Adventures in Fowler
I'll make this a quick post for whoever hasn't heard the story. It's crazy and lucky and even miraculous, depending on your worldview.
My sister-in-law, Mandy, was driving with their 2 year old, maybe 90 pound black lab, Sadie, and 4 year old son, Collin, this last week when disaster struck. She slid in some slushy snow ice, spun around some and landed in the ditch, and ditches in that area are deep. Let's do this out of order...Collin was left somewhere in the front-seatish area, I'm guessing, and quite battered. Sadie laid still, having smashed two spider-web cracks into the windshield. Water trickled in slowly from the drainage in the ditch. A following onlooker and off-duty paramedic pulled over and called for an ambulance. He got Collin, with a silent scream on his face, "safely" out of the car. Mandy appeared fine, with some obvious neck-trauma from the whiplash. Mother and son were taken to the emergency room and were checked in for a day and two, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sadie lay in the car. Mandy called animal control to ask them to get her. They went to retreive her, but she was frightened, broken, and wet, and wouldn't let them touch her. Chad, Mandy's husband, was informed that his wife and son were going to be fine, so he first made his way to the accident and pulled Sadie out. His tears meant he understood what she did not. The spider-webs were from her shattered skull and hip. She was taken to the animal hospital. Chad, still crying over the phone, but with the guidance of a friend who worked there, decided to have her put to sleep, she wouldn't make it through the night. According to the friend, she went down peacefully, unlike most.
Mandy is fine, and needed no more than a chiropractic adjustment. Collin had his head scanned and is also fine. I didn't see any bruises anywhere else, but his eyelids, all around, are deep purple, and a fainter, greenish bruise spreads from the middle of his forehead to below his nose. His eyes appear to be set deep in his head because of the swelling of the surrounding tissue. But he doesn't even seem to notice it, except that he rubs his eyes every couple of minutes. He is already back to breakdancing with glowsticks.
The accident occured less than a mile from their house, and a couple miles earlier, Collin had unstrapped himself from his carseat and moved into the middle seat to be closer to Sadie (who was, I remind you, in the front seat). Mandy noticed in the middle of the act, but didn't make a fuss since he was buckled up again and they were so close to home. When they hit, Sadie smashed into the windshield, and Collin flew out of his seatbelt, which he probably hadn't tightened, and into Sadie. Sadie's body saved Collin's life. A head-first smash into the windshield would have had obviously lethal effects on a boy less than half the size of the dog.
I'm not concluding with an analysis or moral, you can make your own.
P.S. If anyone needs more reading material, here is a post I contributed to:
I support Summer Vacation
My sister-in-law, Mandy, was driving with their 2 year old, maybe 90 pound black lab, Sadie, and 4 year old son, Collin, this last week when disaster struck. She slid in some slushy snow ice, spun around some and landed in the ditch, and ditches in that area are deep. Let's do this out of order...Collin was left somewhere in the front-seatish area, I'm guessing, and quite battered. Sadie laid still, having smashed two spider-web cracks into the windshield. Water trickled in slowly from the drainage in the ditch. A following onlooker and off-duty paramedic pulled over and called for an ambulance. He got Collin, with a silent scream on his face, "safely" out of the car. Mandy appeared fine, with some obvious neck-trauma from the whiplash. Mother and son were taken to the emergency room and were checked in for a day and two, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sadie lay in the car. Mandy called animal control to ask them to get her. They went to retreive her, but she was frightened, broken, and wet, and wouldn't let them touch her. Chad, Mandy's husband, was informed that his wife and son were going to be fine, so he first made his way to the accident and pulled Sadie out. His tears meant he understood what she did not. The spider-webs were from her shattered skull and hip. She was taken to the animal hospital. Chad, still crying over the phone, but with the guidance of a friend who worked there, decided to have her put to sleep, she wouldn't make it through the night. According to the friend, she went down peacefully, unlike most.
Mandy is fine, and needed no more than a chiropractic adjustment. Collin had his head scanned and is also fine. I didn't see any bruises anywhere else, but his eyelids, all around, are deep purple, and a fainter, greenish bruise spreads from the middle of his forehead to below his nose. His eyes appear to be set deep in his head because of the swelling of the surrounding tissue. But he doesn't even seem to notice it, except that he rubs his eyes every couple of minutes. He is already back to breakdancing with glowsticks.
The accident occured less than a mile from their house, and a couple miles earlier, Collin had unstrapped himself from his carseat and moved into the middle seat to be closer to Sadie (who was, I remind you, in the front seat). Mandy noticed in the middle of the act, but didn't make a fuss since he was buckled up again and they were so close to home. When they hit, Sadie smashed into the windshield, and Collin flew out of his seatbelt, which he probably hadn't tightened, and into Sadie. Sadie's body saved Collin's life. A head-first smash into the windshield would have had obviously lethal effects on a boy less than half the size of the dog.
I'm not concluding with an analysis or moral, you can make your own.
P.S. If anyone needs more reading material, here is a post I contributed to:
I support Summer Vacation
posted by shawn @ 8:59 PM
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