Author: Donald Guenther
Written: 11/29/2013
Early in his Jr. Year in High School Uncle Don was playing touch football with his three brothers. Trying to keep from getting touched he flipped, landing on his shoulder he broke his collar bone. He ran to the house yelling for help. Grandma wanted to take him to the doctors but grandpa wasn’t sure. Grandpa raised Uncle Don’s arm above his head and Uncle Don let a few words fly that convinced grandpa he needed to have it checked out. Turns out Uncle Don had a broken collar bone.
During uncle Don’s recovery Uncle Ed broke his arm and uncle Dave broke his hand. Grandma took them all to church one Sunday and she had to ask for help when she found out she had a flat tire. That was the year too that Uncle Don started getting interested in girls. He had a steady and could only think of her. He spent a good deal of his time with her.
One night in early June we all heard gun shots. It was dark. Grandma feared someone had been shot near our rural home.
Next morning Uncle Don got dressed and put on his new sandals to head over to his girl friends house. Grandma said nothing doing until he completed his chores. One of the chores was to mow the front lawn, With dew still on the grass he started in on it. He was in a hurry to get the job done so he could see his girl. All uncle Don could think about was his girl. Just as he headed down the hill beside the walnut tree he slipped in the wet grass. He pushed the lawn mower up and both feet went under the mower. The first blade edge took off his left big toe and the ends of his right foot toes. The second blade edge couldn’t get through his left ankle and the mower stalled. Screaming and shouting for help he limped for the house.
Inside the house Grandma heard Uncle Don’s shouts. Fearing he’d found a dead body from the gun shots the night before Grandma sent Uncle Ed out to check things out. As uncle Don neared the house just before the sidewalk grandpa put in he and uncle Ed met up. Uncle Ed took one look at uncle Don’s feet and froze. They were a bloody mess. Uncle Don headed toward the house.
Grandma looked out the window and grabbed the car keys. Together grandma and uncle Don drove to the hospital. Uncle Don screamed the whole way. When they got to the hospital they put uncle Don under, and Dr. Holbarth went to work. When uncle Don came to, he was in a hospital bed. Dr. Holbarth said he couldn’t save the whole toe but tried to save what he could. Uncle Don spent 9 days in the hospital with his feet elevated, His family and friends visited him. The most painful part of the whole ordeal was when he got constipated. Not to go into the details on that, suffice to say he suffered tremendously.
Dr. Holbarth removed the bandages after 9 days. What was left of the big toe had turned all black. Dr. Holbarth said he’d have to remove it. Dr. Holbarth told Uncle Don he might end up being a step and a half for the rest of his life. Uncle Don got depressed. Dr. Holbarth was a nice guy and started watching Uncle Don’s football practices to make sure he was doing ok.
After the surgery uncle Don rested for a day and then his phantom toe started to itch. He couldn’t scratch it. He thought he’d go insane.
His brothers thought that Tiny the family’s saint Bernard had eaten uncle Don’s big toe and watched as uncle Don petted Tiny. Tiny did seem friendlier than normal possibly sensing uncle Don’s stress. Our saint Bernard Tiny’s uncle was Neil in the TV show Topper.
Uncle Don left the hospital in mid-June weighing 150 lbs. He started lifting weights and got his growth spurt. By mid-August he was 208 lbs and went out for football tough as nails. He started that year as the center defensive lineman for Marshfield. In the 5th game he broke his hand. Uncle Don wasn’t near the athlete as his younger brother Ed so the loss to the family wasn’t really noted. At the time uncle Don was more interested in girls than football so he was happy too. He is not a step and a half, thankfully. Uncle Ed thawed out from the shock and became a football star.
Grandma figured the night gun shots were dear poachers.