Goodbye, Emmi

36 Seconds Until Disaster

Shay's POV

Colette screamed as she ran down to where Daxton landed. He was lying face down on the track. An ambulance was en route.
"God please keep him safe, God please." I prayed as I sprinted to my son. He was still breathing, but unconscious.
"Oh, God. Shay!" Colette screamed and cried into my shoulder. Daxton was covered in scrapes and his head was resting in a little pool of blood.
"Oh my God." Gavin gasped as he bent down and touched Daxton's arm.
"Mommy!" Brock cried.
"Dear God keep him safe." I burst into tears, just as the ambulance pulled in. The EMTs came running over with a stretcher and put Daxton's tiny body on it.
"One person in the ambulance?" Colette asked. The EMT nodded.
"I'll go." I kissed Colette's forehead. I followed the paramedics into the ambulance. I knew Daxton's dream was to ride in an ambulance, but I would make it otherwise in a heart beat if I knew this is when he would ride in one. The paramedics put an oxygen mask over his tiny face.
"He's ok, right? He's... He's breathing?" I was panicking.
"He is breathing, it is a precaution. When a child is rendered unconscious, it is safe to put a mask on them." The paramedic said. Daxton's leg was twisted backwards, it was obvious it was broken.
"My son." I leaned over him. "I love you, dude. You're gonna be ok." I kissed him.
"Mr. Butler, we are gonna need you to step out so we can get him down." I looked out the window and realized we were at the ER entrance. Time seemed to be still. The whole accident was only about 36 seconds, according to the stopwatch on the track, but it seemed like an eternity.

"Mr. and Mrs. Butler?" We looked up and rushed to the nurse standing in the hallway.
"How is he?" Colette gasped.
"He's going to be alright. Their was some significant damage to his left leg, he has a spiral fracture in his femur."
"Oh, God." Colette looked relieved. "Thank Goodness that's all."
"Well, actually it's not. He cracked his skull, he seemed to have a very fragile cranium." The nurse added.
"When he was one he fractured it when he fell from his high chair." I said.
"That is probably the case. He did bruise up some ribs, but nothing is fatal. He will need surgery on his leg, and stitches in his head, but he is going to be just fine." She smiled. "You are lucky, if he had landed on his back he most likely would have fractured his spine and possible become paralyzed."
Colette hugged me and we both cried of happiness that he was okay.
"How did it all happen, the bridge was only like 15 feet up." Colette asked.
"Well, any height would cause damage on his fragile skull, but the fact that he went off the bridge with such force multiplied the effect on his femur." She explained. "You guys are going to have to have to monitor him for the next few months extremely carefully and not allow him to do any physical activity to protect his skull until it is stronger."
"With his leg, he couldn't do anything anyway." I said.
"Correct. If you were comfortable with it, we can build up his fragile bone in his skull by inserting thin metal plates in his bone. It will return his skull to normal strength. If not, his skull will make a full recovery but will still be fragile." She said.
"Anything, yes, do the surgery." Colette squeezed my shoulders.
"Thank you. He'll have to stay overnight until surgery preparation are made. We will perform his stitches later, after the plates are inserted. He can rest tonight, we have a cast on his leg, but tomorrow we'll have to remove the cast and do the surgery on both his leg and skull." She handed us a clipboard. "While your waiting for his X-Rays to be completed, you can start filling out paperwork."
"Great, will you let us know when he is ready?" I asked.
"Certainly." She walked away.
"He's ok!" Colette cried, as Avia, Gavin, and Brock came running down the hall.
"What did the doctor say?" Brock asked. Colette explained what the nurse had just said, and the kids all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Daddy. Mommy?" Brock looked up at us. "I'm sorry."
"For what, buddy?" Colette sat him in her lap as Gavin and Avia ran to the vending machine.
"I did the trick and he copied me." Brock stuck out his bottom lip and started to cry.
"Oh, no no no! Brock, buddy, it was not your fault! It was no one's fault. It was an accident!" Colette hugged him.
"Promise?" He sniffled.
"Pinky promise." She stuck out her pinky and wrapped it around Brock's pinky.
"I love you, buddy." I kissed Brock's head. "Now come on, I'll take you to get a snack, we'll be here all day." I grabbed his hand and kissed Colette before meeting up with Gavin and Avia.
"We're okay, guys. Nothing can break this family." I hugged them all. "I promise." I hugged my children tight, before realizing I almost lost another child. This group hug was already missing Emmi, and it was temporarily missing Daxton. But, God answered my cry for help, and Daxton is still here. Because of this tragic event, I found new light. Daxton could have been paralyzed or even died, but he didn't. I had hope that Emmi will be okay, just like Daxton. She and Daxton both went through seemingly impossible challenges, but they will both overcome them. My kids are strong.