From the scene of the accident, we headed for the hospital. It was about an hour's drive, with a significant part of that through areas without cell service. I don't think we were ever so aware of our cell phone.
Joseph was still in the backseat. Strapped in. And quiet. We didn't necessarily want to take him to the emergency room with us, but our options were limited and we also didn't want to leave him after what had just happened.
Normally, he would have fallen asleep in a car, after dinner, driving that long. He didn't. I should have known then that we were in for problems, but we were busy with insurance cards and calling family and trying to decide what to do before we even knew what was happening.
When we arrived, a chaplain met us. I realize that's meant to be comforting. It's unbelievably scary. There are some times that a chaplain is less a presence of calm and peace than a spectre of doom. A carrion bird waiting to carry something away. She took us down a long hall. The ER was being renovated, and abandoned portions looked like something out of a horror movie where everyone disappears inexplicably and leaves everything behind. Joseph was clinging to me like a koala.
The chaplain took us to a small room just for trauma families. It was next door to the trauma room where my father-in-law was being treated, and it wasn't long before the doctor came to tell us where we stood. Anthony's legs were broken. So was his shoulder, and the orbit of his eye, and his skull. He was awake, and wanted to see Matthew, and was talking about Joseph. He knew Joseph was scared.
On a Saturday night, however, the hospital had no orthopedic surgeon. He would have to go back on a helicopter, and go to Pittsburgh. But he wanted to see us first.
Matthew and I decided to leave Joseph with the chaplain while we went in. We knew that it wasn't going to be good. That was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions we would make over the next six weeks. That was not the image I want in my little boy's head when he thinks of his grandfather.
You would think this was really as bad as things could get on one cold Saturday night. Nope.
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