Ski School

 James did his second year of ski school. He did not love having to go to the lesson part, but loved skiing with his friends. 

On the third week of ski school I got a very scare call. I was getting dinner ready and helping the other kids with homework when my phone rang and Danika Newton's name came up on my phone. she is one of the organizers for ski school, so my heart dropped. I knew James was ether hurt or had done something really bad to get in trouble. Danika told me that James had fallen off of the ski lift. They were going to bring him down on the taboggan and an ambulance had been called. She did not know anything else, but wanted to know if I wanted to come up to the hill or meet them at the hospital. I said I would come up and then the call was dropped. I started getting ready to go and was trying to figure out how to get Ethan to basketball. Danika called again and let me talk to Dean Lords who is in charge of the Ski patrol. Dean said they were down grading the seriousness, but still wanted the ambulance to come. He asked if I knew were the medical building was. My brain was to overwhelmed and I could not think, so he gave me on instructions. I called Jeremy to tell him what was happening. This is when I lost it and could not talk with out crying. We decided that Jeremy would leave work and come home to be with the other kids and get Ethan to basketball. I would let him know what was happening when I got to see James and go from there. I drove probably way to fast up to Kelly's. I had to pull over for the ambulance at the Heise bridge. I followed them all the way up. Cassie Landon, one of the chaperons,  called trying to get some information they needed, but the call was dropped. As we got to Kelly's I continued to follow the ambulance. Workers tried to stop me twice, but I told them the ambulance was for my son and they let me through. When I got to the medical building I did not have a mask. Thankfully they provided one for me. I was thankful to see James laying on the table, weekly smiling up at me and said "Hi Mom." They said he had been very tough and not cried. He let a few tears fall after I got there. Cassie Landon had come in with James because she knew him and I was thankful that Rachel Thorp was another chaperon who is an EMT. She had checked James out and felt like he was fine and did not need the ambulance. They told me it was up to me. After listening to Rachel I chose not to have the ambulance look at James or take him. I had to fill out some paper work, find James bag and boots (thanks to Andrea Marion and Alicia Johnson) for helping find his things, etc. Then they helped him out to the van. The head of the maintenance asked us what happened because he was in charge of those running the ski lifts. I could only let James tell the story and tell what I had been told because I was not there. This is the story as I have pieced it together from those who were there. 

James was going to get on the new ski lift on the far side with Jenna Landon and Garritie Webb. The new lift is taller and they were telling the kids that they would need to jump to get on. It was a very cold day and kind of frosty. When James went to get on he slipped and did not make it on. At first he thought they would stop the lift, but then it did not stop. Even when the girls his was with and other kids on the lift were yelling for them to stop the lift. Somehow they did not seek that he was not on and did not hear the kids yelling to stop. James helmet had gotten stuck in the safety bar, so he could not just drop at the beginning. Jenna and Garritie tried to hold him on and James tried to kick his skies off. He did get one off. He said he was trying to kind of kid around about falling or dying if he fell, but was a really scarred inside. He made it up to the 6th pole were it kind of levels off and is not quite so steep. They said it was about a15-17 feet fall. The safety bar finally popped up and James could only hold on for a few more second then he fell. James said it happened so fast he does not really remember the fall. We know he was watched over. He was falling strait down and then landed on his back. I think this saved us from having high impact on his ankles and legs that would have probably broke it. He was able to sit up and take his helmet off. One of the ski patrol had seen him hanging before he fell and had already radioing in. He was right there to help him as soon as he fell. They tobogganed him down the hill, and realized he was a miracle. No broken bones, not concussion. When I got the call I was sure it was at least a broken bone, or head injurie, but besides a sore back he walked away from it. He loved all the text and calls from people who were worried about him. I knew he would be okay when the first think he said when we got in the van was. "Mom, are you never going to let me go skiing again." His second worry was if he could play in his basketball game on Saturday. I took him to the chiropractor just to make sure nothing was out of place and he went back to ski school the next week.

All in all it was the best outcome possible, but a scary experience and we defiantly realize how blessed we are.