The boys were all up early and down to the barn! They had a lot of fun real fast. I picked D, his friend & J up, and LG&GmaW went with us to the Sugar Shack back in the woods to help our neighbor make some maple syrup.
We got there and all hiked back to the sugar shack and met up with the sugarin team. It did not take the boys long to see work would be involved and they vanished off into the woods to see what they could find. They found buckets on trees, tubes running from tree to tree, a stream, a camp and a zip line! FUN FUN!!!
LG&GmaW hung around for a bit until G realized that mommy thought he was too little to try the zip line and he lost it... Back to the Farm they went. But D, his friend and J were out for a day full of adventure!
I hung out in the sugar shack and tried to make myself useful and understand how the process all works. Seems a mystery to most, even the guys that have been doing it for decades... We carried firewood and gathered sap, modified the boiler and then were called in for some wood stove cooked breakfast. The boys stopped in from time to time to check in and all was good. This time they must have smelled the food and came in and took off all their snow garb. They had some doughnuts and sausage. They were thirsty, so I grabbed one of the gallon jugs of water and poured them each a glass.
THIS IS THE POINT WHERE THE FUN ENDS FOR THE DAY.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE STRONG NERVES, PLEASE READ NO FURTHER...
I got down to his level and looked him right in the eye and said 'Jack are you OK?'
He shook his head NO.
I said 'Jack can you breath?'
He shook his head NO again!
I spun him around and hit him on the back, everything went still and quiet.
I spun him to faced him again, asked him if he could breath, he shook his head NO as his eyes stared into mine frightened beyond all words, and his lips turn blue.
I spin him around again, put my fists in his gut and with every ounce of strength I had did the Heimlich maneuver, I thrust my fist into his stomach several times.
I spun him to face him again, asked him if he could breath and knew the answer this time before he shook his head NO as his face was turning BLUE and eyes were bulging.
I yelled to the men in the shack to call the squad.
I grabbed Jack up in my arms and started running to the road to be able to meet the squad, mind you we are WAY back in a woods...
As I cleared the shack and crossed the bridge in Olympic sprinter time, I thought to myself and prayed to God: Why? We just learned he does not have cancer...
WHY ARE YOU TRYING SO HARD TO TAKE HIM FROM ME?!?!?!?!?!?!
Knowing how little time I have, I stop up the hill a ways, ask him again if he can breath?
NO he shakes his head.
I do the Heimlich maneuver again with all of my might,
YOU WILL NOT DIE ON ME!!!!
NOT TODAY!!!!!
JACK IS BREATHING AGAIN!!!!
He is taking very shallow breaths, but is breathing... The guys call the squad and let them know.
I carry Jack in his T shirt and snow soaked socks back to the shack.
I give him some water to drink and he immediately spits it out on the floor.
So I take Jack outside so if he has to spit again he can.
He tries and spits it out.
I tell him "Swish this around in your mouth to clean it out a bit and then spit it out."
He does.
I then say "Jack, I need to be sure nothing is stuck in there. You have to drink just a little sip of this."
He does, but then has to spit a lot.
We are in the clear...
I take him back inside and hang his wet socks on the stove and hold him.I hold him for about an hour to warm him up and make sure he is OK...
He wants to go out.... So I get him dressed. As I am getting him dressed L calls and asks 'Is everyone alive?' I reply 'Barely', her not knowing how serious that statement is...Jack and I walk hand in hand across the bridge, the bridge I just ran across carrying him, to find his brother and his friend. He runs off to go sledding with them....
I go back in to the sugar shack and let out a HUGE sigh of relief and we all discuss the events... Not long after this, a new guys shows up to help. We offer him some of the awful coffee, but he just wants water. He grabs the jug the boys drank from, pours himself a glass, takes a drink, and spits it out all over. He catches his breath and says 'This is NOT water. It is BLEACH WATER!' We all stare at each other as the realization hits us. Jack took a HUGE gulp of bleach water and the chlorine closed his airway. Not only that.... It was the same water he spit out after he started breathing again, swished his mouth out with, and took a final sip of....
OH MY GOD!!!!
The guy that runs the place takes the jug, says 'Yeah, I brought this down yesterday to clean stuff with, I don't know how it got mixed in with the other water jugs.'... He poured it out and another guys says, "Well this also explains why the coffee tasted so shitty this morning. That is the jug I used to make the coffee..." We all had some....!!!!!!!!!!TWO VERY IMPORTANT LESSONS!!!!!!!!
- LABEL THINGS
- If you don't know the Heimlich Maneuver,
I stayed around for a bit. Carrying firewood, checking on the boys, talking about the process, trying to do anything but think of the enormous horrifying event Jack had just gone through. I am amazed at his resilience. He is the toughest little person I have ever met. Although I keep myself busy I am DEEPLY troubled. I say goodbye to the other men and gather the boys to head to the Farm. D, his friend & J are under STRICT orders not to say a word about the event. I could not go through it that soon with L and GMa&paW.
We get back to the Farm, gather our things and leave as quickly as we can. It is quite obvious that something is not right... When we go out to get in the car, several Aunts and Uncles drive up and we excuse ourselves as politely as possible.
On the road now, and Lori is on to us... She asks us what happened. Jack tells his version and she is horrified. D and his friend give their pieces of the story and she is struck to tears. She turns to ask me about it but the tears are streaming so hard down my face I can barely see to drive... We get control and I give her my details. She calls poison control and our Dr. right away. 'He will be fine.' is what they tell her. Too much. It is just too much...
We get back home, drop off D's friend (explain to his parents what he went through today...) and unpack. We have only a couple of moments before LIFE takes back over and we are off to D's basket ball game. It was a good game, what I could focus on.... Home, and a poker game I committed to go to was tonight, with some of my best friends, that I could use their company after today.... I play for only a short time before I realize I am not having fun and need to get home and FEEL what happened today.
I get home.
I check on all my boys, and L.
I fall to my knees in the living room and cry and cry and cry...
I then talked to God....
