Saturday evening Matthew and I went on a walk with Matheson and Lindy tagging along in the wagon. It was 8:58pm and we were planning on a bath quickly followed by bedtime. As they often do, Matheson and Lindy headed into the basement to play with the toys down there, and I hollered, "Don't go down there. It's time for a bath" A statement I knew would get both of them upstairs with no whining or dawdling. Without actually seeing it, we think that in his hurry Matheson bumped into Lindy causing her to lose her balance. She fell off the side of the basement steps, about a five foot drop onto the concrete floor. She stood up on her own in the time it took Matt to leap down the stairs, and as he handed her to me her nose started bleeding. I hugged her for about 2 minutes while she cried and, in that time her eye had swollen shut and the left side of her forehead was bulging. We were on our way to the ER!

In the van Matthew called our good friends, Carl and Nicole Ohrenberg (The O's - we affectionately call them), and asked them to start praying. They immediately offered to keep Matheson if we needed and he spent the night with them. After several ER doctors examinations, a cat-scan, x-rays, and conferring over the phone with our pediatrician it was decided that Lindy should go to The Toledo Children's Hospital for observance which meant she and I had a our first ambulance ride. The transport team was great, and instead of wishing me "Good luck" actually offered their prayers for us. Our first two hours at TCH entailed a lot of poking and prodding on Lindy, and hundreds of questions for Matthew and I. A neurosurgeon explained the films showing Lindy has a hairline fracture on the orbital that houses her left eye and there seems to be no trauma to her brain. They sent us home Sunday afternoon and we will be following up in the next week with several Doctors to make sure her vision isn't affected and that she is healing properly.

In the first two hours after the fall, Lindy didn't say any words which had me very concerned. When she did finally speak it was to say 'Daddy'. Shortly after we reached Toledo Children's Hospital she said 'dats a ladybug' about a sticker she'd been given by one of the nurses. But, I really knew she was herself when she clawed at the nurses when they tried to put sensors on her chest.

When faced with the possibility that my little baby could be dying, or have brain-damage I can't describe to you the fear that welled within. I only know how grateful I was to feel the constant presence of Jesus with me throughout, and it's not that I could feel Him telling me everything was going to be okay. In fact, I wanted that even prayed for that kind of peace, and it didn't come. What was there - right away - was a knowledge stronger than my fears...the knowledge that God was with me. It's a truth that I've come to cling to - God may not save me from pain, suffering or sorrow but, He will never abandon me, never forsake me, never take His love away from me. I pray that peace for all of you.

Today Lindy is watching The Little Mermaid with her big brother, and aside from her present likeness to Rocky Balboa, you would never know the scare she gave all of us.