When the fire broke out...
Illustration
When the fire broke out in Tommy's bedroom, the flames grew quickly. The smoke detector went off and his mother ran upstairs.
There was no time to go for help. Martha grabbed a towel in the bathroom, soaked it quickly under the faucet and ran into the flames. Her hair began to crackle. The pain of burns on her forearms was almost unbearable. But she kept moving into the heat.
She found her little boy huddled in the corner. She wrapped her arms around him, covered him with the towel and worked her way back across the burning room. Finally she was out in the hallway and able to carry him down the stairs to safety.
That was years ago. Tommy was now finishing college and was engaged to be married. In the 20 years since she had saved Tommy, there had not been a single day when Martha was without pain. The burns had scarred her arms and destroyed almost all of the tissue in her right elbow. It had never worked quite right since. But Martha had no regrets. Her little boy was a man today and without her pain, he would never have made it.
There was no time to go for help. Martha grabbed a towel in the bathroom, soaked it quickly under the faucet and ran into the flames. Her hair began to crackle. The pain of burns on her forearms was almost unbearable. But she kept moving into the heat.
She found her little boy huddled in the corner. She wrapped her arms around him, covered him with the towel and worked her way back across the burning room. Finally she was out in the hallway and able to carry him down the stairs to safety.
That was years ago. Tommy was now finishing college and was engaged to be married. In the 20 years since she had saved Tommy, there had not been a single day when Martha was without pain. The burns had scarred her arms and destroyed almost all of the tissue in her right elbow. It had never worked quite right since. But Martha had no regrets. Her little boy was a man today and without her pain, he would never have made it.
