Out with a Bang!

 My parents came to surprise Johnny for his birthday. It was so nice to have them for Emmy's first day of school and for my Daddy to finally see the island he has heard about for over 50 years! We had lots of fun adventures while they were here! Jake took us to the weather station and Johnny got to launch the weather balloon. We got to go to the air traffic control tower, which Daddy loved since he is a pilot. We took golf cart rides and bike rides...pool trips and beach trips...LOTS of Barbies...and a Minecraft movie birthday party!

On their last night here, we took the ferry over to Ebeye for some ice cream and for my dad to see a little bit of the Marshallese culture. I misread the ferry schedule and rushed us to the dock at 5pm, but the ferry didn't leave until 5:30pm, so the kids were bored, I was stressed, and we were all frustrated. Once we returned to Kwaj, my parents were going to take Johnny home so I could take Emmy to back to school night.

As we were turning from the dock, my mom was afraid she was going to hit my dad's bike tire, so she swerved to avoid him. Unfortunately, she hit loose gravel and her bike tipped. Two kind souls happened to be walking by at the time and I flew off my bike to go help. I got her bike off her already bruised and swollen ankle, and that's when I noticed the blood on Rob's hands from the back of her head. My kids noticed it too and lost it. I sent them down the street to a friend's house while peeling off my bike shorts to use as a bandage. Luckily, the K9 unit was at the dock at the time and they called for the ambulance.

I was shocked at how calm my mom was throughout the whole thing. Once we got her and my dad to the hospital, I raced to the school to get Jerrod, and that's when my adrenaline wore off and I screamed and sobbed for awhile. He got permission to leave, headed to the hospital, and I collected the kids and started dinner in an attempt to calm them and keep everything as routine as possible. Jerrod and my parents arrived about an hour later and my mom was sore but in good spirits.

She's still pretty banged up...frequent headaches, bruised swollen ankle, and a bruise on her butt that continues to grow and change colors...but I'm so grateful it wasn't worse than it was! I can't imagine how uncomfortable it was to fly all the way home in that condition! They surely did go out with a bang!!! (and yes, I did get her permission before posting her story!)

Comments

  1. SuzieAugust 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM

    That is one trip for the books. I’m glad to hear y’all had a great time even with it ending in not such great times.

    ReplyDelete

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