I just stood there, standing in the cold, wet grass.  My right ear began to ring, I couldn’t hear anything happening around me.  I didn’t know what to do or how to react.  Everything happened so fast.  The pain hadn’t started to kick in yet, but I knew I didn’t want to look down and see what had just happened to me.  I couldn’t process what was going on.  All of these thoughts running through my head came to a shrieking halt when I saw my Mother scream in panic as she ran towards me with her arms spread.  I turned my head and looked over at my cousins to see their wide eyed faces staring at me in complete shock. 

Every year, on the Fourth of July, my aunts, uncles, and cousins drive to my Grandma’s lake house in Michigan on Lake Isabella.  We arrived on July 2nd at about 3:00pm.  My family and I were exhausted from the grueling 8 hour drive, but when we walked through the old, squeaky screen door and were greeted by our family, we quickly livened up.  After hugging all my aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma, the first thing I saw was a huge pack of fireworks sitting on my Grandma’s kitchen table.  This didn’t surprise me, our family has always loved to light off fireworks at the end of my Grandma’s dock to celebrate the Fourth of July.

For the next 2 days, the Kintner and Westbrook clan hung out on and in the water.  My uncles and cousins would wake up early to fish on the dock.  After catching a few Sunfish and maybe a Bass or Trout if we were lucky, we would be called inside by my Grandma and aunts so we would eat some breakfast.  They would always make us scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit, that was everyone’s favorite.  After eating as fast as we could, we would throw on our bathing suits and head back outside.  One of my uncles would take my cousins and I out on the boat so we could tube, wakeboard, and waterski, before heading back to my Grandma’s house for lunch.  My whole family would eat outside on the deck overlooking Lake Isabella and watch my little cousins build sandcastles and then destroy them over and over again.

By the time the Fourth of July rolled around, my family and I were all eager to light the fireworks and make s'mores by the firepit in the sand.  When it finally got dark outside and the stars came out, my cousins and I sat down on white wooden beach chairs around the blazing orange, red and, yellow fire my Dad started for us.  My parents, aunts, uncles, and my little cousins sat on the porch a few yards behind us while my Uncle grabbed the lighter and started setting up the fireworks at the end of the dock, only 30 yards in front of us.  Ever since I was little, I have always loved watching fireworks.  I was amazed by the size of these particular fireworks while my uncle was lighting them off one by one.  I don’t think we have ever had ones this big before!  They were red, purple, gold, silver, green, and blue.  They were all different when they exploded, but all made the same loud popping sound that thumped in my ears.  I was mesmerized by the beauty of the fireworks in the sky above me.
After about 10 minutes of fireworks, my uncle yelled to us from the dock where he was lighting them off, “Here comes the grand finale!”.   I smiled and tilted my head back in my white beach chair and felt the sand beneath my toes.  After 4 fireworks exploded in the sky above me, we looked at my uncle, thinking that the finale was over.  I looked back down and felt the breeze in my hair, and that’s when it happened. 

I screamed and stood up from my chair and ran to the grass. All of my cousins were scattered in the grass.  My ear was ringing and when I turned my head, I saw my mother scream. When I looked over and saw the shock on my cousins faces staring at me, I knew something was wrong.  But I just stood there in shock, not nothing what was about to come.  That is the last thing I remember is jolting awake in the ambulance and screaming in pain.

A firework was blown by the wind and landed into the fire pit that my cousins and I were sitting around.  The fireworks hit a log, and bounced out, landing directly on my inner arm.  I tried everything to knock it off, but I was wearing a jacket so the flame began growing bigger and bigger until the firework reignited and exploded into my chest. The sound was so loud, I thought my ear drum had exploded.  This all happened in about 10 seconds.  My mom grabbed me and ran me inside.  She said that once I looked down at my arm and my chest and saw my skin, I began to scream out in pain, but I don’t remember any of this.  I was passing in and out of consciousness.  I was rushed the the hospital and my right arm, neck, and chest, were immediately wrapped in sterile gauze because a burn that deep and large is very susceptible to infection.  The pain was unbearable.  I was given medication to ease the pain but when the doctors took off the gauze and tried cleaning the 3rd degree burns on my body, the medicine was not nearly enough. 

After given careful instructions and being wrapped up like a mummy, I was finally given the okay by the doctors to head home.  All I could think of during the car ride back to my Grandma’s house was how The Fourth of July has officially been moved to the bottom of my list for least favorite holidays.