Russ' Burn Adventure

At the ranch, last summer, our Flake/Winmill Family Reunion came to a dramatic end with an unhappy accident. I kept waiting to post about it, because I wanted to write it up just right and couldn't seam to do it. But while I was cleaning out my email a few days ago, I came upon the following letter I sent out to family and friends shortly after the whole thing happened. I'm happy with the way I talked about it in this letter, so I'll just repost it here.

August 8, 2012

Dear family,

Thanks to you all for your interest and support with Russ' recovery. I just love you and appreciate you all more than I can say! Russ is doing very well--better and better all the time. Some of you have been asking for details, and I have been craving an excuse to write all of this out of me. So with Russ and Amanda's permission, here's the story from my perspective: (BTW, it's long! I will not be offended if you don't want to read through it.)

We were having trouble with starting fires up there, because our matches were not lighting (perhaps they were old or exposed to water or something), we didn't have any lighter fluid, and, due to monsoon season, our wood was wet. Going to town is no small matter up there, and we were doing what we could to get around that. So we gambled on gasoline. 

On Wed. evening, my dad was working with Russ to get a fire going. After no success, Russ put 2 or 3 tsp of gas in a paper cup. He started to sprinkle it onto the wood, there was no flame in the pit, but there must have been a warm ember or something leftover from the previous evening's fire, because it immediately exploded into fire and traveled up the stream of gas. Russ dropped the cup, but there must have been fumes on his person, because when I looked from my position just inside the house, his whole torso and head were in flames. 

As we were realizing what was happening, Russ was attempting to move toward a hose 15 feet away from where he was. Unfortunately, there were chairs in the way, and Russ says all he could see was yellow, so he wasn't having much success. My parents both called out to Russ to "stop, drop, and roll", and he tried, but we learned that Arizona clay is too hard a surface for that to work, so he kept right on burning. 

At that point, Joe grabbed a bowl of watermelon juice, and I grabbed a towel and we came running outside. I yelled, "Smother him!" and I'll never forget my dear brother (who had not cried out at all)'s pathetic moan of "Please!" in response. It just haunts me. Joe reached him first and extinguished the flames on his head with the juice; then Amanda, with her hoodie, and I, with my towel, smothered the flames on his body. After that they tried to use the hose to cool him down somewhat before moving him in to the shower. 

We quickly gathered all the first-aide kits and medical supplies we could, but it wasn't hard to see that this was a bigger project than we could tackle. My father and Joe administered to him immediately, and after Kayela (a CNA by trade) examined him, they decided to take him to the ShowLo hospital 40 minutes away (if you go the speed limit).

Joe and Kayela drove Amanda and Russ in as fast as they could. As they entered town, Joe was caught on camera and issued a speeding ticket! Grrrrrrrr. Where's a real cop and police escort when you need one!!! He's still trying to negotiate his way out of that ticket too. 

Back at the ranch, Grandma Reeder put Katelyn and Johnny to bed in the hopes that Russ and Amanda would soon return and be able to climb into bed themselves. But when they found burning in Russ' throat and looked at the severity of his burns, the ShowLo ER people decided to med-evac Russ to the Maricopa Medical Center burn unit in Phoenix--about 3 hours' drive away. The ShowLo people just aren't set up to deal with repair of lungs or esophagus. 

Amanda rode on the plane with Russ, while we scrambled to pack up their necessities and get their kids down to the valley before Johnny would need to nurse again. My mother pointed out that the only hope for keeping these kids asleep was to drive them in separate cars. So Katelyn rode down with Joe and Kayela, while Johnny went in the van with my parents. Thanks to divine intervention, both kids slept the whole way!! 

The following morning my boys and I headed down with only the things we would all need to stay there for a few days. This meant that we Reeders left almost ALL of the packing and cleaning to you Jackson girls! I will always be grateful to you guys for facilitating our hasty exit. I know some of you delayed your own departure in order to complete the work load. And thanks to those of you that dropped everything and took care of us during our time in the valley! We are the luckiest people in the world to call you family!

On Thursday morning we witnessed the first of several miracles associated with this ordeal. After examining Russ' clothing I noticed that although his shirt is charred, shredded, and ruined, his garments are perfectly clean and ready to go right back into rotation. True to form, Russ only has one burn on his torso, a heat burn on his shoulder, far less concerning than the places where flame actually contacted his flesh. Check the picture; you can see for yourself! To me, this is not surprising--we've all been promised our garments would be a protection to us--but it sure is interesting! 

The next miracle occurred when Russ was examined in Pheonix. After all the hurry and stress to get Russ to the valley, they found absolutely no burns in his throat! The lining of his esophagus was irritated, but any burns had healed through the night! And, although his skin continued to burn for days (which is to be expected) as time passed, his other burns appeared to be LESS concerning than before--not more. It's just incredible!

On Friday it was determined that Russ could be transferred to the care of the U of U burn center in SLC. So Manda-Lou's mother flew Russ, Manda-Lou, and Johnny to SLC that night, and Katelyn rode home with Grandpa and Grandma Reeder. Russ is home now and just visiting the burn center for outpatient checkups. At this point, there are some concerns with the injuries on his hand. The tip of his thumb sustained the worst damage, due to a band-aide he was wearing. There's also some concern about how tight his wrist is becoming as it heals. He may need some grafting there. We will find out tomorrow at his next checkup.

Obviously this has affected my family. Will's biggest shock came right after the accident when his curiosity lead him into the bathroom where he saw Russ in full glory. So that night we did some crying and talking and praying. We figured out how this situation could have been avoided and what we could do to help now--pray for him and the family. 

It also helped that Kayela was brilliant enough to ask my boys to keep little Katelyn busy while everyone was tending to Russ. They had both taken that job very seriously during the moment and, as we were talking later, it was comforting to feel that they had made a real contribution in some way. 

Howie's big shock came when we saw Russ in the hospital for the first time. He was all wrapped up like a mummy, and even though Howie wasn't afraid to hug him or interact with him, I think it finally set in how big Russ' "owies" actually were. So we cried and talked and prayed some more. In fact, many times over the next few days, at seemingly random times, Howie would stop us dead in our tracks and ask us to be reverent while he prayed for Russ, Manda-Lou, Katelyn, Johnny, and Grandpa and Grandma Reeder. 

Howie also got a fear of lighting all wrapped up in this too. I'm not sure how that worked out. We did have some pretty impressive lightning storms in the days preceding the accident, so all I can figure is that maybe he caught a flash of light through the window (the boys were in the house at the time of the accident) and decided it was lightning that caused the fire.

On Sunday after we returned to Utah, Grandpa and Grandma Bardwell hosted us, my parents, and Russ and Manda-Lou's family for a "get back on the horse" weenie roast. Howie was just a little hesitant at first, but soon got into the spirit of things. Will struggled a bit more. When it came time for him to cook a 'mallow for a s'more, he was firing out all kinds of activities he wanted to do instead of interacting with the fire. Usually he pesters and nags us all the way through dinner to get let him make a s'more, so I figure this was still a bit troublesome. But he did finally give in, and he seems much better for it. 

All in all, I am deeply grateful that this whole thing wasn't so much worse. I'm still amazed at how well Russ is doing! He's an amazing example of inner strength. He's never had anything but a smile and a positive attitude. And his biggest concerns have always been how this affected everyone else. I guess when Will saw him that night, freshly hurt, Russ still tried to call out to Will and tell him he was going to be okay. Russ has asked me a few times about "Will's recovery."

He's done a lot of joking about it all too, which keeps us all upbeat. When he R.S.V.P.'d for Sunday dinner, he offered to bring "grilled me" as a side. I told him no, I preferred him really, really rare; like wave-a-match-only rare. No more flame-broiled stuff! 

Well that is it for me. If you're still reading, thanks for your interest and well-wishes. You are all such lovely people, and I'm glad to be in your family! Thanks for your prayers. They were most-definitely heard and answered in the form of direct blessings for Russ and his family.

May Heavenly Father bless you all for you goodness! 
Much love,
Lynners


A few days after this letter, Will caught a bit of sunburn while swimming. We discovered it while getting him ready for bed. Will was smart enough to remember that Russ' burns kept on burning for a while. He immediately expressed grave concerns about what the morning would bring for his body. More tears and praying. Sweet thing. It was a fairly torturous night for him. He would not be calmed. Only the truth by morning light assuaged his concerns. 

But all is well now. The boys have moved passed their fears. Russ has surprisingly few scars on his face and neck. He still wears a compression glove on his hand and a few wounds in his heart, but he will recover. It could have been so much worse. We have a lot to be thankful for!






Russ' shirt and garments. Absolute miracle.






















At the ShowLo E.R.

Wrapped up and ready to travel

Day 2, swollen mummy, in the Maricopa Burn Center


















Days 3 and 4, looking better and better.

A few weeks later--out of the hospitals and safely recovering at home. Thank Heaven!

The Winmill Family Reunion

a

Nancy represented the women well in the final round.

After Tucker had a turn, we moved on to the other contestants.

My superstar:

My brother Dave:

Joe has placed second every single year we've held this event. But finally, this was his year!



Katrina and Lenora proclaimed him winner and champion!

He celebrated his victory by a graceful waving of the official flag of the games. It was an inspiring and beautiful moment! Mamas, tell your children this is what comes after years of hard work and struggle. Someday they too, might obtain such a lofty achievement.

All right, enough of that! Here are my cute spectators.

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July is monsoon season on the Mogollon Rim. Usually all this means is a light rain shower in the afternoon for an hour or so. The rain comes, cools things down, and then clears right up. It's really nice, actually.

On Sunday the rain got a little bit serious! I threw on my windbreaker and ran outdoors to close-up our tent. It didn't take the big, fat drops long to soak all the way through my jacket!

After it was over, Darren and Ben had to go check out the stream running down the road.

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On one of our last mornings there we cleaned up a little and drove into Snowflake to visit the temple.

Russ, (my brother) actually helped build this temple. He was part of the crew that placed the beautiful granite walls.

My cute parents

The hider....

...and the seeker

My Parents' Dream

A long time ago my folks bought 10 acres of what used to be the some of the most prized land on the Flake family ranch. For my entire life they've dreamed of retiring there and living out their days beneath the majestic Ponderosa Pines and breathtaking Arizona sunsets.

The following picture was taken elsewhere on the ranch, but for most of my life their land looked something like this:
Two evergreen hills gently sloped toward a valley with a seasonal brook winding playfully through the clearing at the bottom.

Sadly 6 or 7 years ago two fires consumed the Mogollon Rim country and converged right over our heaven on earth, sending my parent's dreams up in the smoke. All their trees were destroyed. The resulting flooding made a terrible mess of the wreckage.

The blessing is that while the fire scratched out quite a bit of the several hundred acres that make up the Flake family ranch, out of 30 or 40 homes and structures only 3 were destroyed. My grandma's home and building's were spared. The fire kind of arced around that area. Even so, my parents were devastated for their loss.

Since that time they've poured countless hours and dollars into restoring their land to it's former beauty. They realize they probably won't ever see it come to fruition. They're doing it for their grandkids. Each year the evidence of that terrible fire fades, and growth begets more growth. Slowly my parents are winning this battle, and the land will be beautiful again.

This is part of their little valley, taken this year:

Not all of the stags have been cleared yet, but you can see the young Juniper trees (in the background) are thriving. In the foreground is a small grove of baby Ponderosas. Hopefully one day, my parent's house will overlook this little patch of trees.

I think this tree is particularly beautiful. He's battled all the way up to 4' tall!

You can see that while the far hill in this picture has been cleared, there's still a lot of trees to burn. What you can't see is that that hill is covered will hundreds of Ponderosa saplings. Each one planted lovingly (in the rockiest soil God ever created!) by my parents. As often as possible they make the 13 hour drive down here to drag a water tank on a trailer around and tend their "children."





My cute mom loves each of these trees and often tells them so. She gives them pep talks and kisses and hugs. That's how we know this endeavor will be successful. What self-respecting plant could resist such attention?









This guy is the basketball star of the group, towering a mighty 5 feet above the earth!

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In an effort to make positive use of the old, dead trees, my hubby and mom decided to build a fence around my parent's land.

Ben, my father, and my brother, Russ never get enough time to work on this project as they'd like, but they've done well with the time they've had.

They cut each log to the right length and carve out a niche, so that they nest when stacked. Then these tough guys pre-drill through the first couple of logs and use a sledge to pound re-bar down through the joints.

Notice how the little sapling in front of the fence has been flagged. The boys take extra care not to disturb these precious babies.






This picture was taken from the road that enters the valley. Dominating the right side of the photo is a post that will one day be part of the entryway arch to the valley. The fence corners close to the top of "Sapling Hill."









This picture was taken from the corner of Sapling Hill. See how the road forks just before it enters my parent's land? The lower road drives down into the valley, and the upper road crests the opposite hill. My parent's want to build their home just to the left of this picture, on that hill, between the two roads.



Here's some pictures of the client, the contractor, and the crew. Good job you guys! Its looking great!

Thanks for letting me post your pics too, MandaLou.