Jimmy had a great social group. They were in Jr High and they were always having house parties and such. This particular party was a birthday celebration for Scott and a friend named Karen. It turned into a tragic accident and then a very spiritual moment for Jimmy and Scott. Jimmy told the story to me in his own words.
We were swimming in the pool and Rico's (Roger's) swim suit did not fit (he was borrowing mine) so he was going to borrow one of Scott's. He went in and changed and then when he came out someone had shut the patio glass door that had been open during the beginning of the party.
He was running to the pool and went right through the glass door. He was lucky because he was crouched up in a ball, knees to the stomach, hands in front of his face because he was jumping. He had no cuts on his face and body and only a few cuts on his arm but a lot on his legs and one foot. We found out later he had cut four tendons on his toes and a couple on his knee. The knee was the most serious and will keep him out of action sports for about a year.
Anyway, as soon as he landed I went up to see if he was ok. I put my hand on his shoulder, his back was toward me and I looked at his knee. It was opened down to the bone and the kneecap was over about three inches. Then I looked at his foot and you could see the blood spurting out. The legs had about 4 holes on each shin. And the hands were also cut. He looked at the glass door and said, "I don't believe it!" You could tell he was in a lot of pain but he wasn't crying. His leg looked like it could fall off. Even then, though, he limped over to the table and laid down on it. Then David (Scott's older brother ) came over. He began picking him up ready to take him to the hospital. Scott was running around really hyper saying, "I gotta find a towel, I gotta find a towel." Then he found one and wrapped it around Roger's knee. He said he had to stop the blood or Rico would die. Rico said, "Don't be a geek." David told him to "Get Away, he's going to be ok." Rico was just smiling. Scott was still hyper and ran in and slipped on the floor.
Then they told me to call Rico's parents and tell them what had happened and that they were taking him to Scripps Hospital. Then Lynn (Rico's girlfriend) David, and Scott's Mom and Dad took Rico to the hospital.
I called Ed (Rico's stepdad) and told him about the accident and where they were taking him. Ed didn't have a car at home because his wife Margaret was at the cafe with Sarah but he would borrow a car and get there.
They phoned Margaret (Mrs. Frith) and told her to meet them at the hospital. The cafe was very busy but Margaret told everyone they had an emergency and they would have to leave. They closed the cafe and left.
Scott told everyone to stay out of the pool as it had glass in it. Mrs. Bush had phoned Dick Bowen (a neighbor) to come over and help clean up and watch the kids. We sat in the jacuzzi for awhile and then we all went in and got dry. I told Scott we should have a prayer. Steve J was with us. Steven said he would keep the party calm.
Scott and I went into the bedroom and decided each should say a prayer out loud so we knelt down by the bed. We had turned off the lights and I began to say mine first. I started to pray calmly but after I said "Dear Heavenly Father" my throat got dry and I couldn't talk--I almost started to cry. My knees started shaking against the bed. We both knew the Spirit was there. It took me so long to say the little I said and then Scott said a perfect prayer. He said everything that I didn't say plus some of the things I said. It was very definite that the Spirit was there and it was so strong. We prayed that Rico would be ok and that everyone else would be safe. Scott prayed that all his tendons would be ok and he would have full use of his legs when he was healed. Then we walked into the other room out of the darkness and our eyes hurt from the light. We opened all the presents and waited until his parents got home to tell us about Rico.
Rico did make a full recovery. James and Scott later served together in the Denver Colorado Mission in 1985-87. They were the only Mormons in their social group and were a good influence on their friends.
