Sunday, September 02, 2007

Summer Rituals



Summer and Autumn in New England usually mean ending the night with a fire pit or bon fire. Most BBQ's end with roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. My family is no exception.

The other night, my friends had their worst nightmare come true. The night started out as a relaxing evening of pool, play and fun.

As they wound down the evening to get the kids ready for bed (it was a school night) their nightmare happened....Their bubbly dancing princess (age 3) twirled around and to their shock, lost her balance and stumbled right into the fire. As her husband grabbed her daughter out of the fire and put her in the pool my friends world started to spin.

After a very long night at the ER their princess proved how resilient children are, believe it or not she never cried!!! They visited her Pedi. today and it looks like she has 1st & 2nd degree burns on both arms and her upper thigh and some on her upper back but she will be just fine. Her wounds should start to heal soon, but the memory of what happened and what could have turned out much worse, will be in their minds forever.

They ask that their friends pass on this message: Enclose all outdoor fires!!!

4 comments:

Major Bedhead said...

Good grief, how scary! I'm glad your friend's daughter will be ok. We just dug a big hole in the backyard for a fire pit - I'll be heading to Home Depot this weekend to pick up some breeze blocks to put up around it.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, how terrifying. Thank you for the reminder to be MOST vigilant. Festive fires can certainly turn dangerous very quickly.

I am glad that your friend's daughter is all right, considering what could have happened.

Jane, Pinks & Blues Girls

Jenifer said...

Oh my God, how terrible!

I get that sick feeling in my stomach every time I hear something like this because burns are some of the worst injuries out there. I am PARANOID about it especially sine I have severe pyrophobia I am deathly afraid of fire. So much so that I can't light a lighter or a match, and I use HUGE potholders even when I am putting something IN the oven! I guess that's why I married a firefighter, so I would always feel safe!

I just had a 911 call for a 1 year old that had burns from the face down to the diaper line. Mom had put a scalding cup of coffee on a surface she didn't think he could reach but apparently he was JUST tall enough and he pulled it down on himself. The guilt and anguish in that Mom's voice was just heartbreaking.... the baby ended up going to the Bridgeport burn unit. So even when you are not around fires there is always a danger with anything hot!

Good message to pass on, and (((HUGS))) to that brave little girl!

Kristi B said...

what a nightmare!