I told Bernadine, “Take off her slacks. I’ll go get some clean sheets.” I put one sheet on the couch, laid Michelle on it. I draped the other one over the back of the couch to form a makeshift tent over her. It would help prevent dust particles from getting into her open wounds and provide a little privacy.
My husband came back upstairs. “The fire’s all out. I’m going to start the truck and get it warmed up so we can take her to the hospital.”
I had seen the numerous big blisters Michelle had. I said, “Go ahead, start the truck, but I’m calling an ambulance. You can follow it to the hospital in Oconto Falls.” I dialed 911. I looked at the clock. It was 11:45 a.m. While we waited, I tried to reassure Michelle that the ambulance would be there soon, but secretly, I had my doubts. We lived twenty miles from the nearest ambulance and twenty-five miles in the other direction from the nearest hospital. While we waited, I told fourteen-year-old Jenny to go down and make sure all the fire was out. I told Bernadine to feed the kids when the beef roast was done.
We could eat when we got back home. I tried to make Michelle as comfortable as possible. Then, all we could do was wait for the ambulance to arrive.
Chapter 3
It was only a matter of minutes when I heard a siren. As I ran to the kitchen window to look out, I said, “That can’t be our ambulance already.” It was. I glanced at the kitchen clock. It had only been eight minutes since I called 911. By the time I reached the door, the EMTs were there with a stretcher. The two men went straight to Michelle. The driver pulled back the sheet, took one look, and said to his partner, “Let’s go.” In one swift movement, they had Michelle on the gurney and covered with a sheet and blanket. They were in the kitchen, headed for the back door, when Michelle said, “Mom, I want you to come with me.”
The driver said with a smile, “Okay, Mom. You come with us.”
Jim said, “I’ll be right behind you in the pickup.”
I grabbed my jacket and had to run to catch up. I barely had the passenger side door closed when we did a U-turn and sped down the thirty-foot driveway to the blacktop road. Even before we hit the road, the EMT in the back spoke, “I have her legs packed in ice.”
I didn’t have to ask why. I knew it would help lessen the pain and prevent swelling, which could cause worse problems later, and hopefully, prevent the burns from going deeper.
We hit the two-lane road with the siren screaming. If somebody had told me that the driver raised his landing gear, I would have been tempted to believe them. It felt like we were flying. I soon learned that the driver was very competent.
Except for the continuous wailing of the siren, we traveled in silence. For the first time since the accident, I had time to think about everything. I wondered what had gone wrong in the basement, but now was not the time to ask Michelle. I could ask Mary when we got back home.
Michelle had long black silky hair and big brown eyes. She was a very attractive girl. Now her face was covered with smoke and soot. It would be terrible if that pretty face was burned and permanently scarred. I could only hope for the best. At that point, I wasn’t even sure she would survive.
Then I realized she hadn’t cried once since the accident. I wondered if she was okay. Almost as if on cue, she spoke, “Mom?”
“I’m right here, Michelle.”
“When you get home, will you call Kelly and tell her I’m in the hospital?”
Kelly was one of her school friends. “That’s the first thing I’ll do. I promise.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks.”
It was great to hear her voice. She sounded a little weak but alert. That was encouraging.
A few more miles down the road, the EMT in the back spoke to the driver. “I’m almost out of ice. I have a plastic bag back here. Do you think we should stop and fill it with snow?”
The driver answered, “No, I think we should keep going.”
“Okay.” We kept going.
Many thoughts raced through my mind. Would Jim be driving too fast, trying to keep up with us? I hoped not. He didn’t need a speeding ticket on top of everything else. With seven kids still at home, how would we ever pay the hospital bill?
Most of all, I’m worried about what would happen when we got to the hospital. With our big family, we had been at that hospital often. The routine was always the same. We were told to “Wait your turn to see the doctor.” Sometimes, that wait was quite lengthy. I could only hope the wait wouldn’t be too long this time. The dreaded moment finally arrived. As we backed into the ambulance entrance, I thought, N ow comes the wait.
Chapter 4
The ambulance barely stopped rolling when the driver jumped out and ran to the back. I climbed out and got there just in time to see Michelle’s cart being wheeled into the emergency area. “Mom, come with me.”
A doctor said, “I think it would be best if your mother waits out here.”
“Mom, where’s Dad?”
“He’s right behind us. He’ll be here in a few minutes. We’ll be right here waiting for you.”
“Okay, Mom.” She disappeared into the nearest emergency room with three doctors, four nurses, and two EMTs. I knew she was in good hands.
I stepped across the hall to the registration desk, just as a nurse appeared. I glanced at the clock above the desk. It was twelve-oh-five. I asked, “Is that clock right?”
The nurse answered, “Yes, why?”
“I was just wondering, that’s all.” I couldn’t believe it had only been twenty minutes since I dialed 911. That was excellent service. I had just finished giving the nurse Michelle’s information when Jim walked in.
The nurse asked, “Do you have any insurance?” We both shook our heads. “Who will be responsible for this bill?”
Jim answered, “I will.”
“That’ll be all. You know where the waiting room is. We’ll let you know when we hear anything.”
When we were alone in the waiting room, Jim asked, “Is she okay?”
“Yes, so far.”
“Where is she?” I pointed out the door to her room. “Can we go see her?”
“No, not until they get done treating her.”
Then came the wait. I noticed my hands were dirty from fighting the fire. I went to the restroom and washed them. As I did, I noticed I had a small minor burn on my little finger. It didn’t hurt at all. Neither of us said anything. We both knew what the other one was thinking. After an hour, a nurse came out of Michelle’s room. I asked, “How is Michelle doing?”
She answered, “Oh, she’s doing fine.” She took something from a medicine cabinet and left. All that told us is that she was still alive.
Another hour passed before a doctor come out of Michelle’s room. We saw her being wheeled down the hall on a cart. We knew she was being admitted. We expected that. The first thing the doctor said was, “Michelle is being admitted.”
That was no surprise. I asked, “Did she burn her face?”
“She singed her hair a litte and singed her eyebrows, but her face isn’t burned. She also has minor burns on an elbow and a finger. However, she has second degree burns on about 60 percent of her body. Those burns are on her legs and lower buttocks. She will need skin grafting. We estimate she will be here at least six months.” Jim and I just looked at each other. The doctor added, “We gave her a sedative to relieve the pain. She’s a little groggy from it, but you can see her now if you want to.”
He gave us her room number. We thanked him and