SOUNDING OFF: Thankful for a caring village

We often hear the phrase, “It takes a village” with respect to raising a child, and we recently found how true this adage is, and how amazingly fortunate we are to be part of the “Laguna Village.”

A few weeks ago, Laguna schools were on “ski week” break and many families from town traveled to June Mountain to enjoy the snow. Our 13-year-old son, Ethan, was there as a guest of Greg and Lisa Anderson, who were there with their three boys.

On the proverbial “last run of the last day,” Ethan fell hard while snowboarding; hard enough that upon returning to the condo, the Andersons asked another Laguna parent and local chiropractor, Gary Arthur, to examine him. Mr. Arthur recommended that Ethan go to the hospital, where further tests confirmed he needed admission.

The Andersons kept my wife, and I informed that night from the hospital ER as we drove up to the Mammoth area, and stayed with him until midnight when more friends, Scott and Kristen Thomas, came and took over that watchful role.

When we arrived at 5 a.m., Scott was walking the hospital corridors and Kristen was in our son’s room still sitting with him. They were exhausted but hadn’t moved from his side.

Ethan was released and is doing just fine now, and he continues to receive excellent care from Mr. Arthur and our family physician.

Quite simply, we can’t adequately express the gratitude and appreciation we feel to have friends such as these who, literally, watched over our son when we couldn’t.

Such amazing friends and neighbors may not be unique to Laguna, but it’s surely one of the many reasons we feel so fortunate to be a part of this wonderful community.

STEVE and STEPHANIE REID live in Laguna Beach.