June 27, 2008
The whole story comes out…
Okay, listen to this. I can’t believe it! Here- I’ll tell the whole story.
When we were eating supper tonight Shannon asked Mom when Dad was coming home. Mom said he will arrive tomorrow and we’ll have to be extra careful not to jump on him, as his back is still really sore. She also said we shouldn’t expect him to be able to play with us right away because he probably wouldn’t be able to leave his bed. “I guess I can get over no fastball practice with him.” I announced, “so long as Trish and I get to practice first with him when we go camping.”
“I’m sorry sweetie, but it looks like the camping trip might not happen this year,” Mom answered. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Well if your father can hardly leave his bed, then we can’t expect him to go on a big trip with all of us, and we can’t leave him at home.”
“WHAT? No camping trip this year?” gasped Curtis. “What are we suppose to do this summer?”
Suddenly my face got really hot. You’re not going to believe what happened next.
“Honey, with his back out I can’t set up our campsite and take care of your father,” Mom answered. “I’m sorry, but we’ll just have to figure out something else to do that’s closer to home. Maybe we could take a day trip around here?”
“That’s not the same!” Curtis looked at me. I could tell he was mad. We were both angry “Arrhhh, its not fair. This sucks that he got hurt. I hate this!!” he yelled. I agreed.
Then Shannon got mad too, “Maybe we should break the ladder before Dad gets home- that’ll make him feel better- stupid ladder!”
Then Mom raised her voice and said, “Your father’s back injury was not the ladder’s fault. In fact, the only person who is responsible for your father getting hurt- is your father!”
“What do you mean?” asked Shannon. “My teacher said at school that it’s too bad Dad got in an accident, but these things happen all the time to dads.”
“Shannon, this wasn’t an accident. Your father was being careless and he knew that the ladder wasn’t extended high enough. He just didn’t plan appropriately and took an unnecessary risk,” Mom responded.
“But everyone who comes over to visit calls it an accident,” chimed Curtis. He glared. “If it wasn’t for that stupid ladder, Dad wouldn’t have fallen!”
“But Curtis, your father knew that ladder couldn’t reach,” said Mom. “And he went up there anyway. He should have known better. Even the doctor at the hospital told him that he was tempting fate and should have never tried what he did.”
“But if it happens to everyone all the time, it's not Dad’s fault,” said Shannon.
Mom looked at all of us. “You’re right that injuries happen every day, Shannon. In fact, every year 158,000 unintentional injuries are reported. That’s an injury every three and a half minutes!”
I didn’t understand. So I asked Mom “why do so many people get hurt like Dad?”
Mom replied, “The majority of unintentional injuries happen when a person is frustrated, fatigued, rushing or complacent.”
“What does that all mean?” asked Shannon.
“Well,” answered Mom. “Frustration is when a person is upset, dissatisfied and generally weary, just like you guys feel right now. Fatigue means a person is tired. When you’re really tired, you sometimes don’t think about what you’re doing. Rushing is when someone is in too much of a hurry and doesn’t pay full attention to the task at hand. Things that are obvious – like extending the ladder to the proper height – aren’t observed. And complacency simply means that there comes a point when a person feels so comfortable with what they’re doing they become unaware of the possible dangers. It’s like thinking you’ll never fall off your bike so you don’t need to wear a bike helmet. Why do you three wear your bike helmet though?”
Shannon answered, “I’m good at riding my bike, but I always wear it in case something happens. Dad taught me that.”
“Exactly. Your father was very careful when he taught all of you about safety. He always wanted to protect you from the worst case scenario. He always watched in advance for hazards he could eliminate and then he would let you go and play as hard as you wanted. I just wish he would have done that for himself, too. Kids, your father didn’t have an accident, he had an unintentional injury that was completely predictable and preventable.”
I miss Dad so much right now. All I want to do is cry. I keep thinking now, if Mom is right, then Dad should have never been hurt in the first place!
Rebecca