Looking inward on a very shitty day.
Jun. 2nd, 2006 12:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
loracsWith the exception of receiving a delivery of fresh swiss chard from the very generous ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
serenejournal, this day sucked.
Started with a department wide email about a colleague's 4 year old little boy (Tyler) who was badly burnt Wednesday night. His brother was playing with the lazy-susan at a Chinese restaurant. The large pot of very hot tea flew off the table and burnt Tyler from the neck down to his waist and both arms and hands. He is in a burn unit in S.F., wrapped like a mummy, on morphine for a couple of days, before the doctors can assess the damage. His father works a few blocks away at another center.
Tyler is in a pre-school right next to the building I work in. I've often seen his dad dropping him off or picking him up. Last weekstonebender and I were walking pass the pre-school, when we ran into Tyler and his dad. While I talked shop with dad, Tyler talked to Stonebender. "I know why you're in that chair." he said. We stopped our conversation for a second to listen. Stonebender said "Why" and Tyler proudly responded "Because you can't walk!" Simple, direct, non-judgmental; just the facts.
My interactions with Tyler have been minimal, yet today's news greyed my day. I cried for the little boy, his pain, his parent's pain and his sibling's pain, his extended family and friends. The older brother is about 6 or 7; I hope there will be love, support and intervention to minimize the guilt he is feeling. Tyler, of course, needs a great deal of love and support. This is a life changing moment for Tyler and his family.
And a ripple in mine, a texture absent yesterday, but up front and very present today. I chipped a tooth many years ago. For months my tongue would seek it out, it felt foreign, wrong, something in need of soothing. With time, the sharpness of the break yields to the body's geology; it became smoother, transitioned to "normal". Now I am seeking out this new knot, smoothing it, weaving it. It will change texture, it will take its place with all the thousands of others, it is my tapestry.
My life is not CHANGED by this event, but I am changed.
Rambled enough for one day, now I will amble off to bed.
serenejournal, this day sucked. Started with a department wide email about a colleague's 4 year old little boy (Tyler) who was badly burnt Wednesday night. His brother was playing with the lazy-susan at a Chinese restaurant. The large pot of very hot tea flew off the table and burnt Tyler from the neck down to his waist and both arms and hands. He is in a burn unit in S.F., wrapped like a mummy, on morphine for a couple of days, before the doctors can assess the damage. His father works a few blocks away at another center.
Tyler is in a pre-school right next to the building I work in. I've often seen his dad dropping him off or picking him up. Last week
stonebender and I were walking pass the pre-school, when we ran into Tyler and his dad. While I talked shop with dad, Tyler talked to Stonebender. "I know why you're in that chair." he said. We stopped our conversation for a second to listen. Stonebender said "Why" and Tyler proudly responded "Because you can't walk!" Simple, direct, non-judgmental; just the facts. My interactions with Tyler have been minimal, yet today's news greyed my day. I cried for the little boy, his pain, his parent's pain and his sibling's pain, his extended family and friends. The older brother is about 6 or 7; I hope there will be love, support and intervention to minimize the guilt he is feeling. Tyler, of course, needs a great deal of love and support. This is a life changing moment for Tyler and his family.
And a ripple in mine, a texture absent yesterday, but up front and very present today. I chipped a tooth many years ago. For months my tongue would seek it out, it felt foreign, wrong, something in need of soothing. With time, the sharpness of the break yields to the body's geology; it became smoother, transitioned to "normal". Now I am seeking out this new knot, smoothing it, weaving it. It will change texture, it will take its place with all the thousands of others, it is my tapestry.
My life is not CHANGED by this event, but I am changed.
Rambled enough for one day, now I will amble off to bed.
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Oh My!
Date: 2006-06-02 12:38 pm (UTC)As always I am touched and amazed at how you can put words together with such clarity and feeling.
HUGS
no subject
Date: 2006-06-02 03:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-02 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-02 06:26 pm (UTC)Thank you for sharing the wheelchair story. That is very sweet.