The dirt hills are a fun place Michael and his boys like to ride. And our boys had a fun time, too. There are some whoopty-do’s, some banks, and some inclines.

Ean was going down a steep hill to attempt another when he realized the rider at the top of the next hill hadn’t cleared out. He put on his brakes, knowing he would lose much needed momentum. Albert and I lost sight of him as he descended, but knew he went down because Brodee and Jaden asked him if he was alright. That’s when we heard Ean yell, “I can see my flesh!”

Albert ran over the hill and down. Ean was trying to come back to us but fell again, unable to walk. This is what I saw as Albert brought him back. 

Blood was running down into his socks. We got going to iCare Urgent Care as quickly as possible, hoping they could take care of him there since it was closer than ER. The doctor saw him and after a quick exam, told us it was quite possible Ean’s knee could be compromised. The staff there was so kind and helpful. They got us on our way ASAP to the Children’s Hospital in Plano. While at the ER, Ean had a few x-rays taken. Then the Orthopedist came in to talk to us. He said it was still hard to determine whether Ean’s knee joint had been violated or not. He was going to have to do a dye test. That meant injecting the side of Ean’s knee with blue dye. If the blue dye came out into the wound, we’d know the joint was compromised and have to take action.

Let me stop here and say Ean was in no pain. From the moment he was torn up by his pedal, he felt no pain. It’s so hard to look at his laceration and comprehend that. The Orthopedist said the wound looked like a gunshot wound. Throughout this ER stay, even when the Orthopedist was injecting his knee with a long needle, Ean was a tough little champ. And we give God the glory. God subdued Ean’s pain, and helped him handle this with courage. The Orthopedist was a tough, no punches doctor. When he was done with the procedure, he looked at Ean and said, “You’re a superstar, my friend. There’s not many people that take that the way you did.” And Ean never cried. Ever.

After the Orhopedist left, the ER doctor came in to begin the laceration repair. This would end up taking 1.5 hours and require over twenty injections into the actual wound itself to numb it throughout that 1.5 hours. Those injections made Ean the most uncomfortable and were quite painful. It wasn’t easy to stitch Ean back up. It took twelve internal stitches, and the twelve you see on top. When the doctor was done, Ean’s cheeks were flushed because of the pain he’d been internalizing. We’re so proud of him and the way he carried himself. The nurses and doctors appreciated his demeanor  and trust.

We got to the ER before 6pm, and left at 2:30am. A nurse wheeled Ean out to the back parking lot where Big Boy was parked. After getting Ean tucked into bed, he finally was able to eat. The Perrys kindly sent pizza for us, and Ean ate two slices of veggie before falling asleep. We spent the night there in the parking lot. It was finally over.

We thank God for all he did to give us wonderful people to help Ean, for keeping the pain at bay, and for wonderful friends like the Perrys who looked after Brodee and Dayne for a while when we were in the ER. We praise Him for stitches instead of surgery.

The name Ian/Ean means “God is gracious”. Our Ean is living proof of that.