And then I got a phone call from my husband, Randy. He said he was running errands nearby, and did I want to meet him for lunch at Kneaders? Why yes, yes I did. I packed up all my healthy food and put it in the fridge. We met for lunch followed by a most wonderful dessert--Kneader's Raspberry Bread Pudding.
Pause here for a moment, please, and notice that behind that yummy dessert is a man with some blond curls and a respectable goatee. ... See the curls? And the goatee? OK, now continue...
The next day, a year ago today (on March 20, 2012), I received one of those phone calls you really don't ever want to receive. It went something like this:
"Hello? Carrie? We are calling to let you know that your husband is here in the emergency room. He was helping his friend fix a car and there was an injury. Everything is fine, but he's had some medication so he can't drive home, and we'll need you to come and pick him up. No worry, and no hurry. Drive safely!"
My husband later told me that after the nurse hung up the phone, she said something like, "You wouldn't believe the number of accidents people get into when they're on the way to the emergency room to be with their loved one. Sometimes those accidents are worse than what happened in the first place." ... So without really having much of a clue about his injuries, I (mostly calmly) drove myself to emergency room, and learned that Randy was the victim of an auto engine fire:
Randy's friend was getting his RV ready to sell and needed some mechanical help. Since, as you know, Randy is the king of all things automotive, he agreed to help his friend fix the RV. ... Long story short, there was some miscommunication between Randy, who was pouring a bit of gas from a glass jar to prime the carburetor, and the friend, who was supposed to be feathering the gas pedal until the engine started. It was a big engine. The engine's vacuum pulled the fuel out of the jar too quickly. The fuel promptly caught on fire. Then the engine caught on fire. And then Randy and his clothes caught on fire. All in about half a second.
Randy's grade school training kicked in, and he threw himself on the asphalt in the middle of the street for a Stop, Drop, and Roll. Once he thought the fire was out, he ran for his car all hopped up on adrenaline and drove himself to the emergency room about 15 minutes away (but he figures he got there in less than 7 minutes). His friend offered to drive, but Randy didn't even wait for a conversation, and the friend drove separately to the hospital arriving sometime later.
Randy's grade school training kicked in, and he threw himself on the asphalt in the middle of the street for a Stop, Drop, and Roll. Once he thought the fire was out, he ran for his car all hopped up on adrenaline and drove himself to the emergency room about 15 minutes away (but he figures he got there in less than 7 minutes). His friend offered to drive, but Randy didn't even wait for a conversation, and the friend drove separately to the hospital arriving sometime later.
At the hospital, the adrenaline rush calmed down and Randy finally felt how severe his injuries were. The emergency room nurses and doctors treated him for burns to his face, ears, hands, torso, and leg. His left ear got the worst of it:
His torso wasn't quite as bad compared to that ear, but imagine the burning feeling you get when your finger accidentally touches a hot pan on the stove. Then, imagine that feeling spread all over your chest and abdomen. Ouch!
He did not sleep well that night. Can you imagine trying to sleep with your head all bound up like a Princess Leah hairdo?
Here's what that nasty ear looked like the next day when he went back to the emergency room for a follow-up visit:
And to add insult to injury, all of his hair (including the beard) had to go. Our daughter manages several Sports Clips stores, so she had all the equipment needed to make a nice job of it:
Well, as nice a job as can be expected for a man who usually has blond curls:
Randy had a few miserable weeks while those burns healed. To keep the ointment on his burns and to keep the weight of his sleeping head from hurting that tender skin on his ear, he did some serious head wrapping each night before he went to bed:
In retrospect, we recognized miracles and blessings in the midst of this scary situation.
It was a cool spring day so Randy was wearing jeans and a jean jacket, which prevented his torso and legs from suffering more severe burns. If it had been summertime, he likely would have been wearing shorts and a cotton T-shirt, and wouldn't have had all this protection.
Also, Randy's thumb was burned and popped out in blisters. But amazingly his hands weren't more severely injured. For a guitar player and a man who is constantly working with his hands, this was a true blessing.
And by the Fourth of July, his skin healed and looked as soft and as smooth as a baby's kissable face:
Some neighbor ladies commented on how smooth his skin looked, but we agreed this is not the preferred way to get a facial.
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