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it was so unnecessary…

(disclaimer: some of this may be slightly inaccurate, but it’s as much as i know at this point.)

the family of my dad’s longtime coworker hasn’t had the easiest time lately. their 9 year old son died of cancer 4 years ago (and let me tell you, going to a 9 year old’s funeral SUCKS), among other things. since their son died, they decided to become foster parents and most recently were given 3 siblings. two months ago, they decided to adopt them.

fast forward to today. the wife and 2 1/2 year old (the youngest) were out at a nationwide discount store, which shall remain nameless. something happened to where a shelving unit fell on the daughter (i don’t know if it wasn’t secured or what, but i 99.5% doubt that it happened as a result of the kids playing with it). and we’re talking a half-wall wooden freaking HEAVY shelving unit. so an ambulance came and they both went to the ER.

x-rays were taken, and (this is where my memory gets a little iffy) i believe she’s got a splintered femur (thigh bone). at the moment, they have her on morphine and vicodin (apparently her muscle’s twitching and they’re trying to get it calm). and she’s in traction. and she’ll be in a body cast for who-knows-how-long. never mind the fact that there’s 3 kids at home and the hospital she’s at now is in downtown GR, which is about 25-30 miles from their house. and of course, due to her age, she can’t be left at the hospital alone!

the coworker thinks the store has his wife’s cell # while they were waiting for the ambulance, and we don’t know if they’ve called yet to see what happened. but my dad told them not to talk until they consult a lawyer first… and i wouldn’t be surprised if there’s talk of a lawsuit soon…

7/15 - a few random additions:

- it turns out the wall had a few framed mirrors hanging on it.. so who knows how much weight that added to the wall…

- it’s worse than the doctors originally thought. she’ll be in traction for 2 1/2 weeks (a week longer than expected) and the body cast afterward will be for a longer time frame as well.

- yesterday, the oldest went with her grandparents back to the store to buy the bedroom set she had picked out (that was the intent of the shopping trip). first, the store immediately offered to GIVE them the bedroom set. (nice try. i’m sure that was partially a strategy move. they didn’t go for it.) a few of the employees recognized her and asked if someone could call the store and let them know how her sister was doing. so one of the parents called and asked for the store manager, and what did they get as a result? one massive dose of attitude, including a snotty “i didn’t ask for you to call me.”

- the insurance company lawyers are going to make things interesting… they’ve asked for the family to keep records of EVERYTHING this mess will cost them (gas back and forth, meals at the hospital, etc). never mind the fact that no one has any idea what this could end up costing if she needs surgery at, say, 8-9 years old…