Saved by God -- through his Dog

Baby sleeps. I am in the kitchen. High pitched screams come from the corral, where the children are helping their cousin with the cattle. I wonder why the screams. Again. I look up. This sounds wrong! I see Daniel's worker come hurrying to the house. I see Jessica come running, screaming something as she comes. I grab my cell phone and hurry toward the corral, as fast as a woman two weeks after a c section is allowed to go. Thoughts tumble through my head. Who is hurt now??? A few days after baby was born Jessica cut her finger, then Timothy developed an infection on his arm, and what now?

"The cow kicked Joseph!" she screams.

O dear God, no! Why now? How bad? Even before I reach the corral, I fumble with my phone, dialing the ER number. I just had the feeling it was that bad. I call Daniel too, who had just gone out for a moment. I get there, and there he lies on the concrete inside the corral, dirty and pale, and having a hard time breathing. I call to him through the fence. He looks at me. Good. I talk to him, he responds. Very good. I tell him to stay still, try to relax and keep breathing. "Keep your eyes open". In just a matter of minutes the first emergency responder arrives. Is it just coincidence that he was visiting the neighbor who lives next door from us? I like to think not. He is a family friend and knows Joseph very well, so this is wonderful. He checks his vitals and says they are good, and is able to keep him calm. But his painful breathing and hurting ribs tell us we need to have him taken to be x-rayed. I walk close to Joseph, take his hand and tell him I am very proud of him. He is a good and tough boy, and to remember that whatever happens to him, mommy loves him very much. Within what feels like too long of a time, the ambulance arrives. At this time I go to the house, getting this instinctive feeling that I need to check on baby, who screams at the top of her little lungs so I pick her up, trying to calm her down, or letting her calm me down as well. I hold her close as I look out the window, knowing there is nothing else I can do for my boy except pray. I see him being carried on the stretcher to the ambulance. It hurts. It makes you wonder why things like this need to happen. It makes me want to appreciate him so much more all of a sudden, and realizing what if it is too late?.... Perhaps this is why moments like this happen; to make us realize how precious the short time is that we have with our children. It could be the last anytime.

Daniel accompanies him to the hospital, which is about a 20 minute drive. 

I ask a dear friend to come over and spend the time with me, as I fear it will be a long evening. She comes and is a big comfort to me. It does not take too long for us to hear good news: no broken bones, and he is coming home! I thank the Lord. He has been so good to us once again.

Now for some more details. Joseph stands close to a door in the corral, and there is one cow in that area. He does not see the cow coming on, but all of a sudden feels the head in his stomach, pushing him against the boards of the corral. The cow does not let go, but continues for a while to 'knead' him, pushing all breath from him. He tells me at this point he had thought he was just going to die right there. Then, his dog barks fiercely at the cow. Little did we know when we got that little pup for him this year, that he would play such an important part in this event. This deterred the cow, and allowed our cousin to grab through the fence and pull Joseph to safety on the other side. He worked with him to get him to breathe, as it was a struggle at first. He has some bruises on his back that he received from being forced against the corral, and he still has some pain as he moves out of bed. We are watching his appetite, and need to keep an eye on him just to make sure there are no serious internal issues.

I asked him if he had been ready to die, and he said yes, he is ready all the time. ARE WE??? O to have the faith of a little child! For now, I appreciate him a little more, and am so happy I have the chance to tell him that--again. 

(See a photo of him with his dog by the corral)