Chief Reynolds was forced to detain his screaming daughter while the paramedics finally transported my son to the local hospital for proper medical treatment. Before leaving the backyard I reached into the cooling coals and retrieved my scorched but unbroken silver star medal. Hours later in a quiet hospital room Eli finally regained consciousness and asked about the safety of my award.
I placed the blackened metal beside his bed and praised his incredible bravery realizing that my most important title would always be simply being his mother.
