Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Why we don't play with matches (warning, graphic ....)

Although I can rush to assure you that no-one was playing with matches. Or lighters or torches or flame throwers or pyrotechnic devices of any kind. It was an honest-to-goodness, no-fault-of-anyone, nothing-more-than, ACCIDENT.

An innocent accident that can happen when a child (in this case specifically, my 11-yr old nephew, Landon) trips and falls into a fire during a Labor Day celebration at the lake. And a burning plastic water bottles sears to his arm and continues to burn, and his hand and knee suffer the most damage.

So no fault -- no blame. But still, how scary is this???













Things to be grateful for:

That it was not worse.

That we still had an ice chest full of water sitting on the patio to immediately submerge his hand in. Not the most sterile on the planet, but cold ... and full.

That honestly, it was an accident, and no one had to feel guilty for causing the injury through carelessness or disregard for safety.

That he has a 12-yr old female cousin whose first instinct was to scream her bloody head off and alert the adults, one of whom (me) saw it through the window and couldn't quite make my brain work as quickly as my eyes.

That he has an 8-yr old brother who helped pull him from the fire.

That he is still here with us, only a little worse for the wear, and when enough time has passed, he'll have an awesome story to tell about "remember that time I was on fire?!?!"



And on a much, much, MUCH more selfish note, I am grateful for the amazing freaking BOKEH I am getting with my new birthday lens, 50 mm 1.8. Check out these pictures! (assuming the content doesn't turn your stomach .....)

I love birthdays and new photography toys!!

Most of all, I love Landon.

28 comments:

Renee' said...

OMG Kristie. THANK YOU GOD that he is going to be ok. I feel so badly for him - I know he is in tremendous pain. UGH. Makes a body full of hives look like baby stuff!
I MISS YOU!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodnes, thank God he is ok! And your pictures rock ~ in a gross kind of way!
Tammy in OH

Anonymous said...

Hugs to your nephew!

Kristi near KCMO

Natalie said...

EEEK! So scary! Glad he's OK!

Melissa said...

Ugh, years ago as I kid I wasn't watching where I was going and stepped into the middle of a campfire, barefooted. I've never felt such pain! I feel for the poor guy, and glad he's okay!

Anonymous said...

That looks so painful.

Isn't he a good looking guy?

Dixie

Judy Haley (CoffeeJitters.Net) said...

thank goodness he's ok - and there's nothing like a good scar to make a boy feel manly

oh, and yes, I'm experiencing some serious lens envy. One of these days I'm going to get a real camera.

Monica H said...

Oh my God! I can only imagine the pain! I cry over paper cuts!

That smirk on his face...he looks so proud of his battle wounds.

Alisa said...

oh. Ouch. I am glad that he is smiling a little.
I was wondering how he was doing.
(and how the rest of the family is)

Birthday camera lens? And a picture of the kids? Could not be any better.
Will be fun to see what else you do with the lens!

Unknown said...

i shouldn't have opened this the first thing this morning. Good lord! I'm glad he's going to be okay.

Jeanette in GA said...

How painful. Poor guy.

DeborahB said...

Oh gosh. That looks so painful. Glad to see he's smiling! Hope he heals soon.

Trish in Leesburg, VA said...

ouch! So glad Landon is going to be ok- so scary at how much worse it could have been. And great pictures too!

leeanne said...

Whoa! Thank God that Landon is ok! It could have been so much worse for sure. I Hope it all heals up ok and that the pain isnt too bad for him. Poor Guy!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness...poor Landon and Kelly...the mom in me is sick at the though of dealing with this. Thank goodness you guys were there with them. I am so glad he will be ok...oh the stories you all have! I hope he heals quickly and Kelly has taken up drinking, I mean can heal as well!

And since it is all about us...love the lens! I got my new camera yesterday. Love it already and that is before I have even ordered my new lens which will be very soon. :) xoxo Kim

Meredith said...

OMG, that hurts me to look at, after suffering a burn several years ago myself I know how bad they can hurt. So glad he is OK and able to smile for pics.

Anonymous said...

Ouch! Even the smallest of burns hurts! I cnt fathom having molten plastic stuck to my arm! blah!!! I do love that cute grin though. What a tough guy! I think Landon is my new hero...maybe the 8 year-old too!
Anne in GA

Anonymous said...

I have to agree...OUCH!

But, I love the smirk on his face like it's no big deal. What a great story he'll have to tell over the years.

Sounds like his brother reacted very smartly, very quickly. Good kids!

Hugs,
Connie

Jenner said...

How scary! So glad he's ok. Prayers for Landon's quick recovery.

Leesa said...

Boy my nephew caught his shoes on fire once setting around a campfire.. but his smoking soles do not begin to compare! So glad everything turned out as well as it did.

Sandie said...

I am so glad he is okay! 13 year olds are made of rubber and their bodies will heal like a million times faster than my old skin would. His smile makes me think he might not mind all the extra attention he is getting. What a handsome boy!

Kelly said...

OUCH! Poor kid! So glad he didn't burn his face! He'll have a great story to tell for many years to come!

Over Coffee - the green edition said...

OMG! How scary for him. Glad to see/hear that he is alright. I would have totally freaked!

kimybeee said...

He looks like he already thinks it is cool...glad you only have some minor major war wounds Landon!

Did all the grown-ups have to go to the er for a shot of valium?

Anonymous said...

My daughter fell into a fire the same way at 2 years old! scariest thing in my life- she is ok- still has good scars... it wasn't until we were on at the ER when we realized her eyelashes were singed.. it could have been so much worse.. I could my blessings to this day- 13 years later! Love your blog Kristie!

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness your nephew is going to be okay, but how very, very scary that must have been for everyone there!! Prayers for quick healing for him....

Off topic, I noticed you are re-reading the Twilight series. Having just read it a second time myself, I'm curious as to why you're doing so, too??

Mary Z

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I've been following you since Kendrie had her CB site. My son Jace had one also and I was linked to you. My son, at 16 months old was burned, very much like your nephew. He looks amazingly well, but tell your nephew to apply a LOT of vitamin E CREAM and massage it pretty firmly so the skin doesn't scar..in ayear, you'll be amazed. My son actually had 3rd degree burns. You can google his name..Jace Rodriguez. Hope he feels better soon. If you would like to see the progression of his pics, let me know. Email me at kjrodriguez@socal.rr.com

raino said...

good lord! that looks awful. glad he was okay tho...jeesh.