Our July 8th Fun and Not So Fun Adventure . . .

Our first weeks of July were such a delight with visits from the Sevy's, Baileys and Stalcups! How we love our wonderful sons-in-law and their thoughtful sacrifices to make these visits possible. I will write more of the time we had together later but due to requests, at this time I write of our July 8th experience:

Carey and kids had just left for Washington State and we had planned a day with the Sevy's and Stalcups to explore a lava tube cave north of the Rexburg area. It is known as the Civil Defense Cave as it was designated a shelter in case of missile attack during the cold war. It is so far from anything other than perhaps wolves and coyotes, I can't imagine who on earth would ever get to it as a shelter :D

At any rate, when we finally made the 25 minute drive over the last four mile stretch (a very rough red soil path they call a road), and arrived at the cave entrance, I knew we were definitely unprepared for the experience. Apparently there is a very interesting 1 1/2 mile hike through the tube that is very easily negotiable, however, the entrance is another matter altogether. I would never have made 1/2 a mile let alone the full length of the walk. I am just slowly regaining strength. I had concern as we saw the cave entrance. The rocky jags and gaps were really rough. I said "No toddlers, 8 month pregnant women or grandmothers on this one."

Surprise, surprise - no one listened to me as they all scrambled for the adventure ahead. Unfortunately, Claigh was not yet down to the entrance to back me up or hear my concern. Ash was already most of the way in when he got there and had one last move from a large boulder to another to be past the worst of the worst. There was about a three foot gap between the boulders. I couldn't see that area, just the tops of the bodies as they stood on the first of those two rocks.

As Claigh approached her, she reached out for his hands and said, "Help me get down." He took her hands, still unsure of the situation and without having really surveyed what was happening. As she went down, she missed the mark and fell a couple of feet further than expected. This pulled Claigh forward over the top of her. He did manage to have her settled before the forward motion took over for him. All I could see was Claigh's head go down first and his feet fly in the air behind him. It had the look of a long body dive into a pool. The screams and the sight were truly terrifying. While I could see him sail forward, where he was headed was hidden from my view. I knew I could lose him. For all I knew, he was flying head first into a jagged field of rock. As it turned out, he was going across the chasm onto a very large and quite smooth boulder that was angled up at about forty-five degrees.

Claigh said he had a quick thought, "Should I roll?" but knew instantly it would be best to go hands first and do all he could to keep his head up. He caught himself in push up position but the fall was pretty hard needless to say. (Thank goodness for his three to four workouts with weights every week!) He did bruise his sternum and was in extreme pain in both of his wrists and forearms. His right leg was pretty scraped up as well. It took him quite sometime before he could talk. I would say it was at least twenty five minutes before I knew he was "Okay" and they could help him up to get out of the cave.

Our Will (Ash's four year old) was pretty upset as he was right there and didn't like the blood on Grandpa's leg. He said, "I hate caves." I said, "Oh Will, caves are fun to explore. We just sometimes take a fall." I reminded him how when he learned to ride his two wheeler in the spring he sometimes fell and hurt his knee. He quickly pulled his shorts up and showed me his latest scar. We talked about how much he liked to ride his bike and that the few hurts were just a part of learning. I assured him that falls are a part of life. They can happen in a cave. They can happen at home. We just get back up and our bodies heal and we try again.

I wanted to get right back to town which would take us a good 30-40 minutes but everyone else decided a bit of a surface hike was in order! Trying to stay sane, I enjoyed walking close to the van to explore the miniature wild flowers that were tucked into the sage. With the extensive rain and snow pack this year the flowers are plentiful but you have to really look for them as they are very small and hidden. I found over ten different varieties but honestly I just wanted to be in the van on the way to x-ray equipment! (It's a woman thing.)

As we headed back into town, I began to make calls to find out which facilities were on our insurance while Claigh insisted he didn't need to see a doctor. (It's a man thing!)

Claigh's right wrist started to swell and he began to be agreeable to the fact that we were headed for x-rays. We got to Rexburg, switched into our car to head for the Urgent Care Center, and sent the rest on their way to the Taco Bus and Splash Park.

When the doctor first looked at the X-Rays, he thought both wrists were broken. They sent them to Idaho Falls for a special read by a radiologist who said no to the left wrist and definitely to the right. Claigh was splinted to stabilize the right wrist and allow for the swelling to go down. He did get a prescription for Lori-tab but we didn't have to fill it as he was able to manage the pain with Ibuprofen and aspirin.

Monday, we saw our family doctor for the casting of the right wrist. The break is in his radius just above his thumb joint.

Today, Tuesday the 12th, Claigh is sporting a blue cast. He has some pain in his sternum, his left wrist has improved remarkably from it's sprained condition and his leg scrapes are well on their way to full mend.

Claigh feels strongly that divine intervention kept his head up from injury. He has no strain in his neck or shoulder or back. With the upward angle of the rock he landed on, he can't imagine how he alone could have kept his head safe with a three foot downward trajectory onto an upward slanting boulder. We are very, very grateful!

Ashlee only suffered a very minor scrape under her one arm that didn't even draw blood. The baby is doing wonderfully and very anticipated. The Stalcup insurance doesn't cover ultra-sounds so they do not know if we are having a boy or girl. We are prepared for either just like when we had our children years ago. Ashlee is due August 21st but each of her children have been born 2 weeks early so it could be the 7th! Imagine that!!

August 7th is the day that Kes and Grandpa celebrate their birthdays and this year Kes is eight years old. We will gather at the reservoir in Soda Springs that Sabbath day for her baptism. Ashlee and Steve are hoping the baby will hold off until evening at least but as we all know babies have their own timing. She could actually deliver closer to her due date this time.

Life is very very good!