Ethan is 17 months old. We truely are blessed to have him as part of our family. We just cannot get enough of him. His two sisters Hallie and Ava absolutely adore him and he them.
On Saturday, February 19, 2011 Ethan suffered serious 1st and 2nd degree burns over 20-25% of his body. We were cooking with some hot oil and out of nowhere he grabbed the plug from the skillet and pulled the hott oil off the counter spilling the oil all over his head and body. Britt's motherly instincts kicked in as she quickly put her hand over his eye brows shielding the hot burning oil from his face.
I don't know that I'll be able to forget the terror that followed; the image of him being burned is imprinted in my mind. Immediately Britt grabbed Ethan and ran downstairs to the bathroom. I grabbed the phone and called 911. Those first few seconds seemed like and eternity as the 911 operator asked my address and what the problem was. I remember thinking, I don't have time to answer all these questions! The EMS quickly arrived, and rushed Ethan to the hospital.
Upon arriving at the hospital, I found a large team of doctors and nurses attending to my little boy in the emergency room. We were told that he was going to be airlifted to the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary. From then on, it was just a waiting game for us as we waited for the SPARC Team (fixed wing airplane) to arrive. As we waited by his bedside, Grant (Brittany's dad) and I gave Ethan a blessing. Throughout my life I have witnessed the healing power of priesthood blessings. Not only have I personally witnessed many of these miracles first hand, I have heard many experiences of others whose lives have been blessed when the power of the priesthood coupled with faith have been exercised in the behalf of others. When the SPARC team arrived, I felt an instant calming of all my nerves and shock. I had a feeling that everything would be ok. The pediatric team was great, they instantly had my full confidence as they calmly packed Ethan up and left for Calgary. Britt and I returned home, packed what we needed for a couple of days and drove through the night with my parents (Bart & Sue Anderson).
We pulled up to the hospital around 3:30 am and found Ethan waiting for us in the pediatric intensive unit. By this time, Ethan's head had swollen extensively to the point where he didn't look anything like himself. It was kind of disturbing at first but we quickly grew on his new look.
That first night went by quickly with little sleep. It seemed as though we had new doctors and nurses coming in every couple of minutes introducing themselves as member of specialty teams that would be working specifically on Ethan. So far, Ethan has his own personal plastic surgeon, physiotherapist, pediatricians, dietitians, multiple nurses, and a large support group surrounding him consisting of family and concerned individuals. It has been overwhelming hearing how many people have been praying and fasting for him. People all over the world are keeping him in their prayers. So thank-you all who have shown interest in our little boy, thank-you for your prayers, Ethan needs as much as he can get.
Although so much more has happened than what I've written we will try to keep this page up as new information is given. We will also be posting some pictures shortly.
