Part 3 - My sister's side of the story...which is also a lot of my kids' side

Cindy posted this on Facebook. Hopefully she'll forgive me for copying it to my blog...

Cindy writes,

I have been meaning to write this note for a week now, but haven't had the time. (Or energy.) Anyway, last week my older sister was in a serious wreck. Although she is ok, it was still one of the scariest days that I've had....and I wasn't even in the accident!!

Let me set the scene. So I am at work with my high schoolers giving a quiz. Towards the end of the period, my cell phone rings. Now mind you that they cannot have a cell phone on at school and if it rings, they get it taken away. It was an "unknown" number to me. So I got it out and turned it off. I was thinking, stupid wrong number. Less than 2 minutes later my classroom phone rings. I knew that wasn't a coincidence. Scary point # 1.

So I answer it. Let me also interject that two years ago my classroom phone rang with an urgent call. It was my sister telling me my dad died. Anyway so I was already paranoid. The secretary told me that there was an urgent call--my sister was in an accident. Scary point #2. I actually started yelling at her that "don't put it through and send someone to my room." She hung up and called back that the fireman wanted to talk to me. Ok accident plus fireman is not good. He told me that I need to go to Kosairs to get my nieces b/c my sister was going to U of L. Needless to say my students were staring at me and I was shaking so badly. They said it was precautionary that they were taking them to the hospital. No matter what, it still freaks you out. However, I really thought my nieces were fine and it was my sister that was really banged up. (I even told my secretaries that I may be back with my nieces in tow.)

So, my school was awesome and sent someone up asap. As soon as they arrived, I literally ran out of the building. (Partially b/c the bell rang while I was in the hall and I didn't want to fight the kiddos to get out of the building.) I drove to Kosairs. ON my way I called my mom and husband. I regret not calling my brother in law, but I figured if the firefighter called me, they must have called her husband.

I get to the hospital and notice that you have to pay to park in a garage. I was so worried that I didn't EVEN CARE about how much. (There's an indicator for you!) I go in and ask where the Longworth girls are. Mind you, I still think they are sitting somewhere waiting for me. What a shock when they say "the ambulance just arrived." I walked into a room with a sight I NEVER want to see again. My two nieces on backboards and neck braces with 8 doctors and nurses around them. I practically broke down on the spot. However, I was the "guardian" so I could not let them down. But I was so scared something was really wrong the way they were acting.

On a lighter note, if you ever have to take your kid to the hospital, take them to Kosairs. They were awesome to the kids. Even the IV's and blood tests were pain free. (They numb their hand and inject Novocaine (sp) with this little puffy thing every before they even come close to sticking a needle in them.) They had to cut some of their clothes b/c of the neck braces. At least they saved Neleh's favorite jacket. On the flip side, Neleh got a new nightgown. No joke, the kid hospital gowns have a Koala bear and are soft like pj material.

Anyway, the girls really weren't saying much. (Duh!) I stood between them and held their hands as long as I could. I was still worried about Jennifer and no one could tell me anything. For 5 hours I was my nieces guardian. Lucky I knew all the information they wanted except insurance.

I promised my nieces that I would not leave until Jennifer and Bill showed up. To be nice, I also promised Neleh that I would not steal her blanket, "Pooh" at all. Throughout the time I was there I tried to keep them entertained. Especially since they were not allowed to move their necks. Neleh didn't do very well with this. Apparently she really didn't want to put it on to begin with b/c she had to be bribed with a stuff animal.

While Neleh was showing me her new bear, Becka said that she didn't get a bear. The people at Kosairs were so nice, they gave Becka a rabbit. (Then Neleh says she would rather have a rabbit.)

After the initial poking and prodding, we had Auntie Bean/Longworth bonding time. They girls were telling me what happened. Neleh was very talkative. The nurses asked me if Becka was the shy one and Neleh was the social one. I laughed b/c normally they are the opposite. I was also asking the girls what happened to Jennifer. Note: At this point I still didn't know anything about my sister.

Throughout the afternoon, we had a stuffed animal show and talked. They still couldn't move their necks, so there was only so much I could do. I even went so far as to do times tables with Becka (0's and 1's) while we were waiting for x-rays. I kept telling them once we leave, we would go back to my house and play the Wii and eat ice cream. The nice thing about being with kids is that you can get away with being impatient and use the kids as an excuse!! They kept asking how long we had been there.

Around 2pm (I got there around 11am) I finally found out that my sister was ok. However, my nieces were still getting x-rays so I couldn't really call anyone. (Not to mention the fact that there is really no signal in the ER of Kosairs.) One of the most touching things that happened came from Becka. She looks at me and says "I'm glad you're here."

Neleh was funny. She kept wiggling around and not listening to the whole "don't move." Oh well, I figured that was a good sign. The girls were awesome. They cooperated a lot better than most people...adults and children. I never had to help restrain or coerce. I asked the nurses what would happen if I wasn't here. They said kids are assigned a "chaplin" for the day. Wow......I'm glad I was there.

Once both of my nieces were settled watching cartoons, I was able to call people. But I couldn't call long distance...so there went half of my calling list. This was also the day my phone wanted to run out of battery. The good thing is that my sister and brother in law were able to get there around 5pm. I was so mentally exhausted. I had to run back by school to get my stuff. (I didn't care to bring anything with me.)

They ended up keep Becka overnight. Once again, I was so glad their parents were able to be there. (No major decisions by me!!!) I took home my sister and Neleh. I learned something about the bond of a sister. Neleh was discharged around 6, but there were waiting to see about Becka. So Neleh was still watching cartoons (without her neckbrace) with Becka. But since Becka was getting sicker, they wanted to keep her. So my sister and I were going to take Neleh home to my house. She got down and got ready to go. She asked us "What about Becka?" When we told her she was staying, Neleh was very upset. She just cried and cried. We had to reassure her that Becka would be ok.

However six year olds are fickle. Not that Neleh wasn't concerned, but she was easily distracted at Kroger. While my wonderful husband got us Wendy's, we went to Kroger to pick up some stuff. I have a horrible memory, so Neleh was handy.

The funniest part was near the bread. Neleh asks me what we are having for breakfast. I said cereal. And then she says she doesn't want cereal. So I tell her we have poptarts. She didn't want those. She said we should get doughnuts. Who is going to tell a 6-yr old no on the day they were in a rollover accident. Not me. So we got doughnut holes.

So we continue to go across the store and went to the pharmacy. It was near the ice cream. While I was getting the meds, I told Neleh to go pick out some ice cream...but it has to be on sale. (Hey Edy's was on sale!) So after I finished, I went over to Neleh. She said she found the ice cream, but it wasn't on sale. (She was very disappointed that Kroger brand wasn't on sale.) Once again who is going to tell a 6 yr-old no after they were in a serious car crash. Not me.

Overall I am thankful my family is physically ok. I did learn about the bond of a sister. My pond pal and I talk all the time. She is my best friend. We fight like cats and dogs when we are around each other too much, but nothing can replace the bond of a sister. Neleh showed me this on a small scale and I experienced it on a large scale. My husband, Jason, was also awesome. He helped around the house and even watched Saturday morning cartoons with Neleh. He got the girls ice cream, washed dishes and even went to the impound lot with my brother-in-law to look at the van.

Although I learned about the strong bond of a sister, I NEVER want to experience it again. One time is enough.

-THANK YOU, CINDY!!!!!