justsimon
Last Chance Jubber
This past July I was shopping with my gf when my cell phone started to vibrate. It was my mom and, as I had planned to call her later anyway, I decided to ignore it and call her back when I was outside. At the last minute, I picked it up. She was crying. My stepdad had fallen off the house he was building and she was on her way out to the site to see him before they air-lifted him to Harborview (the trauma center in Seattle). She had no idea what his condition was.
I asked my gf to hurry and ran outside to call my brother. He was at work and I couldn't get a hold of him so I left messages on both phones. I explained the situation to my gf on our way home and we packed overnight bags while I frantically tried to reach my brother.
My mom called back to tell me that she'd seen my stepdad and that he was unconscious and bleeding from his ears. She said she was headed to the ferry (it goes to Seattle and is about an hour away).
I called my ex (and daughter's mama) and promised to keep her updated while my gf and I raced to the ferry. I still hadn't gotten a hold of my brother at this point.
To get to the ferry, one must cross a sort of drawbridge that is sometimes, but not often held up by naval traffic. Of course, a sub was in the way and we had to wait 40 minutes for the bridge to open up again.
Finally, we made it to the ferry a few minutes late, but my mom had explained the situation to them and they had held it for us.
My brother called me back while I was on the ferry and I almost missed it. He is about 2 hours from Seattle (in Olympia).
We finally got to the Hospital, three hours later (usually only takes 2) and we rushed into the ER. The Harboview ER is known as Hellview for obvious reasons. This is where shooting victims go.
My stepdad had been standing on some scaffolding about 12 feet up, with no tie-in, while he pulled on some tar paper. He fell back and cartwheeled onto the ground, landing directly on his head. He suffered some brain contusions, memory loss and an incomplete spinal cord injury.
He remained in a coma for 4 days while we all waited around, thinking he would die. He didn't, but my mom had to live in Seattle for the entire summer and my brother and I spent every day we weren't working taking care of her. He's home, in a wheelchair and our lives are completely different. Those 4 days were probably the scariest of my life.
I asked my gf to hurry and ran outside to call my brother. He was at work and I couldn't get a hold of him so I left messages on both phones. I explained the situation to my gf on our way home and we packed overnight bags while I frantically tried to reach my brother.
My mom called back to tell me that she'd seen my stepdad and that he was unconscious and bleeding from his ears. She said she was headed to the ferry (it goes to Seattle and is about an hour away).
I called my ex (and daughter's mama) and promised to keep her updated while my gf and I raced to the ferry. I still hadn't gotten a hold of my brother at this point.
To get to the ferry, one must cross a sort of drawbridge that is sometimes, but not often held up by naval traffic. Of course, a sub was in the way and we had to wait 40 minutes for the bridge to open up again.
Finally, we made it to the ferry a few minutes late, but my mom had explained the situation to them and they had held it for us.
My brother called me back while I was on the ferry and I almost missed it. He is about 2 hours from Seattle (in Olympia).
We finally got to the Hospital, three hours later (usually only takes 2) and we rushed into the ER. The Harboview ER is known as Hellview for obvious reasons. This is where shooting victims go.
My stepdad had been standing on some scaffolding about 12 feet up, with no tie-in, while he pulled on some tar paper. He fell back and cartwheeled onto the ground, landing directly on his head. He suffered some brain contusions, memory loss and an incomplete spinal cord injury.
He remained in a coma for 4 days while we all waited around, thinking he would die. He didn't, but my mom had to live in Seattle for the entire summer and my brother and I spent every day we weren't working taking care of her. He's home, in a wheelchair and our lives are completely different. Those 4 days were probably the scariest of my life.