My Bloody Birthday
Written by Josh Fonder in March of 2012

                Standing on a ladder, on the first step, my feet one foot from the concrete, I begin climbing. I suddenly feel myself falling backwards.

                It all happened on a hot, humid, sunny, and spring April 2, my 6th birthday. I was helping Paul, my cousin, clean oats in our dusty shed. The sound of the loud augers was pounding in my ears. The oats were hitting the bottom of the back of the truck, filling up fast. I started climbing the ladder next to the truck to see how full it was. I suddenly lost my balance and fell backwards, hitting the back of my head on the concrete floor. I immediately felt pain and got up, all dizzy from the impact, and I asked myself “What happened?” .Paul came over and asked me if I was alright. I said that I was okay and walked away with my hands on my head. I could smell blood, and could feel a wet and sticky liquid all over my hands. I looked at my hands and discovered that there was blood all over them. I immediately started crying, I was so scared, and I thought I was going to die.

                I rushed into the house and went into the bathroom with paper towels over my head, crying in the mirror. I realized that nobody was in the house and my mom was in Watertown. Brian, my older brother, came in and saw the big mess. He quickly ran outside and told my dad. I had cracked my head open.

               When my mom came home, she took me to the hospital so I could get stitches in my head. I don’t know how many stitches I needed, but it terribly hurt. I do NOT want that to happen to me again.