I'm writing this because it's all I can think about. I'm praying for 7 little children that I met & I'll probably never see again. Here's how it went:
Today was a busy day. Lots was accomplished before noon by our whole family. This afternoon we were excited to head to eastern Iowa to attend Leah's graduation open house. Family functions are always fun when you've got cousins to play with & talk to. The only fly in my cream was that the AC in our van conked out on Thursday & today was predicted to be 94 degrees. My solution was that we would give the kids big bowls of ice to keep their laps & mouths cool while we hit the open road. Jeremy decided to add 2 coolers with ice also. Did I mention this would be the first time my 11 person family would ride in our van together?
Jeremy wanted to get some computer work done so I drove Clifford the Big Red Van. We had all the normal chaos of our rides & wondering how long til we get there. I noticed another big van pass us & looked to see how many kids I could see inside. About half an hour into our 3 hour drive Jeremy motioned for me to move to the other lane because he saw a tractor further up the road. Being the dutiful wife, I signaled & moved over. What happened next was terrifying & in slow motion in my mind.
The 15 passenger van that just passed us hit the truck following the tractor & spun around with glass & twisted metal. I hit the brakes while checking my mirrors & wondering if I could stop fast enough without hitting them too. I don't remember pulling over. I don't remember stopping. I see a picture of the driver getting out of the front seat & running to the crushed passenger door. I see my feet hitting the ground after checking behind me for on coming traffic. I see a little boy climbing out of the driver's door with blood pouring down his face. I'm calling to him to come to me. His name is B. I tell him he's hurt & I need him to lay down in the grass. I'm holding his forehead together & calling for Jeremy to bring the cooler of ice, blankets, towels, pillows, whatever. I'm signaling for help.
The man behind our van comes & gives me his shirt to help staunch the blood. Now more little kids are being lined up on the grass next to me. Brody is there & I ask him to put pressure on B's head while I assess the other kids. B's sister's hips hurt & she has no scrapes. Her abdomen is soft & she wants her mama. I tell her she is brave & give her my sunglasses to keep the sun out of her eyes while I check her toes & fingers for feeling. E has a contusion on his face & a scrape on his leg but he's so quiet I'm worried that he's hurt elsewhere. I have him lay on the blanket next to his brother whose back hurts. He doesn't hurt anywhere else & I tell him he must lay very still until the paramedics come. He isn't wearing a shirt. Little R & her sister have seat belt injuries & I'm worried about internal bleeding for Little R. They are a family of 10 children but only 7 are in the van.
Other drivers that are stopped are bringing umbrellas to shade them while they lay in the grass & sun. We are putting ice on the bruises & bumps. I have Julia get my oils & put Lavender on the little ones to help calm them. I'm trying to give directions & keep the crying children calm. I'm not sure if their dad is hurt but he's trying to walk back & forth in the ditch comforting his children as best he can. He says he looked back for just a second...
The man driving the truck has a laceration on the back of his head. Another driver is assisting him & I stay with the kids. There are so many helpful people around them. Finally the police & 2 ambulances arrive. I gave the paramedics the triage info. They start doing the same assessments that I just did which reassures me that I haven't forgotten my skills from nursing school. The police ask all the helpers to leave but I still feel like I need to stay. How can I leave these scared children? They begin to put them into ambulances. They are going to different hospitals depending on their injuries. I still don't want to leave.I still have B's blood all over my hands. I get some wipes from the Ambulance.
I get into the van. Brody tells me that there were 3 other nurses & a doctor that stopped with us. Jeremy gave the sheriff our numbers. The policeman says that the truck is leaking gas & they disconnected the battery just in case. It took a lot of wipes to get the blood off my hands & wrists & feet but I can't get the images out of my brain. I wasn't very chatty at the open house. The whole thing is on instant replay in my mind.
I'll probably never see them again but I'm praying for B & E & R & all the rest of them.