Life has a way of teaching us lessons, if we are open to see them. Back on Halloween of 2020, we had a horrific accident at our farm. Our 9 year old, 4th grade, son was severely burnt on his feet by scalding hot water in a freak accident in our barn. It was one of the most difficult days I have experienced as a mom. I can’t explain how heart broken I was to see his skin hanging from his feet and him screaming in pain. It is a moment I wish I could forget.
Let me back up and describe our morning. We have an immunocompromised child and had been socially distancing and isolating since March of 2020 because of the pandemic. Halloween was going to look differently for us in October of 2020. We were determined to make it fun. Our son, Blake, got up early in the morning and did one of his favorite things in the world, he went hunting on our land with his daddy, while the rest of us slept. When they were done hunting they called me to come get them. I hopped in our utv and drove to our back pasture to wait for them. While waiting I watched as my boy and the love of my life shared a special moment walking through the field in their hunting gear together. It was a sweet and sentimental moment that inspired me to pull out my phone to take a picture.
After the 6 of us had breakfast together, I took the kiddos to the store to purchase an insane amount of their favorite snacks and treats for our little Halloween party we had planned for later that evening. Blake was going to dress up as an astronaut and Jason surprised him with a really awesome helmet to go with it. He was pumped- all of my kids were, and of course Jason and I were excited to celebrate on our farm as a family. We even decided to get a piñata to fill it with candy to make it extra fun. Again, I took a picture of Blake from behind walking through the parking lot holding the largest T-rex piñata we could find. When I think back on this day, it’s interesting to me that the only two pictures I took that day before the accident were special moments involving Blake.
Our shopping trip was a success! We laughed and enjoyed our rare little outing. We made it home with all of our goodies. We all enjoyed lunch together and in a few short hours our family Halloween party was going to start. We had some farm chores to complete. I stayed inside to work on some laundry with our youngest. I was in the laundry room when my oldest daughter called me and said Mom some water spilled we need you to com here. She was pretty calm so I walked out to the barn but then I saw a commotion and knew I needed to run. When I got to Blake he was hysterically screaming and a friend was carrying him to my truck. I ran in the house grabbed some silvadene burn cream and covered his feet.
We live in a very small town and the trip to the hospital was as horrific as you could imagine. Yet, there were times when Blake would say things like I’m grateful no one else got hurt. I’m so glad my family is safe. Mom will you hug me? Your hugs always make me feel better. The only way I could help him was to pray, talk him through taking deep breaths during the waves of immense pain, and hold him. When we arrived at the hospital a calmness came over Blake. He was composed, strong, and incredibly brave. The nurses kept saying how shocked they were by his strength. It was a message we would continue to hear over the next several months.
Over the next few days, I was blown away at my son’s strength. He was admitted to a burn hospital a few hours from our home. He had a few procedures to complete debridement of his burns. We stayed there for 3 days and there wasn’t a time that he didn’t thank the nurse or the doctor that came in to care for him. Even waking up from anesthesia, the first words he said were thank you to the team working on him. It was such a beautiful thing to witness as his mom.
In our family, we focus daily on our mindset, perspective, and gratitude. It was incredible to see all of the strategies, that Jason and I have worked hard to instill in our children just flow out of my son so naturally during the most painful and difficult time in his young life. It was evident to me, our family, and anyone that cared for Blake that he has cultivated grit at such a young age. He really leaned into owning his mindset during his trauma and also during his healing. When we came home from the hospital Blake had a very long and hard road to healing but through it all he showed nothing but resilience and hope. I’ll end with this, on the day he was discharged from the hospital, he said Mom I know they are going to send me home today, I just know it. I didn’t want him to be disappointed as the doctors told me it wasn’t likely, so my response was we’ll see buddy. When he was discharged to come home, he looked at me with complete joy and said see Mom, I knew I was going home. He was right and it wouldn’t be the last time on his road to healing that he called his shot.
