So many clichés pop in my mind right now. “Life is precious,” “Everyday is a gift,” “You aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.” I must remind myself that before these sayings became cliché they once had a good solid meaning behind them. I’ll just say this, today sucked. I had to go into work at 1 p.m. for inventory at LifeWay. At about three o’clock it happened. A garbage truck out front of LifeWay made a right turn and ran over a 20-year-old girl.
Immediately after we heard the initial commotion the store manager yelled, “someone call 911!” my Air Force training kicked into gear. I bolted out the front door to check the girl's vital signs. Her body was extremely contorted up under the truck. Urgency was in my mind. Is she alive? I dropped quickly to my knees…she had a pulse…she wasn’t responding to me…one of her legs is not visible…it’s under the tire. I immediately started barking orders at people. “Jeff, (a co-worker) get the driver to back up he is still on top of her. “ Jeff followed the direction and had the guy move the truck. Next, we needed to get the truck turned off. I yelled at Jeff and he took care of that as well. The girl began to come around to slight consciousness (slight movement). She wasn’t paralyzed. I began to console her. “It will be alright, please just stay still.” I looked down after the truck was moved and realized there was very little left of her lower leg. It looked as if her body stopped the motion of the truck. She was badly, badly injured.
More consciousness. “You will be okay. Look into my eyes. You will be okay, help is on the way.” “Lord, please comfort this girl. Please hold her in your hands.” Minutes passed. More consciousness. She began to move more realizing something bad had happen. She started pushing me away. I heard sirens. “Please stay still. Help is on the way," I pleaded.
“Jeff,” I barked, “grab her purse, get her ID out and ready for the paramedics.” He complied. “You are gonna be okay. Look into my eyes.”
The paramedics arrived in what seemed like a few minutes. They run up and assess the situation and I step back for the first time. I began to quake. My body shook. I staggered over to the curb and crashed. “What just happened?”
I don’t want to depress you. I don’t want to shake you and wake you up to the reality of the fragility of life (although we do need to be reminded). I want you to be thankful to God for the fact we have people who dedicate their lives to the service of us. I have a whole new respect for those who serve and see this kind of stuff all the time. My life is changed from this one incident. Think about theirs.
wes
Hey Bubby, good job being strong I probably would have just freaked. Because of you that girl will probably be in better shape, than she would have been without you. Just think you may have saved her life. Lots of Love,
ReplyDeleteTay Tay
Hi Bubby, i love you,
ReplyDeletehannah
Wes,
ReplyDeleteGod sends angels to be his hands and feet, sometimes they are celestial sometimes they are living. Today you were God's living angel to that girl. I will be praying that God will mend her physically and mentally. I am praying God will mend you emotionally. I am so proud of you!! I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through reliving it all in your mind. You're right we all need to keep all public service protectors in our prayers. Every time the girls and I hear a siren or see an ambulance we've made a habit of saying a prayer for whoever is in trouble and for those who are going to protect them. You've made me realize how important it is to always include the protectors in our prayers. You were a protector today also. I love you, you were very brave today! Give Elaine a hug for me I know she has been a protector of you today for you.
Love you both,
Deb
Wes,
ReplyDeleteI am extremely proud of you for what you did today. I know that a situation like you experienced today had to be difficult because you just had to react often without even thinking. You are a very brave man and God put you at work today because He knew you could handle it. And you did. Great job! We as a family will now stop what we are doing and pray for the girl that you helped today and also for you in your time of recovery from this tragedy. What a man you have become. I'm sure Elaine is proud to call your her husband because I'm proud to call you my son.
Daddy
Thank you for the reminder of how precious life is and how everything can change in a moment. Right now you cannot erase the memory of the incident but there was a reason for it all. God doesn't give us more than we can handle and He uses ALL things for the good of the Kingdom. We love you and Elaine...Bill & Nicole
ReplyDeleteWes,
ReplyDeleteI am so very proud that you rose to the challenge of such a traumatic and terrible situation, and I believe that God will teach you and that girl through this difficult time. God chose you to be there to help her through the trauma of the situation. You showed the Lord you are a willing and capable servant. All things do work together for good for those who love the Lord. We will pray for your heart to be comforted and that the young lady will recover quickly. God bless you and Elaine. Love you, Mother
Wes, I've had several of this type of experiences of being in the right place at the right time for someone...I know the Lord put you there for her and I'm thankful you could help....by the way Braegan and his wife Ellen are adopting a child from Ethopia soon...keep them in your prayers for safety and for the process to go quickly....I can send you his address if you would like to email him....Linda Enright
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