SCRICBBLERS
Jimmy was walking out the door of the drugstore when he saw a bright light appear in the sky. The sun was gleaming off the gilded dome of the courthouse. He stared at it for awhile. A passerby in a hurry knocked him down. Jimmy got up and dusted himself off, but the rude person was gone. Somewhat dazed he went to the crosswalk. He waited for his light and started across the street. A car came around the corner so fast that it knocked Jimmy off his feet and threw him into the air. He landed on the grass on the other side. The driver of the car stopped and got out to help.
Jimmy lay on his side and wailed loudly. His legs and hips were bloody where the car fender had hit them. He passed out.
It was later discovered that the erratic driver had called the police and now the ambulance was there ready to take the victim to the nearest hospital. That was only a few miles away.
* * *
Mrs. Falcon was sitting in a chair in her home reading the paper when the phone rang. She was about to receive the phone call that every parent dreads.
“Mrs. Falcon?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“This is Officer Mallard, Mrs. Falcon. I regret to inform you that your son, Jimmy has had an accident. He’s in Harrisburg Hospital.”
“What? How do you know? Are you sure?”
“Very sure, Ma'am. He came to and told us his name.”
“How badly is he hurt? Can you tell me?”
“It seems to be mostly his legs. I can’t tell you any more.”
“Thank you officer. I’ll be right there.”
It seemed like a dream when Lauren Falcon rounded up the girls, got them into the car and raced to the hospital. When she got there, she was told at the desk that Jimmy was in emergency waiting for a parent to begin treatment. She called Frieda McNeil, Butch’s mom and sat down to await help.
Mrs. McNeil arrived within five minutes and was sent home with the girls. She was assured of news as soon as possible.
Mrs. Falcon was escorted down to the room where Jimmy was lying. He looked so small and still. His legs were loosely covered with a sheet. There was much blood in that area.
“We have called your doctor, Mrs. Falcon. He will be here soon and then we can go ahead with any emergency procedure he thinks fit. Jimmy was fussing a lot when he came in. We gave him something for pain and he has been very quiet since.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes over and looked at his mother. “Mommy?”
Mrs. Falcon took his hand. She had such tears in her eyes she could hardly see. “I’m here baby. We’ll take care of you.”
Doctor Hedges came in and examined Jimmy’s legs, hips and abdomen. He cleaned up the legs and poked very gently and took a long time. He noticed the hips weren’t right. "There isn't a lot of blood on the hips, but they are very bruised and discolored. There may be multiple injuries here. The legs and hips both need to be x-rayed and then we can see where the damage is.”
"You sit here while we wheel Jimmy down to get those x-rays. We’ll arrange an operation right away if possible.”
The room seemed very alone. Mrs. Falcon felt as if this were unreal. It wasn’t happening to her. She noticed a Bible on the table. She picked it up and opened it up in the middle. She saw Psalm 121. She read: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence commeth my help. My help commeth from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” She sat thinking. Wasn’t she just about to embrace this Lord she didn’t know? How could he let something like his happen to her baby? She flipped to the back and read: “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd cares for His sheep.”
She didn’t know what to think, but she needed someone to help. There was no one to help her. “Yes, I need a Good Shepherd. Help me with my precious little lamb.”
Jimmy was wheeled back in on the table and Dr. Hedges said, “Let’s get him prepped for surgery. It’s going to be a long night.”
(Next week, the Scribblers weigh in on this tragedy.)
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