January 31, 2015
Another horse riding experience was the time when she was about 10th grade. She and Dede, our next door neighbor was riding back in the fields behind us, the horse shied, Susie fell off and hit her head on a log. Dede rode up for help. Her dad came home from work and we took her to the Bixby Emergency Room. She was semi- conscious. They took her to Mott's Children Hospital in Ann Arbor by ambulance. She was put in the Intensive Care Unit. She seemed to get better and then had to go back in the Intensive Care Unit. They had me sign a consent for surgery form before I went home, because if she needed surgery they would not have time for me to get back up there. She had a concussion. She was there several days. When she came home she was not to be left alone. In a follow up check by the doctor, a goiter was found. Medicine was given to treat it.
One day she decided she was going to bake something. She broke the egg and it went down inside and outside the cupboard door. I made the hurried decision that I needed to get out of the kitchen.
She attended youth church camp at Camp Caesar in West Virginia.
The tree by the driveway took the brunt of her first attempt at the wheel of the car. It made the first time riding in the car with her after driver's training quite an experience.
High School Graduation was held at Maple Stadium. Just after the last of the diplomas were given out people ran for their car. It was really getting black and started thundering. We had just got in the car and it just poured. An open house was held for her and many friends and relatives came to congratulate her.
After she was out of school she went with her grandma Poling, uncle Vernon and cousin Robin on a long trip out west. After she got home she spent a week at FaHoLo Youth Camp.
Sue worked at Hardy's Dairy Farm feeding baby calves. We always knew when she got home from work.
She then worked for the Esterline family caring for Wynn and Dane.
One rainy night she was driving home late and was in a head on accident on the curve on Occidental Highway. The phone call from the Herrick Hospital said she was being transferred to St. Joseph Hospital in Ypsilanti. She had surgery for a broken jaw and had her mouth wired shut for 3 months. Also had a metal plate put in her chin. Her elbow was in a cast for a bone chip for a couple of weeks. Her knees were also injured. It was quite a challenge for her to have all her meals pureed. She was such a good sport about it. Anything from pizza to apple pie that we had to eat she put in a blender separately. I asked her one time if it tasted like apple pie and Dan laughed and asked me what I expected it to taste like. God was good in helping in her healing process.
It was an exciting time preparing for her wedding to Gary Burch. August 20, 1983.