“Hold on Scott! Hold on!”
I’m reminded of a family trauma experienced almost 17 years ago that is still felt today.
When Scott, our youngest was 18 months old he climbed on our kitchen counter and fell off, fracturing his skull in the process. Our children were home at the time but we were not. One older sibling told the younger kids to start praying and pray they did. Our daughter drove our baby to the hospital, cradled in the arms of his older brother, all the while saying, “Hold on, Scott. Stay with us. Don’t go to sleep.” His eyes were rolling back in his head and he was bleeding from his ear. What a frightening thing for teenage siblings to endure.
We arrived at the hospital a short time later to begin one of the most difficult experiences of our lives. Scott stayed in Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City where he was observed and tested. Miraculously after one week the doctors announced that he had stopped leaking spinal fluid and they could not find any reason to keep him there further. They warned us that problems may manifest themselves later so to be vigilant. We took our baby home with extremely grateful hearts.
When Scott, our youngest was 18 months old he climbed on our kitchen counter and fell off, fracturing his skull in the process. Our children were home at the time but we were not. One older sibling told the younger kids to start praying and pray they did. Our daughter drove our baby to the hospital, cradled in the arms of his older brother, all the while saying, “Hold on, Scott. Stay with us. Don’t go to sleep.” His eyes were rolling back in his head and he was bleeding from his ear. What a frightening thing for teenage siblings to endure.
We arrived at the hospital a short time later to begin one of the most difficult experiences of our lives. Scott stayed in Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City where he was observed and tested. Miraculously after one week the doctors announced that he had stopped leaking spinal fluid and they could not find any reason to keep him there further. They warned us that problems may manifest themselves later so to be vigilant. We took our baby home with extremely grateful hearts.
As I reflect on the lessons learned from this experience there were many:
• As parents, we won’t always be there when our children need us. That can result in valuable growing experiences for them.
• Our children have personal strength and abilities they can draw on in times of need.
• Sometimes it seems that bad things happen to good people. It’s part of the plan that helps us grow.
• Blessings come in unexpected ways. Ours included: a knowledge that prayer is powerful, testimony building experiences can be hard, faith is a blessing, love and compassion unites families, there is power beyond our own that strengthens families, and there is definitely strength in numbers.
May we all be blessed as we journey through mortality with our families!
Debbie Morley
