Breathe. In, out. In, out. Picture good energy in, bad energy out. Get the stress under control, dammit. You know how to do this.
Tea. I needed tea. That would help. I brewed a pot, nervously pacing my kitchen while I waited. I couldn’t sit, my thoughts wouldn’t form a straight line. As I finished putting the lid on my travel mug this morning and took my first blissful sip of tea, trying to breathe the knots of stress out of my shoulders, I heard it.
Screech.
Bang.
Boom.
Ka-thud.
Honk-bang.
The unmistakable sounds of a large traffic accident on the major street only a few houses away.
Before I could even think, I was out the front door, running. Phone in one hand, mug in the other.
At first, it didn’t look so bad. Two cars, pretty beaten up, sat right in the middle of the road, parts scattered everywhere. But then I looked down the ivy-covered embankment where everyone was gathered, and I saw the third car, twisted around the tree it had broken. A woman about my age sat trapped, blood streaming out of her nose and mouth, eyes glazed.
I dialed 911.
“911, please hold. Do not hang up or your call will be routed to the end of the line. 911, please hold for the next operator. Do not hang up or your call will be routed to the end of the line.”
“What the?” I looked at my phone, dumbstruck. Down in the ivy, a man was on his cell.
“Did someone call 911?” I yelled.
“Yeah, he’s on with them,” a guy yelled back.
Minutes ticked by, and a group of us could only stare from the top of the embankment. Where the hell were the first responders?
“Excuse me!” I turned, and a woman gestured out of an open car window. “I’m an emergency medicine doctor. Is everyone ok?”
“No, the woman down there is not ok, and she can’t get out,” I said. And just like that, this blessed angel, already in her scrubs for work, parked and skidded down to the car.
Where the hell were the first responders?
I called 911 again. “911, please hold. Do not hang up or your call will be routed to the end of the line.”
The two men who’d been in the cars on the street were now on the sidewalk, looking as helpless as I felt. They said they weren’t hurt, but it seemed impossible. I’d heard the noise, I could see the car parts scattered like confetti over the road. And this woman stuck down the hill. God, should we be trying to get her out? Was something going to explode?
Finally, sirens.
The firemen got down to the car and put a cervical collar on the woman and started working to free her from the twisted metal. I turned to go home, and saw one of the firemen stop by one of the other cars, kneel, put a finger to the fluid running from underneath it, and sniff.
“Um, it’s not going to blow up or anything, is it?” I asked.
“Nah,” he said. “It’s coolant. Just checking.”
I said my goodbyes to the two other drivers, who were both starting to shake, and turned and walked home.
Back in my kitchen, I sipped my now cool tea and tried to remember what had me so stressed.
Instead, all I could find was, “There but for the grace of God go I.”
I think that’s called perspective.
I am sorry you had to get perspective that way, but I know what you mean! I really hope she is okay!
Man, that’s one way to put things into perspective. It’s amazing how big our problems look until we put them next to someone else’s problems.
Thanks for sharing, Angie. Perspective can be a painful thing to realize sometimes. Thank God for that woman who stopped to help before the first responders could get there.
We know it. KNOW it. And yet, we’re not wired to remember it every second of every day. Thanks for reminding me.
A car hit a tree across the street and flipped a few weeks back. Scared me but good. There but for the grace, indeed…
Perspective indeed. I have seen an accident like that and I only wished I knew what to do. I desperately wanted to be a doctor or have a doctor there. I am really surprised that the first responders weren’t there earlier. The fire department there is usually out within seconds of a call and they are amazing. They saved my niece’s life when she was a baby. Perspective – we find it in sometimes awful and sometimes amazing ways.
Oh my, I hope the lady’s okay.
This is truly a jolting kick in the butt. Thank you, for the reminder.
I have tears running down my face – both with concern for the woman and being drawn into her suffering, and also for the exquisite way your words bring the story to life.
Oh Angie.
That is just a horrific story. I cannot imagine being a witness to that. Thank God the doctor stopped.-Ashley
Your protection and your wellbeing depend on it. The hairdryer will eliminate all thee left-over humidity, and thhe feet will be entirely
clean and dry.
Possibly get her a subscription to Power Tool Monthly?
A stone is frequently fashioned right into a wide variety of designs and settings.
Usually look at the perceived importasnce for I1 diamonds.
I’m going to get my buyer back to these normal life.
The immigration process is not designed to be easily moving through without help from
a lawyer.
Often, a juudge won’t approve the full purchase, but will
approve an incomplete. However, with annuities there isn’t to die to
reap the advantages! Debt settlement is registered solely on the credit history.
These mwts are maainly located at the entrance of thhe suites.
Obviously we all wish our childfen to bechome happy and balanced.
You’ll find only 3-ways to increase your income, when I’ve shared before.
Unike the professional-grade software that costs thousands
of pounds, Homestyler is free. At thi point, you have several possibilities.
If this area iss actually a small or a huge place it
doesnt matter.
Fever is also a standard symptom of an allergy to black
mold. But other than ccost benefits, you must find an LPG supplier that gives exemplary service.
You can, nevertheless, control humidity.