On May 10th, as Rylan was riding his bike home from school, he took a bit of a tumble and ended up on his back with his bike "stuck to him". He didn't know if the handlebars were stuck in his belt or what, but he couldn't move the bike. Soon, a passerby in a car noticed he was lying there on the sidewalk and stopped to ask if he was okay. She quickly realized the brake on his handlebars had gone through his shorts and had impaled itself into his thigh! She called 911, then she called me on my cell at work. She told me Rylan had had an accident on his bike, and part of the brake appeard to be in his leg, and the ambulance was on their way. I couldn't imagine what she meant. I asked to talk with Rylan. He told me, "I think part of my brake is in my leg." He was so calm on the phone, I didn't think it couldn't be anything too serious.
I quickly left work and called Rylan's dad to let him know to head to the scene (even though we had no idea what to expect). Once I hung up from him, I called the lady back to again ask what had happened because it just didn't make sense. Then she told me LifeFlight was on their way! Boy - the anxiety level increased ten fold after hearing that. I'm not sure how I got there in one piece. When I arrived it was a crazy scene. There was an ambulance, police cars everywhere with officers directing traffic, and LifeFlight was just about to land. I couldn't believe that was MY son in the middle of it all! That's a scene I never hope to come upon again in my lifetime. I parked my car and ran over to him, saying "I'm the mom! I'm the mom!"
There he was on the sidewalk being attended to by a whole bunch of people in uniform. Once I got to him, I was again amazed at how calm he was. I told him I was there and told him everything would be okay. I looked him in the eye, held his hand for a moment and told him I loved him, and then I was quickly whisked away to answer some questions for the paramedics. At that point they had cut the brake assembly completely off his bike and were wrapping it to his leg for the flight. They were concerned with how close it was to his femoral artery and his femur and didn't want to risk removing it until they could get an X-Ray. Once the nurse on LifeFlight understood what was going on, she motioned for the pilot to keep the propellers going because there was no time to waste. They loaded him up and off they went to Primary Children's Medical Center. Darren had to drive up from Provo so he arrived just in time to see the helicopter take off. He was really freaked out because he didn't know LifeFlight would be there, so I told him what was going on and tried to calm him down a little bit, but we both knew we had to get up to the hospital as quickly as possible. He headed back to his car to drive up, and I stood there in complete confusion for what seemed like an eternity (but what was in reality three seconds) until some of my neighbors asked if they could drive me to the hospital. I agreed wholeheartedly because I was in no condition to drive - I would have gotten a speeding ticket for sure because I was so anxious to be by Rylan's side. I rode with Robin Molis, which turned out to be perfect because she used to drive ambulances for a living. I took advantage of that time to notify my family and the calls and texts started pouring in from well wishers and concerned friends and neighbors.
The hospital called while we were en route to let me know they had been able to remove the brake. Once Darren and I arrived at the hospital they brought me into the trauma room where they were still assessing all that had happened. Then the onslought of X-Rays and ultrasounds to make sure there were no spinal or head injuries and to determine exactly what type of damage this had done to his leg. Rylan experienced a miracle that day. There was no damage to his femur, the brake had not penetrated his femoral artery, and he had no other major injuries. Just a few scrapes on his arms and forehead and some broken eyeglasses.
Rylan spent the night at the hospital and rested pretty well (morphine can be a good thing at the right time and place), and I stayed overnight - needless to say sleep was not involved for me. My brain was mulling over how blessed we were and, at the same time, how frightened I was about the uncertainty of the days and weeks ahead.
Rylan missed a week of school, but quickly became bored staying home, so he tried a half day the following Monday and did really well, although he was tired. From then on, he finished out the school year going half days. The school was great to work with us, and his teachers and friends were so glad to hear he was up and walking. He ended up with straight A's!
For the weeks that followed, the most difficult part was changing his dressing in his wound on a daily basis. His wound was 6 cm deep (just over 2.5 inches) and about an inch in diameter and we had to pack it with 20-cm long strips of special gauze called AquaSeal every day. I had the privilege of doing that fun assignment. It was painful for Rylan and emotionally draining for both of us. He tried playing video games to keep his mind off it, he tried to watch something funny on TV, we tried deep breaths, we laughed, we cried, we yelled at each other, we talked through it, but after about two weeks it was just too much. Since then we have been taking him to the hospital twice each week for dressing changes and check ups.
One of the greatest parts of this story of Rylan's is what happened recently. He received a get well card in the mail from the Chief of the West Jordan Fire Station. We read that card with tears in our eyes. It was just a generic card - probably sent to each person they treat - but there was nothing generic to us about it. I tried at that point to find an email address for Chief McElreath online, but the only one I could find was the webmaster's. So I sent an email to the the webmaster and asked him to forward it on in hopes our gratitude would reach the appropriate people. I soon heard back from the chief, and he put me in contact with Captain John Gunderson, the captain of the crew who responded to Rylan's call. I was able to send him the email story and updates and photos so he would know what happened after Rylan flew off in the helicopter. He was so happy to hear Rylan's story was one with a happy ending, and we became fast friends. He invited Rylan and friends and family to come to the fire station for a tour and an opportunity to meet personally with the crew. We were so excited! Rylan invited his buddies and personally baked two batches of his specialty - brownies - for all the firefighters at the station, and we had a wonderful time that evening. The firefighters' union had even purchased Rylan a brand new bike and helmet!! What a generous gift, and sweet thing to do.
One of our friends who was there that evening, Christy Christensen, was touched by the entire story, and thought it was one that needed to be told. She contacted KSL about the story and within hours I received a phone call asking if they could interview Rylan. They also set up an interview with Captain Gunderson and we all met at the station yesterday for the interviews. It was a crazy busy day, but it was rewarding and fun at the same time. The story aired on the 10:00 evening news last night (6/23/10). The Captain had a huge grin on his face because he was so happy to be able to tell a story with a happy ending -- a story which began with one of the most unique situations he had ever come across in his 20+ years as a firefighter. He said they think they are prepared for pretty much anything, until they come across a situation like this. Unfortunately, the firefighter who Rylan remembers specifically talking to him after the acciedent, Chris Trevino, was out of town, but the news story showed their photo together. Rylan did a great job during his interview, although he was pretty nervous. We even got to go back to the station last night to watch Sandra Yi report the story live.
Watch it here:
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11294520
All in all, it's a feel-good story with a very happy ending. Rylan definitely feels his Grandpa Ron and cousin Sarah were watching over him that day! We are so thankful for all the prayers, well wishes, and kind service of neighbors, family, and friends, and especially wish to thank the crew of the West Jordan Fire Department for their quick action and care of Rylan. For being quite unlucky that day, Rylan is a VERY lucky young man!
Chris is the guy in the shorts who came in to the station on his day off just for Rylan. Captain Gunderson is in the gray top. What an amazing group of guys!
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