Go-Go Mom came home from her weekend with her BF with a carton of malted milk balls. My brother Russell grabbed a bunch out of the carton and one rolled out of his hand, across the kitchen floor, and into the tiny space between the stove and the refrigerator. Candy was not something we had in our house so losing one of those precious malted milk balls was unthinkable. Desperate, Russell crammed his body into the narrow space to retrieve the lost candy. On top of the stove was a metal coffee peculator with its cord plugged behind the refrigerator. When Russell dragged that cord with his shoulder he pulled down the pot. Hot brewed coffee onto his flesh. The scorching metal pot fused with his skin. When Russell finally managed to wiggle out of the spot he ran screaming through the house with the coffee pot stuck to his back.
My Dad jumped up and carried Russell into their bedroom and began phoning a doctor. Apparently, my parents were trying to determine if there was any way to dislodge the coffee pot from his flesh. The doctor instructed them to leave the pot attached and take him to the emergency room.
I'm not sure if Russell's hospitalization kept Go-Go home any more than usual. I like to imagine it did. I know I was jealous because when he finally came home from the hospital he had more cool toys than I had ever seen.
Russell spent more than five weeks in the hospital, having multiple surgeries involving skin graft after skin graft. When he returned home his back looked like a pile of stiff earth worms. I rubbed burn cream on his back nightly. In the summer heat, sun screen and doubled tee shirts were still not enough to keep him out of pain.
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