When the Dog Bites...

Well, it didn't exactly go as planned. This past weekend, all 5 of us plus Momma were to head down to Ft. Bragg, about 5.5 hours away, and visit April for the weekend. We decided we would leave Saturday morning vs. Friday night, and get up at 5 AM to be there by lunch. Do you believe in bad omens?

Wake up at 6:18. Already running late! Spoke to Momma, her Vertigo was giving her trouble, so she decided not to go with us, as that would be quite a miserable trip. At 8 AM I FINALLY get Mr. Pokey (aka "hubby") in the truck and we leave. After filling the gas tank and a stop for lunch, we finally arrive in Fayetteville around 1:45, at April's house on base around 2 PM.

So we're chatting, she's showing us the baby's room, and Chandler wants to play on the playground that is in her backyard (it's communal). Take her dogs, Chester (a black lab) and Petey (a great dane mix) out to use the bathroom and run. Chester & Chandler are playing, and as Chandler runs away from him and is about to climb up the slide, Chester nips him on the calf. He's crying, saying "I'm bleeding!!" and we think he's being overly dramatic until we see it. Seems Chester got him pretty good. We're 300 miles from home, on a military base, and have no choice but to take him to the ER.



After waiting 45 minutes for the Triage nurse to assess the damage, and then doing all of the paperwork, it's now 4:30 as we sit down in the waiting area. At 7:15, we're finally taken back to an exam room. 7:30 Doctor arrives and cleans wound, says he's not going to stitch it in case it gets infected, and he'll be right back. 8:45, I go stand in the hall and give evil looks at everyone, a nurse finally arrives and bandages his leg, sends us off with meds at approximately 9 PM. If this is what socialized health care will be like, I want absolutely no part of it!!




We finally got dinner around 10 PM. April was very upset that Chandler was hurt, and worried about Chester because a report had to be filed, but she called last night to tell me that Chester is on Quarantine (house arrest) for 10 days, nothing more to worry about there. I can say I definitely know how to find the hospital when she goes into labor and I go down there.

Chandler is healing. He was a bit nervous around Chester when we first got back to April's, but got over it very quickly as Chester & Petey licked him half to death. I am trying to get him to take it somewhat easy on the leg while it heals, but how do you convince an 8-year-old that he should not play football during recess?

R.I.P. Dear Angela & Jessica

I've mentioned before my sister's death, on November 17, 2007. She was 24 years old and had a 4 yr old and an 8 month old, both girls. On Nov 17 at around midnight, her husband was picked up for posession of cocaine. At 7:30 AM she went to bail him out of jail. No one knows exactly what happened the next half hour, but at 8:10 AM, calls came in to 911 that there had been a car accident. Her husband was driving an estimated 86-93 mph down a busy street in the St. Petersburg, FL area, ran a red light, hit a pickup truck that was turning, skidded along about 100 yards, and hit a building. Angela was killed instantly. He walked away with a bruised rib. This has been a very hard year for my family. My brother was able to come home from Iraq for the Memorial Service (her husband would not allow my dad & stepmom to make any final arrangements for her, nor let her body be released), and my youngest sister April was at Army Basic Training and was told a few days after the wreck and managed to go to Florida at that time with Kenny. Custody of the girls has been given to their paternal uncle, who is a good guy but is a 30-yr-old bachelor. Florida court system at work. Needless to say, it's been tough. We're all working through it the best we can. Below is a photo of Angela with Kaitlyn.

So Friday, I get a call that my stepmom's mother has passed away. It was expected and she was in pain, so it was a blessing for her, although still hard to say good-bye. My stepmom (who has been married to my dad for 31 years, so she is someone I adore) has now lost her mother & daughter within 9 months. April has lost her sister & grandma. They have all gone to Indiana to the funeral.

Yesterday, stepmom (Julie) calls to tell me that April's best friend was killed in a horrific accident near Tampa. Jessica had just gone up to NC a few weeks ago to paint the nursery for April, and was throwing her baby shower in October. April's in Indiana on Leave, and I doubt the Army is going to give her leave to go to Florida. How much more can one young lady & family endure in a year? Nine months to the day of Angela's death, April now has to say good-bye to the person closest to her. Jessica forced April to buy the adorable green dress, and only a week ago April was here telling us about her buddy. The photo above shows Jessica on the left and April on the right, another friend in the center.

My heart breaks for April & for Jess's family. To keep losing people at such a young age is so difficult, and I'll keep Jess's mom in my prayers.