Thread: A fathers elation!

The first part of my story is rather grim but necessary to tell so that you may better understand my elation:
About two weeks ago on a Saturday I was coming home with all three of my children. I took them out to give my wife a little breathing room. I drove up to the gate of our property. I stopped, got out of the car and opened the gate. As I turned to get back in the car I noticed my middle child Matthew had gotten out of the car and was heading to the house. "That's odd" I thought. "The children never get out of the car until we get inside the property." This should've raised a red flag. I get back into the car only to hear my oldest son Joshua whine "I wanted to get out of the car also but Sandra won't let me." I told them to stay put until we drive up to the house. I start to drive when Joshua screams "DAD!" I turn around to see what the problem is and notice Sandra's door is open at the same time I hear her scream. I stop the car and run around to her side of the car. she was lying there on her back screaming daddy, blood coming out of a gaping hole on the side of her knee about the size of a squished baseball. I pick her up and run to the house with her and we clean the wound, bandage it. Blood everywhere. My shirt covered in blood. A trail of blood running through the house to the bathroom. My wife and littlegirl quickly going into shock. I calmed right down. nothing will move me until my daughter is safe.
We hopped in the car and drove to the nearest hospital. They performed surgery. No broken bones, only the missing skin and flesh.

2 days later. I feel as if I had been punched in the stomach several times. I had no energy, no enertia to do work. I could barely speak above a whisper, tears often coming to my eyes.

1 week later. I feel much better, not great or even good mind you, just better. My little girl is getting out of bed and hobbling about in her brace, which prevents her from bending her knee, a bit insisting on doing things by herself now.

1 1/2 week later. tears welling up occasionally in the times where I have little to do. The doctor informs us that another operation is needed. Just a skin graft due to the surrounding tissue not viable for growing skin ( They say the skin is dead) but it left my wife sobbing and acted like another punch in the gut to me.

Today. She is happy and chirpy. She has been this way all week. I love her laugh. Matthew comes running in "Daddy, daddy! Sandra has climbed a tree in her brace and everything!" All I could think was that she was going to seriously hurt herself. I ran as quickly as I could to the pine tree next to the goat pen only to find my little girl sitting on a branch about six feet off the ground, smiling at me and saying "Daddy, look, I can climb trees again!' I told her that she was not to do that because she might do damage to her wound but, of course, I could not contain the smile on my face or the joy in my heart.