A lot of people are asking what happened, so I figured I'd write the story out, just like I did when he got bit by the copperhead last summer.
Just typing that makes me feel so bad for my baby, he's been through so much and he's not even 4 years old! =( Well, here's what happened...
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Last night, around 9:00pm, I have both my kids in the living room watching Finding Nemo. The movie was just ending, and they were going to be put to bed as soon as it was over. Mike was working late, and was on his way home. I went to the bathroom, and came out about 15 minutes or so later. I remember being happy, because for the first time in so long, I was able to shut and lock the bathroom door and count to three without having a child knocking, or crying, or saying "Mama, I go pee toooooooo!" The living room was quiet, and I thought they had fallen asleep. But when I looked, they were both gone. The front door was slightly ajar and I then thought that they must be on the porch; there are some nights that they open the door and sit on the porch, loving their dog to death.
Levi was on the front porch, right by the door. David was nowhere to be seen. I got worried, because the sun was already down. The lights were turn on on Mike's tractor, and my first thought was that Mike had come home and went straight to the tractor before coming inside. He's done that before, so it wasn't impossible. And with the bright lights of the porch and tractor, the darkness outside the yard seemed even darker, making it hard to tell if Mike's dark red truck was in the driveway. But the closer I got to the tractor the more I was realizing that no one was out there. That's when I started freaking out, and calling out for David while running everywhere I could think to look.
I checked in the house, in every room, every closet, every cabinet, I even checked the dryer! I was calling and calling but couldn't find him. I didn't understand why he would run off when it was already dark out, he's never done this before. I immediately grabbed Levi, went to my truck, and started toward the east side of the place, to my husband's deer feeder. I assumed David would head in a direction that his daddy typically goes, since Mike still wasn't home yet. Just as I was heading that direction, I see headlights at the gate and knew Mike was home. I called him, and asked him if he saw David on the driveway. He cautiously answers no, and I could hear him freaking out when I said "David is gone." Through a bunch of curse words I made out that he wanted me to head back to the house, where he jumped in the truck with a spotlight and we started searching again.
We checked his deer feeder again, and we checked the deer feeder to the west (we like the thought of deer running happily and safely around the property-- they are wonderful sights to see when doing the dishes in the morning). Still not seeing him, we head down the driveway, shining the spotlight around the edge of the lake. We get down the driveway, turn around, and head back to the house. I get out of the truck and take Levi in the house, Mike heads back out in his truck around the place. Mike calls his parents; I call 9-1-1. I don't know if Mike called anyone else, but I also called our best friend Chris.
Within half an hour, the property is teeming with spotlights, headlights, flashlights, cell phone lights-- any light anyone could find. It's now 9:53pm. I speak to a police officer, giving a description of David and what he's wearing, although there wasn't much to say, since he was in just a diaper. I confirmed that I had double, triple, and quadruple checked the house, and as everyone went off in different directions calling out for David, I felt useless stuck at the house. But I knew that someone had to stay home with Levi; I had carried him around through the pasture for a good 20 minutes until I noticed he was getting cold and mosquitos were flocking to us. I took Levi inside, washed him up, changed him, and the two of us sat on the front porch, praying and awaiting any sign that our beloved David was safe.
Levi was doing his best to cheer me up. I have to give credit to a 17 month old child who has no idea what is going on, he sure knew that something was wrong, and that it was about his big brother. He kept smiling up at me and patting my shoulder, and giving me kisses and hugs. Every smile from him brought tears from me, but I just told him that it was going to be okay, that they would find his big brother, and that he would be alright. I prayed for his safety, for his well-being, that he wasn't scared, that if he heard someone yelling he would yell back... for everything. I even broke down to Levi and begged him, that if close siblings really do have some sort of psychic connection, would he PLEASE tell his brother to come home.
Time seemed to crawl by, but it did pass. People started driving back to the house, and I was getting frustrated; thinking "Don't come back to the house unless he's been found, you all need to be out there, looking for him!" Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful and grateful for every single person who came out that late at night to help search, every person who had us in their prayers, and every person who hoped he would come home safe. I was just a very worried mama.
Next thing I knew I heard someone say "They found him." I jumped up, Levi still in my arms, and ran forward into the front yard, asking if I had heard right; if they had found him. They said yes, and I fell to the ground. Someone came to comfort me, tell me it was alright, and I turned around to see our Propane delivery guy and family friend, Ricky. I didn't realize just how many people had come out to help, and I can't even express just how thankful I truly am. Mike was back at the house, and David was safe. When I first saw him I burst into tears, but when I got up closer and saw just how many scratches he had on him, I cried even harder. He had gone through mesquite trees, briar thorns... he was covered from head to toe in scratches. Nothing too deep, nothing requiring stitches, but it still looked awful. It tore my heart apart, and I felt responsible for each and every scratch he had. It was on my watch that he ran off, and it was my conscience that it would weigh on. But at that moment, all I could think was that he was home; he was safe.
As everyone congratulated my husband on his son's safe return, they started to leave. An ambulance came and the EMTs checked him out, told us he wasn't in any need to rush to the hospital unless we wanted him checked out, but that he would heal well with plenty of children's tylenol, and neosporin. A police officer wrote out a report, we signed a paper for the EMTs, Mike gave David a bath with poison-ivy-oil-remover (just in case), we had a few minutes with our best friends, and then we were alone. Mike's mom and stepdad came over and held David for a while, while Mike told us how he found David.
As he told us, he had looked around and saw that no one was checking the back of the property. Although David had never shown any interest in going back that direction, and it was covered in mesquite trees (with lots of thorns) it was still a direction that needed to be searched. So a guy drove Mike back there in his truck, and every once in a while they would stop and call out for David. Mike thought he heard something in the far far back corner, and they headed over there. He called out for David and heard a sound, muffled, and he couldn't quite tell if it was David or a bobcat or some other wild creature. He called again, thought he heard "daddy" and quickly jumped the fence and rolled, almost like a stunt in an action movie, and found himself along a dry creek bed. He called out for David again, and when he was greeted with silence, he was afraid he might be hearing things; that his imagination was playing tricks on him. He called out again, and heard "Daddy!" and as he shined his light in front of him, there stood David under a tree in a small clearing, just standing there staring at him, completely naked. Apparently he had taken his diaper off at some point. Regardless, he was safe, and that was all that mattered.
This morning, everything seems like it's back to normal. David is fine, though in a bit of pain from all his scratches. Every few hours we clean him up with peroxide and spray him with Bactine, and it soothes the pain. He's just as playful and energetic as ever (though he slept soundly all night long). Levi doesn't seem phased at all, like he knew it would all be okay. Mike and I are doing well, the front door has a new lock on it, much higher up. It's Friday, our friends are over, and we can look back on this and laugh. Well... maybe not laugh quite yet... but at least look back with relief, a newfound respect for door locks, and a better understanding of our children and what they are capable of. We also are now slightly more prepared in the ways of protecting our kids. We can never prepare for everything ahead of time, as my parents reminded me, but as we go through life, we learn. And I'm so glad to move on and put this all behind me. I have never been so scared in my life... and I never want to feel these feelings again.
Once again I just want to say thank you to everyone who came out last night and helped find my baby. Thank you for everyone who was a part of the search team in some way, who had a loved one who was out searching, and everyone who had my son in their thoughts and prayers. I appreciate it more than you know, and I am so grateful to have my son safely back in my arms once again. ♥
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