So this picture was taken shortly before our night drastically changed on the 4th. I can never ever say enough times....THANK YOU GOD it was not a worse night than it was!!!!!
So these 4 went our for a ride on the 4 wheeler. Rylie and Kate on the big camo one and Abby and Matt on the small red one. Before they left Chet explained to Matt not to hot rod because the little one will get loose with too much weight on it. Little did we know that they switched 4 wheelers and Chet had not refreshed Rylie's memory on no hot rodding.
We are at the house with Angie and AJ (everyone else had left) and Abby calls Angie but the reception is bad and she cannot figure out what she is saying but I could just sense that something was wrong. She finally gets through that Rylie crashed and Matt was on his way back. Chet and AJ hop in the truck and head out where they see Matt and he led them to the wreck ( they would never had found it otherwise). AJ calls and lets us know that Kate and Rylie are alive and okay but hurt. And then we wait, noone calls so Angie and I decide to try to find them but have no luck. As we are driving I here sirens.....I was internally freaking out at that point. We go back home and wait some more, finally a phone call.....Kate probably has a broken collar bone and Rylie possibly a broken wrist, they are beat up but okay. AJ says by the looks of the wreck they are lucky to both be alive. We have a strict helmet rule and I am so grateful we always stick to it. They are going to the hospital by ambulance so I head that way.
I managed to get there before they do and all I wanted was to see my daughter, I was so glad when I saw them wheel them in. I stopped to check on Kate and let her know her mom was on her way. Then I got to see and hug Ry. She was okay and I could finally see that for myself. She was in a lot of pain (her wrist and leg) but she was alive and that's all that really mattered at that very moment.
No words can express how happy I was to see this face!
We are at the house with Angie and AJ (everyone else had left) and Abby calls Angie but the reception is bad and she cannot figure out what she is saying but I could just sense that something was wrong. She finally gets through that Rylie crashed and Matt was on his way back. Chet and AJ hop in the truck and head out where they see Matt and he led them to the wreck ( they would never had found it otherwise). AJ calls and lets us know that Kate and Rylie are alive and okay but hurt. And then we wait, noone calls so Angie and I decide to try to find them but have no luck. As we are driving I here sirens.....I was internally freaking out at that point. We go back home and wait some more, finally a phone call.....Kate probably has a broken collar bone and Rylie possibly a broken wrist, they are beat up but okay. AJ says by the looks of the wreck they are lucky to both be alive. We have a strict helmet rule and I am so grateful we always stick to it. They are going to the hospital by ambulance so I head that way.
I managed to get there before they do and all I wanted was to see my daughter, I was so glad when I saw them wheel them in. I stopped to check on Kate and let her know her mom was on her way. Then I got to see and hug Ry. She was okay and I could finally see that for myself. She was in a lot of pain (her wrist and leg) but she was alive and that's all that really mattered at that very moment.
No words can express how happy I was to see this face!
She ended up with 2 fractures in her hand and a severe contusion on her right hip, they checked to see if her pelvis was broke and thank goodness is wasn't.
When she hit the tree it threw Kate off and the 4 wheeler pinned her against a thorny locust tree. Matt held the 4 wheeler up while Abby pulled her away. Both girls were scraped up pretty bad.
The 4 wheeler after the wreck....
It was about 2 weeks before she was able to walk without the crutches, it just hurt too much to put weight on her leg and she got a cast the Monday after it happened which she had to wear for 3 weeks.
Her ticket was bought and plans made for her to go to Florida with Abby and her family, it was hard to let her go only a week after her wreck but I knew she was in good hands.
This was the day she got her cast off. It was crazy how scary that night was and just 3 weeks later she was all back to normal again.
Kinda funny story on the day she got her cast..............
On the drive home it was storming but we decided to drive by the crash site and kinda got a little turned around because it was down this windy gravel road. Chet calls and says, "Where are you?" I said we were on our way home and he says, "drive as fast as you can and get here there is a tornado nearby" So I gunned it home and pulled in front of the door where he ran out and carried Rylie in and downstairs where everyone was hanging out. That was just a little added fun to this whole ordeal!!!!
Emotionally as a parent this whole experience is hard to put into words.....some emotions you just cannot articulate. I can never say sorry enough to Kate or her parents, she had a severe broken collarbone that required surgery but by 6 weeks she was fully recovered. Having someone else's child hurt on your watch is a horrible feeling and we are soooo grateful she is okay.
I love my kids with my whole being and I don't ever take them for granted but the what if's you go through with something like this is crazy....she could have died. Had they not been wearing helmets who knows what the outcome may have been. All in all the injuries were pretty mild.....thank you God! That 4 wheeler is gone, we sold it the following week explaining to the man that it is made for 1 person not 2. We won't quit riding 4 wheelers, even Rylie is ready to get back on one but we won't ever have the small, lighter ones again.
And while my kids fight and bicker like any other siblings the concern that Owen and Katelin had that night shows me the love between these kids. Owen stood at the end of the driveway waiting for someone to show back up with his sister. Katelin was in tears worried about Ry. They would ask....is Rah Rah okay? When it was time for me to head to the hospital they insisted on going so I couldn't deny them. I think they (especially Owen) needed to see her.
Rylie Jo......don't scare us like that again, we love you forever and always!!!!!
