I make the stupidest decisions sometimes...

I did a horrible thing today.

After church this morning, Ben and I decided to have lunch at Sweet Tomatoes before I headed off to work at 2:00. Of course we had Evan with us and therefore we pushed him into the restaurant in his stroller.

As we sat down at our table, Ben got a highchair for Evan. While he did that, I took him out of his stroller and folded it down and laid it in front of my side of the table. I briefly thought to myself that maybe it wasn't the best place for me to place the stroller but decided to ignore my concern.

Just as we were finishing up our meals, I decided to make one last quick run through the buffet before heading home. As I started to move out from the booth, this poor elderly woman came walking around the corner. As she did this, she caught her left foot on the end of the stroller and came crashing down to the floor but not before hitting Evan's highchair and smashing her tray and everything on it onto the floor.

It was all in slow motion really. I felt as though I was in some sort of bad dream. Food and tableware was everywhere and the restaurant suddenly fell silent. I looked down and saw our stroller sticking out into the walkway and I tried pulling it out of the way. The darn thing was completely wedged under Evan's highchair and from the position I was sitting, I couldn't get it unstuck. Finally another patron came over and helped me move it and I finally noticed that Evan was crying. Thank goodness he was okay but as for the woman, she was in pretty bad shape.

After she was helped up from laying on the ground, you could see that her left knee was starting to bleed through her pants. She lifted her pant leg and blood started to gush (sorry-TMI) out from the top of her kneecap. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I know that this is the last thing I should have been thinking, but the first thing I thought was that we were going to be sued. I imagined our bank account being drained and countless court appearances being attended to. At the same time, I felt horrible. She was shaking and blood was basically all over. She also injured her left forearm apparently when she hit Evan's highchair. She had a deep gash on it and it was also bleeding.

I was thankful that a ER nurse just so happened to be at the restaurant and she came over and helped a lot. Someone called 911 and everything was being taken care of. Everything but us. I didn't know what to do. I of course was responsible for the accident and I wanted to take full responsibility for it. I wasn't about to book it out the door and try to escape possible legal repercussions.

Then what looked like the restaurant manager came over and told us not to worry and that the restaurant has insurance for situations like this. But I felt as though I needed to do something. Finally the woman and her family made their way outside and it was there that the medical team started their evaluation on her. I again spoke with the restaurant manager and then the woman's husband and after requesting the woman's address so that I could send a card and flowers (or something!) a few times, the woman's husband finally gave the manager permission to release the information.

Then, just as quickly as it all began, it was over. The woman and her husband got into their car and drove away, never asking for my information or anything. The woman's husband was actually very nice. He said that it was just an accident and not to worry about it. In fact, he shared how he felt about Evan crying! Can you believe it?! Here is his wife practically bleeding all over the place and he's worried about Evan. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

So this week I'll be looking for the perfect "I'm sorry" and "Get Well Soon" flower arrangement to send to her. I just feel so horrible about it. Why did I leave that stupid stroller where I did? Sometimes I make the stupidest most idiotic decisions. I however know for a fact that I never be doing that again.

Oy.