See these average looking work boots. They are dirty, brown, and a Wal-mart special purchased on the fly one day when we were making a Wal-mart run in town (Waco) and hubby remembered he needed some replacements. But here is their most important quality...
STEEL TOE. Because of this feature my David still has his toes....thank the Lord.
Sunday, yes, Father's Day, there was no big celebration (we usually lay low on Sundays anyway), our oldest girls were spending the day with their mother's father and so David headed out for a few simple tasks in the pasture with our youngest cowgirl in training, Sophia. They had been out for a few hours and I was just expecting them to get home when the phone rang. As I picked it up, I could hear grunting, and then David yelling out "Jenny, my foot is pinned down by the trailer get Allen and come quick!!!" I ran out our front door and saw Allen (David's brother) and my nephew Nick (16 yo) just heading into their home (our two homes share a driveway out here in the boonies) and I called out, "There is an emergency and David is hurt out in the pasture!"
In no time we reached David, (Allen flew the mile and a half down our rutted dirt road) And as we arrived I noticed that the part of the two wheeled trailer (loaded with a 500 gallon FULL water tank), the neck, that usually is attached to the ball hitch of the truck was pressed firmly to the ground pinning my husband's left foot so hard to the ground I couldn't make out his foot underneath it. The three of us (well, mostly Allen, and Nick) started to try to heave the trailer neck off his foot, only to painfully budge it up before it pressed down again. David howled, and next Allen took a steel bar (part of the jack that had given way and lead to the trailer on the foot) and dug it under the trailer neck as Nick, David and I, again lifted the trailer only about three inches up, but enough for David to pry his boot off the neck and out of the way.
Only then did I notice our silent still Sophia, standing two feet away looking startled yet dry eyed. Allen, the closest to her, grabbed her and handed her to me and Nick helped David into the truck and we were off again....to the small town ER only a few minutes away.
As Allen again flew down the highway into town to the ER, poor little Sophia let loose with bawling. David grimaced and grabbed his boot in awful pain but was quiet. When we arrived in the ER, and I signed papers (it must be done, you know), I finally was able to take in the state of us. Allen, just before the emergency, had just come in from the pasture and had on his most breezy jeans (with more than 8 holes plus some patches) and his sweat and dirt covered ratty old work shirt, Nick was in the midst of getting dressed and had on an old dirty t-shirt, new shorts and dirty dusty old work boots, and I with no make up, no comb through the hair, an old t-shirt, and shorts plus neon blue Crocs.....lovely.
But thankfully for a small town ER, they got David back quickly, and then it was boot removal time.....For what we had seen in the pasture, we all felt that toes might be lost, but as the boot came off.....Hallelujah! The sock was intact, and only a pencil sized dot of blood was to be seen. Then the nurse cut off the sock and immediately we were faced with two deep purple near black toes (big toe and adjacent toe). David, who rarely takes any type of medication, asked the nurse, "Please, can something be done for the pain?" But he had to wait as he was whisked off for x-rays, once he was in a room, the morphine came and helped some, but then the word was quickly in from the x-ray...his second toe was fractured and had to be reset...yikes. It seemed the next moment the capable country doctor was putting in a local and in 1 minute it was set and immediately pinked up. Ahhhh.
David was thankful for the local, as it eased the sharpest of the pain, and then it was one more x-ray....which showed the toe to be nicely back in place. During the times in between the x-rays David told his tale, and we looked over the boot that had been on the injured foot. As you can see the boot is a bit mangled and torn, the thick sole on one side even showed that the impact had cut it somewhat, but the steel.....not bent one little bit. Job well done boots!
Honestly, at times I am at odds with the demands of the livestock and the land. David LOVES the land, the work, and the livestock. The girls have grown up learning skills (putting up fences, clearing pastures, putting down seed for hay, running a tractor, shots for healthy cows, cutting calves for sale, putting out feed daily, etc) that are invaluable. So, in light of the scare on Sunday I prayed and considered our priorities. And I watched Monday as Sara, my niece Alyssa, Sophia, my sister-in-law Michelle and I moved cows from the waterless pasture (this is not my normal at all....I'm still learning here) under David's direction, to the area with a tank and was moved by the family teamwork. Then last night I saw Sara put herself to some hard work, non complaining, sure of what she was doing and stepping up to help. It is hard, there are ups and downs with cattle prices, feed cost, seed cost, and time invested but how special that we are in this together, learning as we go.
