April 20, 1940
"Aunt Erin, what happened to Aunt Elizabeth?" Young John asked.
Erin went and hugged him. "Aunt Elizabeth had an accident. She fell on a log pile."
"Is she gonna be okay?" John looked near tears.
"I hope so." Erin smiled. She took John's hand. "Let's go help your mama, Johnny."
Joy and Jen were quietly playing with their dolls.
Erin took John and sat next to Jenny. Jenny was holding Isaac.
"How are you doing?" Erin asked her 4-month pregnant sister-in-law.
"Good." Jenny smiled. "How about you?"
"Okay." Erin nodded. "How is that baby?"
Jenny smiled. "Growing like a weed every day."
Erin smiled. "Do you think it's gonna be a boy or a girl?"
"Well another boy would be wonderful, but Jen needs a little sister."
Erin smiled. "When's your due date?"
"September 8th."
"Mary Ellen's due August 4th. These two will be the same age."
"Does Mary Ellen know if it's a boy or a girl?"
"Elizabeth's convinced it's a girl." Erin said without thinking. She paused. "I sure hope Elizabeth's okay."
"Me too." Jenny said quietly.
At the hospital, Curt was one of the doctors with Elizabeth.
"She needs surgery." The head doctor said.
Curt nodded. "I'll go talk to John and Olivia."
Curt went out and spoke to his in-laws.
"It's for the best, right Curt?" John asked.
Curt nodded. "She'll never have full range of motion in her legs if we don't do the surgery."
John and Olivia nodded. "Whatever it takes."
Curt nodded and went back to surgery.
It seemed like years before Mary Ellen came out.
"She's out of surgery." Mary Ellen said.
Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we see her?"
"Not until she's out of recovery, which may be another hour or two."
"Can we stay until we can see her?"
Mary Ellen nodded. She walked past her brothers. She looked directly at Ben and Jim Bob. "I feel sorry for you two. If you hadn't been so irresponsible none of this would have happened."
"Mary Ellen." Olivia said.
"This is all on your shoulders, every bit of it!"
"Mary Ellen, there's no one to blame."
"I don't believe that. It's your fault that my sister may never be the same again."
"That is enough, there's hurt as it is!" Olivia reprimanded her daughter.
Jim Bob walked out of the hospital.
John called after his son.
"Let him go, Son. He's carrying a heavy burden." Zeb replied.
John couldn't imagine how Ben and Jim Bob were feeling. While they had been irresponsible and not done what he had told them, he couldn't imagine the burden they were feeling. They had to feel like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. He hoped that he could be at least a little encouragement to them.