Battle Scars

Scars are cool.  Chicks dig 'em.  Behind any scar there is a story.  I have a monstrous 3 centimeter scar below my right knee, just where the cartilage is.  When I was 5 years old I had a fascination with toothpicks, and I wasn't allowed to have them.  But I was a ninja stealth on getting a toothpick quietly and cat-like from the top of the counter or even the top of the fridgerator.  The brilliant child that I was decided to play "break the toothpicks in half and stick them in the couch cushions" game.  You know, so you couldn't see them.  After 5 minutes go by and my attention span has moved onto the "let's pull the same couch cushions off that have little toothpicks embedded into them onto the floor and jump knees first on them" game.  Yep, you guessed it, a toothpick went right through the knee.  I had my first and only trip to the ER that night so they could "surgerize" that toothpick right out.  I think I may have gotten 2 stitches, but I was the only kid in Kindergarten with stitches in her knee and a story to tell.  In Kindergarten that is ROCK STAR status.

Tonight, Heath got a visit from a man with some scars and a story.  Scotty, a fellow burn survivor, came to share his story with Heath.  He had the same room as Heath, laid in the same bed, and had the same worries and fears that Heath has.  When we say to someone "I know how you feel" - unless you have been there we don't know! Scotty has been there and he knows. His words and testimony to Heath were exactly what we all needed.  I watched as Scotty told his story of his accident and then his story of survival.  The fact is that not me, my mom, my dad, or even Casey can help Heath like Scotty can and did and will continue to do.  We do not know what hes thinking.  We can guess and sometimes we may even get close. He can tell us but we will never fully understand.  Scotty gets it.  Scotty was burned 86% of his body and even sustained internal burns.  He aspirated liquid and got very sick and went "out" as he likes to say in early December.  He was put on a vent for 23 days and when he woke up he couldn't understand why they had taken down the Christmas decorations.  He thought he had been out for a day, maybe 2.  His scars are on his legs mostly.  He calls them battle scars.  He loves to wear shorts so people can ask him and he can share his story.  This man is a motivator.  He wasn't trained in school to speak, he was born to do it.  He has a passion and a drive to help other burn survivors.  His life is dedicated to that cause.  He said to Heath, "I have been right where you are brother.  The only difference between me and you is that my hair was longer and you're better looking than me.  The only thing that separates us is one and a half feet."  He was there to tell Heath it was going to be OK, but he did something better, he showed him. He told Heath that in a very short while he would be sitting where Scotty was telling another family his own story, helping them.  Life is so short and sometimes it takes something so horrible for us to realize that.  Scotty told Heath that he may not be able to see it right now, but this would be the best thing that has ever happened to him.  He now knows the secret to life.  He knows that all things happen for a reason and that we can't take a day for granted.  He knows to always hug your wife and kiss your kids and tell them everyday what they mean to you.  He knows that because the night before he was burned Scotty and his wife got into an argument about how tall their Christmas tree should be.  He got mad and dragged the tree into the house scraping the ceiling and went to bed without making up and then left for work the next morning without saying goodbye or I love you.  The next time he saw his wife he was looking up at her from his hospital bed.  He said that they have painted the ceiling in their house but left that scar on the ceiling to never forget.  Scotty will be our friend for life.  He will be Heath's brother, his burn brother.  He will be able to help when we can't.  Scotty loves the doctors and nurses here.  He's sort of a Rock Star.  He comes in and they all want to talk to him.  He is in a category by himself. 
As I watched Heath take in all of what Scotty had to say, I saw him grow to understand that he wasn't alone and that he had an ally.  Tears of understanding rolled down his face and everyone else's that was in that room. As he ended his visit with Heath, he told him words that will be burned into my brain forever, "Heath, you may not know it, but you have won the war.  You may to fight some battles, but you already won - brother.  That fire tried to whoop your butt but you got up.  You got blowed up and you are still with us, you won."

I hope that none of you ever have to experience the hell that Heath and my family are going through, but I wish that everyone could feel the sweetness and utter joy that comes with it.  The other side of tragedy is so awesome and without this I would be going about my uneventful normal life.  Our lives are changed forever, but not for the worse, only for the better. 

Til Tomorrow!