Tuesday, April 22, 2014

O is for Ouch

O is for ouch. (That's what you say when something hurts. It's safe to say. Unlike some other words...)

When my sister and I went out to visit our non- verbal autistic brother yesterday, she brought along a few old photographs. One was of my brothers and a cousin with our maternal grandfather. Grandpa Chambery died when I was just a year and a half old. My sisters never met him.

I glanced at the picture, taking in the smiling faces of  my brothers and cousin and set it back in her car's console. A few minutes later she said, "Hey, what happened to Grandpa Chambery's left index finger?"

I laughed. I hadn't realized she didn't know the story. "He got it smashed in an elevator of some kind on the hill by their house," I told her. "It was crushed so bad that they cut his finger open, removed all the broken bones, and rolled the skin up." (Kind of gives you shivers, doesn't it?) I knew the story from Mom, but I'd never noticed his hand in old photos. In fact, I'd have forgotten about it altogether if Rachel hadn't mentioned it.

On our ride with Tim, Rachel showed him the picture. She asked if he knew Grandpa was missing an index finger. (Apparently there is another photo where Tim is holding his left hand.) I reiterated the story and said, "He probably remembers it better than I do." You should have seen the smile on his face. Maybe that's why I got the kiss on the cheek when we dropped him off again. (Then again, maybe he really does think I'm cuter than Rachel.)

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11 comments:

  1. That was a nice non verbal reaction from Tim!

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  2. Enjoyable reading, despite the "ouch"!

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  3. Oh goodness! Reminds me of the day my Dad got his finger caught in the table saw and some friends just happened to drop in and rushed him to Emergency! They did manage to save it but it never bent properly after that.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  4. What a great story and picture. A sweet response from your brother...I not getting into the middle of who is the cutest....haha.

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  5. I stepped on a nail once. Said more than ouch.

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  6. I asked him if he "remembered" because I was trying to get him to reminisce a bit, and since it was something that was new to me I thought I could question him to jog his memory a bit. I really wish he typed me out his version of the story he remembered being told about it, and what he thought of the missing finger as a small boy.
    I definitely think he thinks you're cuter.

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  7. Rolling the skin up is the weirdest part! It really does look rolled!

    Cute story about your brother. I love it when I get kisses from my guys!

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  8. What a lovely reaction from your brother. My mother got her finger caught in farm machinery but 'luckily' only the top part was missing.

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  9. I remember mom telling that story more than once. I'm surprised Rachel doesn't. Never knew there was a picture either.

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