One of my greatest cottage pleasures is our traditional night time campfire.  Some of my  favourite family moments have taken place while sitting around that fire; roasting  and toasting; listening to good music and having lively family discussions.

This past weekend, what would normally have been another fun family campfire, turned into the stuff that nightmares are made of.

The night started out like many others with good food, great company and a beautiful summer evening.  Shortly after dinner, we lit the campfire that had been thoughtfully constructed earlier in the day. Drinks were served. Snacks came out. Stories and laughter began. The night was cool with a sky full of stars.  There was a gentle breeze off the river.  The fire warmed us.  We sat around it for a few hours enjoying each other’s company; kids, dogs, adults.

Toward the end of the evening, the unthinkable, unimaginable, happened.  My Aunt, after having said her goodnights to everyone, turned to make her way to the cottage.  Unfortunately, she didn’t make it that far. Having caught her foot on an upturned brick, she tumbled, head first into the campfire! What happened next is a blur of activity fraught with anxiety and panic.  My brother in law, acted swiftly and grabbed my aunt immediately out of the fire. My sister ran to get wet towels and first aid supplies.  I dialed 911 and my husband ran up the hill to watch for the paramedics.

Miraculously, and thankfully, my Aunt came out of this with only a broken wrist and some serious bumps and bruises.  She was not burned except for a small area on one hand and on her cheek, thanks to the quick actions of my brother in law.  Her fall was ten days ago and I cannot get the sights, sounds and emotions of that evening out of my head.

What usually happens after any accident is an analysis of what went wrong.  I’ll rehash it now in the hopes that it will help prevent you from having the same thing, or something worse, happen to you or someone you love.

With the clarity of hindsight, we now realize, to our horror, that we  are to blame for the accident.  The bricks around our fire pit were uneven, making for unsure footing and a trip hazard waiting to happen.  This caused my Aunt to fall and for that I am so very sorry.

As I was called 911 that night, in utter panic, I remember stumbling over the questions that the dispatcher was asking me.  I also remember thinking that I was very greatful that my cellphone worked.  Like a lot of cottages, we do not have a land line phone.  We rely on our cell phones.  Last year, we had a cellphone contract through a carrier whose coverage was lousy at our cottage.  This year, thankfully, we had switched to a carrier using Bell cell towers and the coverage is good. My frantic 911 call went through immediately.

Among the many questions asked on my call to the 911 dispatch was of course, “What is your address?”  Since it is my cottage, I knew the answer, even in my panicked state! The dispatcher also asked me for the nearest main intersection close to us.  As I was telling the dispatcher where we were, I couldn’t help but think, “What if I wasn’t the one having to make this call?”  Would one of our visitors know what to say?

The paramedics arrived quickly, within 20 minutes, and were amazing with us and with my Aunt.  By the time they had arrived my Aunt was mobilized and being looked after by my very capable sister, who incidentally had just finished a first aid course the week before.

Our cottage property is lovely, but it is also at the bottom of a hill.  We have a rustic, rocked pathway that winds down through trees to the front door of the cottage.  The fire pit is on the far side of the cottage. What is lovely and rustic in the bright daylight turns into a dark,and dangerous path when it is not properly lit at night.

The paramedics stabilized my aunt’s noticeably broken wrist and then loaded her on a lift chair to carry her up the hill.  We had every light on that we had.  The path, regularly lit by solar lights was still way to dark for the paramedics, who had never been there before. It made it hard for them to maneuver my aunt up the hill. Unfortunately, in the panic, we couldn’t find our good flashlights!

They eventually did get up the hill without incident and all ended well.  My Aunt is now safely at home sporting some dark bruises and a big ugly, heavy, cast.

The lessons we learned…

*Always be aware of your surroundings and make visitors award of hazards! Take a look around your cottage for anything that could cause injury and rectify it.  We had a look at our fire pit and had to do some re-designing of the brickwork. Remember when you are analysing your surroundings that quite often it is dark outside when others are walking around!

*Always have a working phone.  I can’t imagine how much more panicked the situation would have been with a phone that didn’t work!

*Always have a fully stocked first aid kit and if you are lucky a first aid provider, like my sister, who took charge of the situation and helped to calm and stabilize my aunt.

*Always have your 911 address posted so that visitors are aware of where they are.  I’ve now printed our 911 address and framed it at 4 different locations in our cottage.  At both front and back doors, in the Bunkie, and inside the first aid kit.

*Always have and be able to find your flashlights!  I’ve now invested in 4 new, large, bright yellow flashlights.  I’ve placed them on hooks under the framed 911 addresses at both doors and in the Bunkie. They are labelled, “Emergency Flashlights. DO NOT REMOVE”. Hopefully they won’t be lost the next time we need them in an emergency.

I wish that I had done these things prior to last weekend!  Please learn from my mistakes and my experience. Cottage on, and Stay Safe!