Chapter Six: Action-packed Operating Waiting Room

Carol and I decided we'd have to divide and conqueur. There has been a tremendous outpouring of support from our friends, family, neighbors, and our Athens family. Oh my God, we are so fortunate to be in Raleigh, NC and not Port-Au-Prince Haiti.We can not imagine - not even the slightest clue how traumatic and serious the situation has been for the citizens of Haiti. Yes, we are facing our own family crisis but we are, again, so fortunate.  I take a call from a proactive AB Combs Elementary School Assistant Principal he is practicing the Covey Habits - Be Proactive, Think Win-Win, Synergize, he tells me that the accident has made the news.Daughter of Athens Drive Assistant Principal Struck in Crosswalk, Athens Drive High Freshman is Hit While Crossing to School. My neighbor calls, "Steve, what can we do to help? Call on us for anything." It's crunch time - neither Carol nor I want our daughters to hear that their sister has been critically injured while heading to school from anyone other than us. We've got to continue to be the strong family that we are. While Carol makes arrangements with all of the surgeons regarding Phoebe's impending operations, I head to to their respective schools to pick up the girls and to get supplies for little kids facing an interminable wait in a hospital waiting room. There is a time for everything and everything in its due time. Have you ever tried to keep a secret from inquisitive and observant 9 and 12 year olds? It's tough. I've got to keep my composure while they pepper me with questions. Dad, "Why are you picking us up?" "Why aren't we picking up mom?" "Since you've got both of us, are you going to go to Athens to pick Phoebe up as well?" "If Phoebe is at Athens, why is her bookbag in the car? Why was the strap cut off of her bookbag?" "Is Phoebe OK, is Mom OK?" They wouldn't stop! Finally we're home. "Girls, I've got something really important to tell you. Come here and sit on the couch." They simultaneously blurt out, "It's Phoebe. Is she going to be OK?" I tell them about Phoebe being hit by a car. I tell them about how strong she is. I tell them how lucky she is that it isn't worse and I also tell them that she is still in grave danger and we need to pull together as a family. We huddled and cried together for a few minutes. After our group hug they immediately began thinking about what to take to entertain Phoebe and themselves - but clearly Phoebe was first on their mind. There is that AB Combs Leadership and Problem-solving kicking in. I think to myself that I don't deserve such terrific kids. Not too long after this thought comes the thought that I could have just as easily been telling them that their sister Phoebe would not be coming home. They scrounge and come back with enough books for an entire class of high schoolers and tell me about her favorites, which one she is currently reading, and which ones we could read to her if she can't see to read herself. Of course they have her favorite stuffed animal and her Nintendo GameBoy - her retro favorite. Off to the jam-packed waiting room. The din of people, loudspeakers telling Family X and Family Y to pick up the phone or to meet Dr. So-and-So is overwhelming. There she is, I see Carol and she's smiling. Great! Things must be going well. Phoebe's orthopedist reports that her tibia and fibula have been handled. He takes the time to explain to the girls about how they put the titanium rod through the hollow middle part of her tibia, put it back together, and then put screws in it. Somebody asked if this means that Phoebe is a cyborg... The doctor reports that the oral surgeon is still at work reconstructing Phoebe's jaw and facial issues. He should be done within the hour. Friends, phone calls, and e-mails come and go, always wishing Phoebe and our family the best. The offers of assistance are overwhelming - I can't stop thinking how fortunate we are to be in such an excellent area to live and work with such wonderfully supportive people. We can't believe the outpouring of support for Phoebe. She is the luckiest kid in the Triangle this day! Hmm, as I look across the waiting room I see several young people who are familiar but the context is off. Oh my goodness. Here are three of Phoebe's Athens friends. Tim, Justin, and Erin recount their adventures in finding Phoebe. They heard the news and were bound and determined to find her. I am quite certain that the final count shows that they had been to every emergency room in Wake County and at least one in Orange County. They were bound and determined to show their support. We all laughed at the parallel to Ferris Bueller's day off. All three of the Miller girls LOVE the movie. There was a clear comparison between the news of Ferris's illness and the news of Phoebe's misfortune. We continue to be amazed at all of the wonderful young people who were taking time to show their support -even if it meant $50 in gasoline and the risk taken to sneak past hospital guards! After umpteen games of hangman, and beating the Nintendo DS at all of the games we have, the oral surgeon reports that Phoebe is resting. He has implanted the titanium plate in her jaw, fused the multiple fractures in other locations of the jaw, stitched her severly cut lip, eye, chin and cheek. From my recollection, he also explained that he has done his best to save seven teeth, extract what remained of two others, and assess what will have to be done with molars and two that are badly chipped. OUCH - I was cringing just thinking about the teeth, not to mention the fact that she would have her jaw banded shut for four to six weeks. Poor kid. She weighs 100 lbs dripping wet and would, more than likely, lose 10 - 15 pounds on a liquid diet. I heard Dr. Miller, phone call, Dr. Miller, phone call. I found that a media station was interested in an interview. Were it not for the crosswalk issue, Carol and I would have declined. I did the interview with the hope that people would appreciate the near-death experience of this courageous young lady and know that there should not EVER be another person who might face similar circumstances as a pattern, rather than the rare exception. Something has got to be done about that crosswalk. There has got to be a solution that is not cost prohibitive and is simultaneously a consistently safe option for every member of the Avent West Community who chooses to cross Athens Drive going to or from the school or library. While it is most immediately "about" Phoebe, it isn't at all about Phoebe. "It" is about finding a community crosswalk solution that will fix a problem.