Andy and the Toilet Incident

When Andy was little we made regular visits to the emergency room. That boy scared us so many times. Here are a few examples:

• At his 2nd Christmas while visiting the Zieglers, I noticed that he was chewing on something. (Andy was always putting things in his mouth.) So I told him to open up so I could see. What I saw was a mouthful of blood and glass! He was chewing on a Christmas ornament.
• I can’t remember how old he was when I caught him in the kitchen with medicine bottles and pills on the floor around him. I didn’t know what he had taken or how much. So…I gave him some Ipecac and called the Poison Control Center in a total panic. After telling them the kinds of pills that were out and starting to count, they told me he was in no danger. I asked why he didn’t throw up and they told me that it takes about half of hour. Half an hour?! What good is that?! Sure enough, about half an hour later I felt horribly guilty while holding my puking little guy. At this point I was pretty sure he’d swallowed nothing and was wondering what in the heck was going on.
• We made multiple trips for steri strips and stitches from hitting the coffee table, wall, tub, etc. He once almost tore his ear in half when Tana pushed him off the bed. After a while, I felt pretty nervous walking into the Greeley County Emergency Room. My explanations sounded fake even to me!
• The incident requiring the most stitches happened on a bicycle ride. After being warned repeatedly to watch out for the mud in the gutters (he was enjoying making tire tracks) he finally fell. I turned around to help him up. As I pulled my bicycle up beside him I realized that he was bleeding. His right handlebar was stuck in the left side of his neck! The rubber gripper had come off a while back and the exposed metal was sharp enough to pierce. I ran into the nearest house and called 911. It had stopped short of his esophagus and missed any veins or arteries. This ER trip required internal as well as external stitches.

After almost losing Andy when he was so young, it really scared me that he was so accident prone. I was afraid he would never make it through his childhood.

 On to the story…

Now, Andy is one of those males who can spend an easy half hour on the toilet. He has always been this way. In fact, we waited outside the Bramlage men’s bathroom for 10 minutes after the coliseum had cleared out once!

After one such episode when he was 3 or 4, I was in the bathroom to run the kids bath and noticed that he had forgotten to flush. Upon looking into the toilet bowl I was terrified to see that mixed in with the normal body waste were these grape-looking things.

To fully understand the terror I felt, you need to know that Todd had a cousin that died at a very young age due to cancer. The family would describe grape-like things that came out of her during baths and such. I had never heard of such a thing. But when I saw the mess in the toilet, I knew that Andy had cancer.

Almost hysterical, I ran to get Todd. We asked Andy what it was and he didn’t seem to have any idea. Of course, it surely scared him that I was so scared. I told Todd that I was taking Andy to the emergency room and that he needed to stay home with the other children. Then I got a glass from the kitchen, scooped up some of the offending material, grabbed Andy, and headed to the hospital.

The emergency room was empty that night (ah…the blessing of a small town) so the nurse took us to a room and I explained the situation. I knew all of the gals there, not just from our frequent ER visits but also from having their kids in class. After an inspection, the doctor was called. As we waited for him to come, I tearfully explained about Todd’s cousin and that I was terrified that it was the same horrible cancer. Several nurses came in and out to see this strange phenomenon. None of them had seen anything like it and they all seemed just as scared as I was!

Before the doctor came in, however, Todd came in.

While bathing Annie after we left, he noticed the toilet roll holder lying on the floor. This was not just a typical metal roll holder with a spring inside. It was a plastic slotted roll holder filled with scented granules. However, it was broken and some granules were lying on the floor and some were wet and bloated from splashed bath water. In fact, with some more water they could be bloated up like a grape.

Andy had apparently kept himself entertained on the pot by playing with this cool new toy.

Todd walked into the emergency room to see me and some nurses seriously inspecting a glass full of toilet water, poop, and scented granules. After an explanation (with broken toilet roll holder in hand), we left the ER to guffaws of laughter. But it was with great relief that we took our son and filthy glass back home.

The Loss of a Mother

Mac called this morning. His mom, Jan, lost her battle with cancer during the night.

Nothing can prepare you for this. It doesn’t matter how old you are. As I think about my best friends, I realize that many of them have already had to face the pain of losing their mothers. I just can’t handle the thought of it.

Susan and I shared a room when we were very young. I remember one night, lying in our twin beds, we got to talking about “what if” dad and mom were to die. As that conversation evolved, it led us to the realization that one day our dad and mom WOULD die. Our little minds just could not bear it. The tears started flowing and as this reality continued to sink in, we became hysterical. I can vividly recall running into the kitchen (where my parents were probably enjoying those few precious quiet moments when the kids are all tucked in) wailing. It took our parents quite a bit to get us calmed down, reassured, and tucked back into bed. But sleep didn’t come easy that night. My mom still remembers that night, also.

Billy was one of my very best friends when I was young. In fact, back then (probably even before school-age) he told his father that he was going to marry Gina Mostrom. We spent hours playing with Terry and Jimmy in our neighborhood. Losing his mother, Sharon, to cancer was so tragic...especially since I really didn't understand what was going on at the time. I just remember watching my friend (along with his older sisters and father) struggle with a broken heart. I'm sure that througout the years he, Marcy, and Kathy have yearned for just one more hug and kiss from their mother.

Not too many years later, a good girlfriend of mine lost her mother, Becky, to breast cancer. As we grew up, I often thought that it was unfair that Brooke had to face life without the guidance and support of her mother. As the oldest of three, Brooke had some big shoes to fill...and she did so with grace and style. Her trust and faith in God was so inspiring to me. She still inspires me. Her mother would be so proud of her accomplishments...and her beautiful girls.

Although I didn’t get to know Tiffany until high school, she had lost her mother at a very tough time in ANY girl’s life—junior high. I had not been there to go through that pain with her, but I could still feel that pain even as she grew into an amazing woman. When five crazy college women decided to take a Spring Break excursion to Vegas, it was in her mom’s old car. She still had it. We made some great memories in it. Maybe she was with us.

My younger sister Lisa married Matt just prior to being discharged from the U.S. Navy. She fell in love with his whole family in Wisconsin, including his mother. Pat was definitely a second mother to Lisa. This spunky little lady always had a smile on her face and a great story to tell. She lived--really lived--right up to the point when breast cancer stole her away, breaking many hearts in the process.

My very best friend was able to care for and comfort her mother, Shirley, through a sad battle with Raynaud’s Disease. It was torturous…for both of them. I was able to visit them in the hospital not long before her mom's death and was horrified at the cruelness of this affliction. Julie was so brave for her mother. She told me much later that the hug I gave her at her mother’s funeral was the only time she ever remembers me hugging her. Since I consider myself a “hugger”, this completely surprised me. I guess sometimes we feel so close to those that we love that we don’t feel the need to physically express our love. That is one mistake that I no longer make.

I met Jan on the same day I met Jeff (Mac) and Todd. After all, we picked the boys up at their homes in Satanta in Tiff’s Trans Am that day. She was a teacher and I always enjoyed my visits with this bright and vibrant woman. When both she and Larry retired, they were able to do some traveling together before and after her battle with breast cancer. Man, we thought she had it beat…until just this past fall. At a KSU football game Larry and Jeff told us that some tests had come back that indicated that the cancer had returned—though it was now in her bones. How quickly these last precious months flew by.

I know that statistically men die younger. In my personal experience, however, this has not been the case. Too many mothers of those that I love have left before we were ready. But I suppose one is never ready to lose his or her mother.

Go give your mom a hug today or at least give her a call. Keep her in your daily prayers. And be grateful for the time you have with her…it is never enough.