I was in my eighth of pregnancy with Brian. I worked in the V.A. hospital as a nursing assistant. My mom tended Chris and Nikki for me while I was at work. One night my mother called me at work. She never called me at work. This alone frightened me. Mom sounded upset when she asked me if I could bring home some sterile bandages. I asked her why. She said that Nikki had been burned. How bad? Well, her skin is very red and she's crying a lot. What happened? A bowl of soup had been put on the dining room table and Nikki wanted to see what was in it. She pulled the bowl of soup onto herself and was scalded. Is her skin blistering? Yes. Don't put anything on it. Don't put butter on it at all. Put cold water on it and try to get the temperature down. I'll be home as soon as I can. What about the sterile bandages? No, we're taking her to the hospital.
It took me about 1/2 hour to drive from the hospital to my parents home. I drove a Mustang II - a 4 seater car. We packed June, Ted and Chris into the backseat and Mom held Nikki in the front seat while I drove. I drove as fast as I reasonably could. I barely fit behind the steering wheel with my big belly.
We got to the hospital emergency room and they took Nikki into the examination area. I called Bruce's work, but he wasn't there. He had been laid off. I called our neighbor (we didn't have a phone then) and miracles of miracles, Bruce was helping the neighbors with a project so he was there. He drove to the hospital.
A doctor saw Nikki then turned around and walked away. I ran after him and asked what was going on? He said Nikki would be admitted. I asked how long she would have to stay. He gave me a dirty look and said, "Weeks and weeks". Maybe he thought I had burned her or had not been paying attention to what she was doing.
I don't remember what they called her burns, 1st, 2nd or 3rd, but I remember it was bad. We had taken her off the bottle but the hospital gave it back to her so she would drink some liquids. She refused to drink from the bottle. I didn't care if she drank from a bottle or directly from a tap. Whatever it took to get my baby healed.
Bruce and I had to dress in a gown, cap and wear a face mask before we could enter Nikki's room. She wouldn't eat for anyone except me. I was there for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bruce was there with me. Mom had taken Chris home with her so we could be with Nikki.
There was a new cream out called silvadeem (spelling?) that was supposed to work quite well on burns. They would take Nikki to the whirlpool then apply this cream to her. She showed improvement immediately.
The morning after Nikki was admitted Bruce and his home teaching companion gave Nikki a blessing.
A couple of days after Nikki was admitted another little girl was admitted with the exact same type of burns that Nikki had. Her family had been camping when she pulled a pan of beans off the stove onto herself (They had a camper.).
I went in for my check-up and told my Dr. what was going on. Dr. Waterson thought it would be all right to induce my labor (Brian was ready) so I could be in the hospital with Nikki (I was exhausted with running back and forth to the hospital.). I delivered Brian on June 16th. That night I was pushed in a wheelchair by Bruce to Nikki's room so I could feed her. I was allowed to visit her for breakfast and dinner - only if I went by wheelchair, though. Bruce had lunch duty.
I'm positive it was the power of the priesthood, but Nikki was ready to be released 6 days after she was admitted. She was kept 7 days so both of us could be released at the same time.
Because of loss of fluid, she had to have a very strong iron supplement. The only way we could get her to take it was with grape juice. It was a liquid and the grape juice was the strongest tasting liquid she could drink to hide the taste.
Nikki grew up to be a beautiful woman. The last I knew she had a small scar where the nurses kept fastening her diaper at her hip. I know the power of faith and the priesthood when used hand in hand.