She was such a small child, feisty and barely big enough to play in her walker. Yet, play she did. Bouncing up and down and making cute baby sounds. Huge cornflower blue eyes would crinkle up in smiles or brighten with shiny tears as the mood struck her and struck her it did, often and loudly.The father worked full-time, long hours supporting his growing family. He left early in the mornings while his children slept and many nights he would not be home until time for the children to go to sleep. Love his family? More than his own life. Weekends were spent doing yard work, home repairs, car repairs and enjoying and living life.A stay-at-home mother who started the house work early in the morning in order to be ready to watch her soaps and visit with her neighbors. A mother who created a home for her family, who lovingly prepared meals, washed laundry and cared for her children.Morning after morning passed. Each day with the sameness and contentment as the day before. Life wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t meant to be; but it was enjoyed. One day, much like the others before it, saw a beautiful sunrise. A sunrise that inspired that extra morning push to get the household chores completed. The mother, in anticipation of the weekend, put dinner on the stove. She could hear the baby, who was still asleep, start to stir, so she finished dinner preparations and went to take care of her.Tickling and playing with the baby while getting her ready for the day made the mother smile. The baby was quickly dressed and put into her walker. Little feet barely touched the floor while the baby kicked and bounced. While kissing the top of the baby’s head, the mother pushed her into the living room to play while the mother finished the housework.
Playing quietly, small chuckles escaping, the baby kept kicking and bouncing while the mother cleaned and dusted in the same room. Kicking and bouncing, slowly moving. There wasn’t a destination, just a small bouncy baby inching across the room, bouncing, kicking into the hall. She could sometimes get her little feet just enough on the hardwood floor of the hall to give a slide and run into the wall. Laughter filled the space as the baby played in her walker.
Suddenly screams pierced the air. Blood-splitting, indescribable screams echoed through the house. The mother’s heart stopped even as she ran through the house. A loud crashing noise mixed with the screams as the mother entered the kitchen. A horrible burning smell filled the room, small pieces of burned charred flesh floated through the air, beans splashed all over the front of the stove, the floor and all down the baby’s head and body. The mother could hear her own screams over all else.
Wrapping the baby in a sheet and running out of the door the mother was screaming at the top of her lungs for somebody to please help her, help me, help my baby. She was screaming so loudly, neighbors came out, seeing the blood and skin, the raw bloody screaming mass that was the baby. Somebody called the hospital, the police, the father. Mother and baby were transported to the hospital. There was no hope. None.
Minutes passed slowly and turned into hours, the mother and father clinging to one another, helplessly waiting. An army of doctors and nurses were trying to save the baby and an army of men and women were praying to God for a miracle. An eternity of time passed before the doctor came out and said they had done all they could do and now they could only wait and see.
Five days passed and the baby was still in critical condition, two-thirds of the baby’s body was badly burned but hope was slowly blooming in the hearts of the mother and father. Sixteen more days the baby spent in the burn center. Nothing but those cornflower blue eyes peering out from rolls upon rolls of bandages. Eyes that were happy to see her parents, eyes that didn’t understand the pain but understood the love.
Back at home the mother and the father resumed their lives. Lives that were changed forever. A new path was forged for the family. Unknowingly, the greatest tragedy of their lives created a bedrock upon which they would form a dynasty.
based on a true story
tell us the rest of the story!
Please tell us the rest of the story 🙂
Donna Marie
I was so cute 🙂
I like the way you was very detailed in the beginning, it gave me a clear vision of how your sister looked.It made me actually picture her in my head the way you expressed her eye color, and the way she smiled.
This story was very interesting. I wish there was more, a close friend of mine experienced some of the same things. you should really write more on this one, i’m anxious to know what else happened. how the family changed. did the baby survive, if so how was her life after that, doctors visits, bills and etc. what was it like growing up for her. or if she passed how the family changed. if the parent relationship changed.
I really enjoyed this story. As a mother I could feel her pain and the fact that this was based on a true story, made me more emotional while reading it. I would of liked to know what happened in the end. Did the baby survive or not? I would of liked to see a little more detail but overall it was a very interesting story.
Reading this made me feel as if I was sitting on the living room couch watching this little blue eyed baby bounce around the room. I love the repetitiveness and emphasis on how the baby bounced. It made the accident so much more intense and gave a good lead up to the tragic event. The ending of the story automatically makes me think the baby passed away considering the time spent at the hospital and how the mother and father’s home life “resumed.” I would have liked to see a more tragic ending, because all throughout the story I was preparing myself for it, and now I’m left wondering if the baby is still bouncing through the rooms after they resumed their lives.
Life can change in a second, in this case an accident forever change the story of this family. In situations like this most of the occasions the pain makes a family break but possibly this couple stay together and build a strong family with the baby or without her.
The story was heart rending and one parents fear. The slow moving pace of the first two paragraphs was affective in lulling the reader into a sense of the normalcy of day to day living. The suddenness and seriousness of the tragedy was jarring to the senses, as intended. The focus on the baby’s eyes before and after the accident was a good decision, but the description of charred flesh floating in the air was too much. I questioned how a baby so small that her toes barely touched the floor could dislodge a pot of beans. I needed a little more to picture this. The use of the word “dynasty” at the end seemed a little strong. The reader would love to know more, but leaving the story at this point adds to the sympathy. Glad the story ended with a sense of hope.
This was such a sad story, but it surely makes one think of what matters in life. Sometimes it takes a tragedy for us to regroup and start cherishing and appreciating family and loved ones. Many lives are changed forever after a tragedy! Although it can take time and effort to move on, we must make the best of whatever the situation is that we are facing.
This was sad but very good. The diction made the words create more emotion, the imagery made my heart sink at the tragedy, and the pathos made me think about every child this has happened to and what they must have went through. There was so much detail it was like I was living through this day of tragedy for this family. You never know what can happen, so I take away from this story to never take anything for granted in life and to always pay attention to the things around you.
Talk about a plot twist. I read this thinking it was going to be a pleasant story about a sweet little white picket fence family. But, in the blink of an eye everything changed so fast. This story kept me of edge and now I want to know what happens next. Does the baby die? How does the family build a dynasty? The graphic detail of the baby being burned made my heart hurt for the family. Even though I do not know who they are, the detail in the story makes me feel as though I am apart of the family an all I want to do is make sure the baby is okay.
In the beginning there was just a normal life. It was filled with normal things such as working parents and happy lives. The story was just like any other family story starting out. The father worked, the mother stayed home and cooked and cleaned and there were children. When the story turned to a crises it did immediately. There were no short warnings or descriptions before it happened it just suddenly happened and seemed frantic. It was so frantic and fast that it felt like what would have happened in real life. The mother did not have any warning before hand. It just all happened in an instant. After it happened there was not as much description as it would also have been in real life. It would have been all so fast getting help and getting to the hospital that it would have all been a blur. I cannot imagine what the parents went through and the mothers feelings through the undeserved guilt she must have felt. I can also infer that the family was able to return to normal and take their baby home at the end.
At the beginning I was thinking “why would she write this? this is awful!” I was SHOCKED to know this was a true story! I was not prepared for the twist of tragedy, it was definitely not the way I imagined the story to go. Without reading the comments, I didn’t know if you were the mother, the baby, or sibling.
This story was very detailed, I felt like I was a fly on the wall watching everything that was happening. At first I thought this was going to be a story with a pleasant tone, then came the twist. I can not imagine how this mother may have felt watching her baby suffer like she did, but I know she felt hope seeing her blued eyed baby look at her in the burn unit. I wish there was more to this story, I would love to know how the blue eyed baby and her family conquered the great task they had ahead of them.
Reading this made me feel as if I was sitting on the living room couch watching this little baby bounce around the room. I love the repetitiveness and emphasis on how the baby bounced around. You just used such great detail, you are very hard to critique. The only thing I can say is that I wish it was longer so I could keep reading. Great plot twist.
What a plot twist. I began reading this thinking it was going to either be a simple story about their lives and how the father being gone was hard, or something was to happen to the father. I was in for a surprise! I love the amount of vivid detail, helps so much when trying to paint a picture with the story. A few places i noticed where space should have been, but was not. Other than that an incredible story!