Chapter 3 - The hospital
We went straight to the emergency department.
Doctors examined Lily.
Her injuries:
Bruising across her shoulder and upper back.
A superficial cut on one elbow.
No fractures.
No internal injury.
No concussion.
No permanent injury.
I asked the physician:
“How many times was she hit?”
He looked at me carefully.
“Medical findings can’t give you an exact count.”
Good answer.
Lily later told police:
Four.
Maybe five.
She was crying.
Numbers become unreliable when children are terrified.
So investigators documented what could actually be established.
Ethan had also been treated.
His injuries from the collapsed glass table:
Several superficial cuts.
Bruising.
A mild shoulder strain.
No fracture.
No serious head injury.
Police reviewed my use of force too.
They should have.
I had entered while an adult was actively striking my child with a belt.
I removed him violently.
Then, when he attacked me again, I restrained him.
The district attorney later declined charges against me after reviewing video and witness evidence, concluding my force occurred during immediate defense of Lily and then self-defense.
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That did not mean throwing a man through glass was desirable.
It meant context mattered.
