The Big Wave

It was a great spring day! Daffodils and tulips were in full bloom in the Skagit Valley, and our family was spending the evening with our friends in La Conner, Washington. Our son, Andy, his sister, Jaime, and our friend's daughter, Jesse were riding bikes when all of a sudden, Jaime and Jesse came flying into the living room screaming and crying that something bad had happened to Andy. We all rushed out of the house and down the street only to find Andy walking his bike back towards the house, crying, with his jaw cut to the bone.

La Conner is a small town with no hospital, and it was apparent that he needed attention right away; his chin bone was exposed and his jaw just didn't look quite right. We all piled into the car and took him to the local hospital about 20 minutes away, where I was informed after x-rays that his jaw was broken, and that it might have to be wired, and that he should go to Bellingham, WA. I insisted that he go to Children's Hospital in Seattle, and the local area hospital folks said he would have to wait until morning and go then.

Early the next morning, we arrived at Children's to a team of dental surgeon's. They took him into a dental area that was amazingly kid friendly with little, just right sized chairs. Everyone was so nice. They never wired his jaw. They said it would interfere with the growth plate development. The staff was so professional and kind. It was truly an amazing experience. They helped him. They put him back together and they even had a follow through questionnaire a couple years later. It was impressive.

To this day, Andy has a huge scar on his chin, where come to find out, he was waving to his sister and her friend as he was riding past them on his bike. PS. That was when he was 7, he's 23 now.