Mom says dad has nine lives. She also says he's used up eight of them and he’s on his last one. His last life was used up in the motorcycle accident. He broke his neck. He’s not paralyzed though. Never was. Walked away from the accident even, like literally walked back to the house. I don't remember it, I was only about a year old. But I know the story. I hear it often enough to feel like I remember it.

The broken neck, that's a tier one pain. A pain that all other pains are measured against in the family. If the pain isn't comparable to a broken neck, it's not real. If it's not real you don't go to the hospital. Hospitals are reserved for tier one pains and people who are actively dying only. These are the rules.

The Rules:

1. Never call an ambulance and never ever need one
2. Never go to the emergency room unless told to do so by
   1. The doctor at the urgent care clinic
   2. The pediatrician
      1. Proceed to urgent care first. If given same results, you may then proceed to the emergency room
   3. Dad
3. Never cry
   1. If you do cry, dad will scrunch up his face and pretend to wail. While wailing he will say “ do I need to call the wahhh-wahhh-wahhhh-mbulance?”
4. Never ask for help
   1. If the injury is bad enough to need help, mom will help you. Otherwise refer to rule #3
5. Never tell anyone you are hurt
6. Pray for The Lord to place His healing hands on you