Ouch. That ring injury looks nasty!
Glad you're ok though.
I apologize in advance for the venting that follows.
I got a call from my friend yesterday-- the one that was in the really bad car wreck last April-- and he said his girlfriend's 6-year-old son set his house on fire. His girlfriend was boiling eggs for Easter on the gas stove. Her 6-year-old son was in the front room and her 3-year-old daughter was in the back bedroom (with the kitchen in between). She went to go wake the daughter up and the smoke alarm went off. She went into the kitchen and didn't see or smell smoke. So she turned it off. Then another smoke alarm went off in her son's bedroom. No fire there, so she turned it off thinking it was a fluke. By the time she saw the fire, it was too late. From what we gathered, when she left the kitchen, the brat went and got some paper and stuck it in the flames on the stove and then realized he'd get in trouble. He didn't want his mother to see it so instead of putting it in the sink, he threw it behind the couch (in the front room). The mother panicked and couldn't find the fire extinguisher. She tried to put it out with a towel but it wouldn't work. She yelled at her son to get out through the front door and ran to get the 3-year-old. At some point she called my friend's work to say the house was on fire. She couldn't get to the front door because of the fire and she couldn't get the windows open. My friend was told his house was on fire and ran home and kicked the front door in but couldn't get to his girlfriend and daughter. He then went to the back of the house and started ripping air conditioners out of windows and even ripped a window frame off the house before he found a window they could get out through and ripped it open and got them to climb out.
He tried to find the cats, but it was too late. The three cats that were indoors were dead from smoke inhalation and the 2 guinea pigs died as well.
The outside structure of the house is standing, but the inside can't be salvaged. The TV, the computers, the game systems, the clothes, the toys, the family photos-- everything melted or was soaked with water from the fire dept when they got there.
They went in later and pulled out the body of the cats and the a-hole 6-year-old looked at the bodies and said "It's ok. Everything can be replaced."
He didn't understand that he almost got his mother and sister killed. They were trapped for several minutes inhaling the smoke.
Fortunately the dogs and two of the cats were outside so they survived, but now they are homeless.
My friend called the kid's father to come get him so he wouldn't do something he regretted. The mother had minor burns on her legs, my friend got some burns on his arm and side of his head, the 3-year-old inhaled smoke and has been coughing, but the 6-year-old didn't even have a spec of ash on him.
The brat's deadbeat dad (who hasn't paid child support in over a year) showed up in a sports car with $2k speakers installed.
We took in the 2 remaining cats home and I bought food for the dogs that are chained up outside. The cats made themselves right at home in the front room-- so we currently have 16 cats in the house.
I just feel awful for the poor kitties and for my friend because it seems like every time he's getting a handle on things, something else happens to screw his life up.
I tried to post this last night, but my internet went out and just came back on.
A couple of photos:
