger than we would actual need...but hey, at least we have options, right?
We decided since we are having Christmas at our house, we needed something that would accommodate our family. We searched for about 6 months, but we are either extremely picky, or the tables and/or chairs are UGLY! We either liked the table, but not the chairs, or liked the chairs but not the table...to be honest this time was no exception. The chairs that came with this set were absolutely hideous. I would say they looked like curtains that would have hung in my grandma's house, except that my Mimi had impeccable taste, so that would not be accurate. Let's just say they were ugly, and as much as I tried to see them “growing on me” eventually, at the end of the day I just couldn’t go through with the purchase as is. I then searched the store until I found some chairs that I liked AND that matched the table.
And now for the unveiling.....let me know what you think! Oh, and the rug is new too :)
