Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: BRISK (10/12/23)
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TITLE: Keeping Up | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ellen Janson
10/17/23 -
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Andrew and I had just reached the bottom of the mountain after a long day of skiing, and I was already thinking about the hot tub and a glass of wine awaiting us at the condominium. I’m getting too old for this, I thought as we turned to go back up the mountain. I had Stephen a little later in life. The benefit was that there were many helpers in older brothers. The downside was, Stephen was constantly trying to keep up with boys who were five plus years older than him. My husband and I were trying to keep up with all five of them.
“Are you coming?” Nathan was calling again and I could hear his panic over my husband’s cell phone.
“We’re getting off the chairlift now. How bad is it?” Andrew asked somewhat surprised at Nathan’s impatience.
“One tooth on the top is gone, the one next to it is almost gone and four on the bottom are really messed up.”
We could hear Stephen crying in the background. These were not “baby” teeth; Stephen had just gotten his braces off three months ago. This is a much bigger deal than a “chipped tooth,” I thought as my husband stepped up his downhill skiing from an already brisk pace to a pace that my tired legs could barely keep up with.
By the time Andrew and I arrived at the first aid tent, all three boys were visibly shaken. Stephen had teeth and blood everywhere. As a nurse, I quickly recognized that the pain was somewhat mild solely because the damage was so severe; those nerves were no longer intact. But I knew it was only a short matter of time before the inflammation started and the pain quickly followed.
We left our older sons at the top of the mountain, whisked Stephen away via an emergency exit and raced for an unfamiliar hospital that was more than 30 minutes away. After our son was admitted and given IV pain medicine, an oral surgeon came into the exam room with a large tool box. He looked around Stephen’s mouth for less than a minute before telling us he was sending our son to preop for emergency surgery. “Are you sure?!” we asked somewhat incredulously. He shook his head briskly leaving no doubt - “if we act fast we might be able to save those four bottom teeth.”
We prayed over our son, told him (and ourselves) that everything would be alright, and let him go - assuring him we would be waiting for him when he woke up. At about 1am, the surgeon came into the waiting room. He told us the surgery went “as well as could be expected”. He was determined to impress upon us that as sad as we were about Stephen’s once perfect smile, this could have been much worse. “His teeth are a mess, but there’s no evidence of a concussion, no broken jaw - or any other bone for that matter. It seems his teeth took the entire brunt of the impact. He is a very lucky boy.”
We knew it was much more than “luck”.
As He does, God used this for good. Being a “bonus baby”, Stephen sometimes felt left out with his four older brothers being so close in age to each other, as well as quite a bit older than him. He will never forget the way his 18 year old brother raced to the First Aid tent on skis while cradling him in his arms, with his 16 year old brother following briskly behind carrying all of his ski equipment. He was undeniably loved - by both God and his brothers.
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