The day started off like any other Saturday and would soon become my worst nightmare...a day no one will ever forget. John woke up early to get ready for work that morning and I woke up shortly after to get ready as well. Normally I would still be sleeping on a typical Saturday when he left for work so I was thankful that I had the extra time to spend with him that morning. Little did I know that it would be our last time together forever. We talked, hugged, kissed goodbye and said those same words we had said over and over a million times, “Bye, I love you, talk to you later.” Well, this particular day, this wouldn’t exactly be the way things played out.
John was off to work for his final shift and I was off to playing mommy. I took the kids to run a few errands with me. This was BIG! With John's job, we had the luxury of one of us running around while the other got to stay home with the kids. It was so much easier and way more fun for a two-and-a-half-year old and a five-month old. I was so proud of myself because I had survived our outing but was so thankful that I didn't have to do it all the time. I talked to John that afternoon when they were in the firetruck on their way back to the station. He had to go but said he would call me later. That’s the last conversation we ever had.
After naps, I took the kids to Kinley Melcher’s 2nd birthday party. We stayed longer than planned because the kiddos were having a ball.
On our way home from the party, I listened to a voice mail around 7:00 pm that John had left for Brecken. This was a little strange because John normally didn't call and leave voice mails for the kids. I didn't think anything of it at the time.
We got home and I started getting the kids ready for bed. Brecken was having a little meltdown because he was worn out from playing with his friends. I ended up putting him in our bed (which we never did!) and he fell asleep within minutes. I gave Emma her bottle, rocked her to sleep, and tucked her into bed. I tried calling John twice that night and he didn’t answer his phone. I figured they were probably watching a movie or out on a call so I didn’t think anything of it. I left one more voicemail saying that we were all exhausted and that Brecken was in our bed so I would talk to him in the morning. I went back into Emma’s room to check on her one more time and on the way back, I saw several lights outside.
My initial thought was, “Someone must be having a party.” This quickly changed when I saw the dreaded words, “Battalion Chief” on one of the vehicles that was parked outside our house. I sprinted down the stairs and went outside to find several emergency vehicles and lots of men in uniform. This couldn't be good. The first person to greet me was Chief Hudson (the Fire Chief of Shawnee). My heart immediately dropped and I knew something had happened to John. My first thought was, “Oh, he must have broken his leg and they are going to take me to see him, he’s going to be just fine.” I wish that would have been the case. His exact words were, “Amber, there’s been an accident. I need you to come with me. Is there anyone here with you?” My heart dropped as I tried to process the information. My first words were, “How serious is it? Is he going to be OK?” Chief Hudson replied in a calm but concerned demeanor, “Amber, it’s very serious, I need you to come with me." At that very moment, I felt like time was frozen and I was in a terrible dream. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I had so many thoughts racing through my mind.
I called my parents in Lawrence and told them that John had been in an accident and I needed them to come stay with the kids. I was going to go to the hospital to see John while the firefighters stayed with the kids until my parents got there. I took them upstairs and showed them where Brecken and Emma were sleeping. Within a matter of minutes, our lives would be forever changed.
I threw on my shoes, walked out the front door, and Chief Hudson met me on the sidewalk and said those dreaded words, “Amber, we just got a call from the hospital...we lost him.” At that moment, I felt like I was in a terrible scene from a movie only this was real. This really couldn't be happening.
I called my parents back and told them the tragic news and decided to wait for them before going to the hospital. I called a few of my best friends and told them the news as well. I still couldn’t believe this was happening. I gave the police officers information on where Patty and Arv (John's parents) lived and got a hold of his brother, Michael. Luckily, Michael was in town from LA at a friend’s wedding in Kansas City. I’ll never forget that conversation. I could tell he was having such a great time with his friends and I felt so horrible that I was about to deliver the worst news ever. His mood immediately changed when he heard my voice. One of his friends was going to take him to meet the police officers at Patty and Arv’s house so he could personally tell them the news. In the meantime, Kathy and Mary came over to give me big hugs. This was the birthday party we were at just hours before. Shortly after, my parents arrived at our house and police officers and firefighters were in and out the rest of the night.
I let things settle in a little bit before making the decision that maybe I didn’t want to see John. I told Chief Hudson that I wanted to know exactly what he looked like before making my decision. When you think of a fire fatality, you can imagine all the images that were going through my head. Was he going to be so badly burned that I wouldn’t recognize him? I had such a nice mental picture of him from that morning and I didn’t want to replace it with something terrible that I would think about for the rest of my life. Chief Hudson called Shawnee Mission Hospital and got a full report of what John looked like.
Dr. C gave Chief Hudson a good visual report so my dad, Chief Hudson and I were on our way to the hospital. My mom was going to stay at the house with the kids, visitors, and emergency personnel. That twenty minute car ride seemed like an eternity. We were all pretty quiet, still just trying to take in the events from the night. When I got to the hospital, I was immediately sent to a room where several nurses, doctors, the chaplain and other hospital personnel met me. It was all very surreal. The hospital staff said that they did everything they could to save John.
No comments:
Post a Comment