Yikes!

Ashlie & Benj,

How terrifying. I am so glad Ty is OK & he is too young to remember. Unfortunately, not so for the two of you. Give him a hug & then one for each other!

Leslie

RE:SCARY

Ben and Ashley-first a prayer of thanks that you guys are OK....I imagine it will take days before the adrenaline stops. You are extremely lucky that Ben thought as fast as he did. I'm sure you will get that thing capped off if there is anyway possible. Just think of what could have happened if it had been someone else or if Ben didn't think as fast.....it's too horrifying to ponder!
Welcome to parenthood-where you can age magically in just a few moments!!! Let the grey hairs commence!!

Glad to hear everythings ok

Wow, what a scary day for all of you, Ashley. I'm glad to hear there haven't been any lasting trama, although it probably will be longer for you & Ben to get past it then for Ty.

Ty's Bad Day

On Monday morning Ty was in his bed and there was a blanket hanging over the side of the crib and I went to grab the lotion. Shortly after that I came in and Ty had pulled the blanket over his face and I freaked out. I pulled the blanket off of him and he was really scared and hyperventilating. I know that he was okay but it really scared the both of us. But it only got worse.

Benj offered to take him outside and walk around with him so that he would calm down. I was standing on the porch watching them walking by our pond. The tree was kinda of blocking my view of them. Then I saw Benj fall and I heard a horrible noise and Benj yelled, "NO TY!" I was screaming and running down the stairs because I wasn't sure what had happened. I couldn't see them very well. Millions of horrible thoughts were going through my head. Benj carried Ty over and I was screaming, "Should I call 911?" Ty was drenched and so was Benj.

This is what happened... There is a grate thing, that appears to be very steady and Benj stepped on it while he was walking with Ty in his arms. The lid flipped up right when he stepped on it and Benj fell. He tried to catch himself and at least turn so that he wouldn't land on our little Ty. Inside this well sort- of -a- thing is nasty 3 feet deep water and a huge pipe in the center of the water. The hole has rusted metal lining it and the edges of it are sharp.

Ty fell out of Benj's arms when he hit the side of the well and our poor baby boy fell onto the pipe and began sinking into the water. We don't know how long, but he was completely covered in water when he came out so we know he was completely submerged. Benj said he doesn't remember all the details very well except a vivid image of watching our little Tyler sinking quickly into the water.

Benj hopped up as fast as he could and yanked Ty out by his shoulder and hurried him upstairs where we could look him over, dry him off, and warm him up. He looked so scared and shocked. Benj was so upset that he threw up.

I think that this was the most frightening time in my life.

At first Benj didn't think Ty hit anything but water, but when we changed him it was obvious he had a big blow on his back and back of the head and general scratches and bruises all over. It looked like his legs and arms were turning red and were starting to swell, too.

To get a better picture of exactly what Ty went through, we went back to the grate and found the big, rusted pipe that both hit Ty's back and probably bought him a few seconds before submerging into the water.

We got an emergency appointment with our doctor and rushed him in to be looked at where he showed remarkably few signs of trauma. His lungs sounded good, he didn't show any signs of a concussion, there wasn't any swelling in his head except some bruising around the back where he hit it and no broken bones or shoulders pulled out of socket.

We've been spending the past couple days watching him very closely and speaking with the doctor several times a day but he hasn't had any complications. (We think he's just still sore because he is grumpy today.) And this morning I took Ty in for a follow-up visit where he checked out nice and clean, though we're still watching him closely.

I feel so lucky and so blessed that Ty is ok. I know that Heavenly Father was watching out for us that day. Ty could have honestly died had things gone slightly different. As horrible and scary as it was, we know that it is no coincidence that Ty came out in such good shape. I am grateful that Benj had a quick reaction and saved our little guy, and so grateful for him in our lives.

Summer in the Sixties

Well-as you may know-I have a horrible memory-Leslie is in charge of mine! But I can remember some!
The best hangout-in the drainage pipe under the road (ew-wonder what all was in there?). Making forts in the woods-no boys allowed!! Sleeping over at LaTesha's in their camper-and the those rotten boys again-shaking it in the night to scare us! Trips to O'Fallon for the biggest ice cream cones in the world! The summer we somehow convinced Mom and Dad that a lot at the lake would be the coolest thing ever.... Begging to stay at Marilyn and Jim's and then roaming Marissa..helping out at the ballfield in the concession stand..then everyone in the tub (TOGETHER!!)...the best family reunions at the "rec" where everyone begged to swim and we had to wait an hour after dinner so we wouldn't all drown...visiting Uncle Rick and Aunt Bonnie-they had a pool and it was great.....evenings at the drive in with our sisters and their dates (how many times were we sent to the swings to play?)...Dale and his Dad taking us out in their boat....VBS (it actually was fun!!).....catching lightening bugs by the dozens and squeezing the light out and making glow in the dark jewelry
Thanks Mom and Dad for such great memories-I hope too that our children and grandchildren can have as many!!

Grandma Update

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I'd get this written up while I wait for Dale to leave for his tour trip to the Muny this evening--he's driving a bus for people from John Wood tonight.
Mom is doing very well--the bruising on her foot is looking oh so much better--her skin color is nice and pink and there really isn't much swelling, although she still says she can feel it swell in the "boot" that she's required to wear. She's up and about more...eating at the kitchen table with the rest of her "staff". The majority of the day i spent sitting in her chair. She also continues her "hop abouts" and her assigned exercises throughout the day.
Nurses have changed twice--David was here for a week. Needless to say, Mom and Dad ate very well while he was in charge. David even added to the cable television lineup so that we're not limited to the six or seven channels we had been previously using. Mom is THOROUGHLY enjoying her HGTV, Food Network, and Cardinal baseball games. Dad likes his news and can be found watching the Cardinal games, too. The rest of us are just as happy because we now have a much wider choice to choose from while we're "in charge"!! David also took the time to cook me a WONDERFUL birthday dinner, complete with cake--I haven't celebrated my birthday with my brother in over 4o years, so that made the day extra special!!!
Susan took over nursing duties on Sunday. She even managed to figure out how to wash Mom's hair while she was here!! She left on Tuesday and Dale and I took over until Chris came in today to start her "shift". Chris arrived with fresh melon, corn, tomatoes, and ugh...turnips for Mom and Dad to eat. She'd been to the Kansas City Farmers Market. I've excused myself from eating the turnips....
I can't say enough about all the wonderful "nursing" Mom and Dad have had!! It's really been great for them to spend some time with each of their kids--maybe some day they'll be able to do the same thing with us all, but both be healthy enough to enjoy it!!
Mom was able to read up on all your news, today. She sat in her wheelchair at her desk after lunch and caught up on everything. In fact, she "read" the posts to Chris while she was on kitchen cleanup duty. I'll see if I can get her to post something soon. Meanwhile, keep those posts coming. It's great to be able to hear from you all!! Take care. Love to everyone!!

Hey everyone! Here's me checkin' in... Let's see. Well, I have my ballet class going on, still practicing guitar, and still going out a lot. I attended an orientation for our local radio and tv station on Saturday, KDHX. I have a grand scheme going--I was really, really into the local music scene in St. Louis in middle/high school, and lately it's been in a kind of renaissance again. A bunch of new venues have opened, there's a bunch of really good bands getting more recognition--so I want to do my part to help. I figure the radio station is a good way of networking, etc. I'll learn audio production to help with live performances and running the sound board during radio programs, I'll help out in the music dept. Basically, I want to become a local music guru--I want to review shows and albums, meet the bands, take picutres, help with live shows, help with marketing and booking with the venues, help the publications around town, help with PR for the bands, all kinds of stuff. I started a blog last week that will be dedicated almost solely to the local scene here. It's still in the beginning stages, but it can be found here. It's really indecent almost how excited I am about all this, but it's so fun, and I LOVE seeing all the talent that exists in my city. The show I went to this past Saturday (reviewed on my blog!) was pretty small, and I got to meet all the musicians. One of them just came up to me to thank me for coming to the show, and the others I went up and introduced myself to after their set. It's one of the nice things about local bands--you can usually meet and talk to them. Anywho, the blogging, the figuring out how else I can help, the listening to bands, etc., has been consuming my time as of late, but I'm having tons of fun doing it. What else? I have a birthday shindig for one of my good friends, Lindsay, this weekend, along with a CD release show for one of my fave local bands. And I try to be outside as much as possible, because I LOVE summer. I will try and get some of my favorite memories out soon, but for now, I should go back to work...

later, all!