In Kiribati, we would take a public bus, (they were more like an airport shuttle, though,) to and from school. I remember after we moved from Nanikai to the school campus at Eita, we had an even longer way to go. But I have a somewhat vivid memory of one day when we got home from school. My brother just younger than me, Eric, got off the bus before me, and went around the front to cross the street to the where we lived. I didn't see it happen, but he was hit by a small truck flying past the stopped bus; he flew a LONG way down the road, landing far from the bus. I don't remember anything after that except the SICK feeling of knowing he was hurt, if not dead! I must have fetched help from the school campus where we lived, and someone must have driven Eric to the hospital. I don't think they had ambulances, and we DIDN'T have a phone. Maybe they used the phone from the next door neighbors, The Church of God, if they had one. Anyway, Eric had had his legs both broken, one in two places.It was either late November, or early December, because he had to spend Christmas of that year in the hospital, in traction. I remember it did not feel much like Christmas that year. Mom & Dad had purchased an artificial Christmas Tree before we left the states back before we moved to Tonga back in 1972, but they hadn't take the time to put it up yet this year. I guess Mom was spending a lot of time in the hospital, and Dad at school. I remember finding a tree branch on the beach and picking it up and asking if we could set it up in Eric's hospital room, and decorate it for Christmas. That is exactly what we did. Finally, with everybody together in his room, singing Christmas carols, with a little Charlie Brown sort of tree - except not fir, of course - it was Christmas.
Eric finally got better, and came home. Poor guy. He also had his leg broken in Tonga when a huge cabinet fell over on his leg in the school gym. He was the only one of all of us kids who kept getting hurt like that. I loved that guy...still do!
(That reminds me - do you know what Karen got for one of the Christmases there? A store bought dolly Dad got her in Nauru on a business trip. But she would have none of it. She was in love with her own baby - a long ROCK, the size of a very wide barbie doll.)Merry Christmas, Eric...Karen...and all!
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I happened to be near the house when a Moroni student came to report that our son had been hit by a truck. I ran out to the road, and found that the truck driver had stopped, and picked up Eric to take him to the hospital. I got in the truck with them, so I was able to be at the hospital from the first. The driver had been speeding around the stopped bus, and Eric had stepped around the front of the bus into his path. Reports were he flew about 50 feet through the air.
Eric needed a blood transfusion as a result of heavy bruising, and one of the teachers at our school, a young woman named Rora Hicking (Laura) turned out to be a close-enough match, so she got to be the donor.
This is Eric and I thought that maybe you all would like to hear my perspective of this event.
It happened that the day this occurred was the last day of the school year. It would be equal to the first day of summer break but at Christmas time. A friend of mine at Rurubu School where we kids attended had these really cool cards. Each one had a different automobile from years past and their statistics. I remember looking through them at school with the other boys and somehow I got permission to take them home for the Christmas break. I was really excited for the break to start and spend the next two months studying these cards. Thus I did not hesitate to be the first off the bus and run for home.
That’s all I remember from before the accident. After the accident happened, I remember waking up hearing dad speaking loud and had anger in his voice. I remember wondering why. I woke up enough to look around and recognized I was being held by dad in this strange yellow/greenish truck cab (a Datson pickup truck) with a strange man driving. I must have then passed out as the next time I awoke I was looking blindingly bright lights (but I wasn’t standing so I couldn't walk into the lights). I heard voices and was able to see I was on an operating table with several people in the room all working around my left leg. I forget if my torso or my right leg was elevated but I was able to look around a little and saw my right knee that apparently had the taken the brunt of the weight as I landed after attempting to fly. It had a large flap of skin hanging open and I was amazed at how big it was. I was awake enough to be able to look around and found that there must have been bigger problems as this big gash in my knee was not even being addressed! Just about that time I heard someone say "he’s awake! Nurse give him some more" then this big black mask like thing was placed over my mouth, and the lights went out.
Apparently the truck had hit me from the side and crushed my left leg, and broken my right. Because of the damage to the left leg, it held in this traction unit pulling my leg into healing position. My right leg if I remember right was just in a cast which was removed before I left the hospital. So at the end of my hospital stay I was somewhat mobile and flirted with the nurses. I remember for the last few weeks they put me in a longer all white room with floor to ceiling louvered windows. They had them open most of the time and I had a beautiful view of the beach and ocean. I remember enjoying that view.
After finally being discharged, my left leg was put in a cast of plaster of paris. I couldn’t walk around because of this cast so I was relegated to the floor or a bed. As I sat there, I thought that because there were no crutches my size on the island, maybe I could fashion one like the one Long John Silver used in Treasure Island. So one day I started working on it. Shortly after gathering the materials dad saw me and asked what I was doing. After telling him I thought he would go on to his business as he had so much going on in his role as headmaster. Nope, he took the time to help me make out of wood two crutches like the ones we have here in the states. They were just my size and I got very good at getting around with them. I did kinda wish I could have tried being a pirate in a romantic kind of way though, oh well. These crutches worked so well that when I didn’t need them anymore, we donated them to the hospital for someone else in a similar dilemma.
Unfortunately when school started again I was not well enough to go back yet. So finally after a few weeks into the new school year I was finally well enough to start school again. When I arrived at school the first day back Mrs. Batton stood on the school house porch watching me walk up with my home made crutches and couldn’t believe that I had recovered from such a bad accident. She told me that she hadn’t thought she would see me again.
To this day I have never experienced any negative effects of this accident except a scar from the traction unit. I’m actually glad to have been able to read Susan’s account as I don’t remembered anything that happened during the time I was in the hospital. I don’t even remember the meager Christmas celebrations we had.
Wow, I'm glad that you were ok Eric! He never had any long term effects around me, I had to take the stories as proof that his legs were broken. Though I do remember seeing the pictures of Eric all tied up to the traction device. So glad that he was healed!
As for my rock...I really wish they had brought that one home with us so I could have some proof of that! I can only rely on stories for that one too!
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