Today I am thankful.
Today I am thankful for the kindness of strangers.
Today I am thankful for a community that comes together when someone is hurt, or hurting.
Today I am thankful for emergency responders, police, paramedics, and all of those who help us during a crisis.
Today, I am thankful for life.
It was just before 2 pm on Wednesday, July 16th, when I was pulling onto the road that circles the Northtown Mall. I heard it before I saw it; it was like counting the seconds between the thunder and lightening. And just like the storm that is right overhead, this was too close. As soon as I heard the crunch of metal on metal, a car was flying through the air, headed my direction, flipped and had landed 8 feet away from my van.
I pulled my car to the side of the road and ran to the car that was upside down in the middle of 85th street, with people inside. Other people were running to the car as well. I reached the car, and looked inside, a woman in the passenger seat was not moving. She was upside down, her seat belt on, the airbag deflated hanging towards the roof from the dash. I pulled on the door, but it barely moved. A man who was standing next to me at this point said, pull harder. I was able to put my fingers between the door and door frame. There were other hands there as well. We all pulled. The metal of the door ground against the pavement, and the shattered window in the passenger door, fell to pieces on the ground around us.
The woman inside was moving, trying to get out of the car. Someone behind me said, "don't move her, her back may be broken." But the woman was trying to get out on her own. I took her hand and told her the ambulance was on its way. She moved her legs over and slid down until she laying on the upside down roof of the car, the seat belt twisted painfully around her arm. A man behind me stepped in and held her head and shoulders and started sliding her out of the car. I untangled the seat belt as three of us slid her out and onto the pavement. She took the man's arm and he helped her stand. She was shaking uncontrollably. I told her she should sit down. Another woman, young maybe 18, 20 at the oldest, held her head as she lowered herself first to a sitting position and then all the way down to her back again on the pavement.
Her arm was either broken or dislocated. And it was bleeding. There was a shirt that had fallen out of the car. I grabbed it and held it to the wound. I asked her what her name was, and asked where she hurt. "Luverne," she said. "You're going to be okay," I told her, "the ambulance is on the way." As I was talking to Luverne, and holding her broken and bleeding arm, other people were helping the driver out of the car. He was crawling towards the passenger window, and the men who were there, supported his head and chest and he made his way through the passenger window. I heard a voice say, "be careful, he's hurt." I looked over and saw Lincoln - one of my recent graduates from Paladin.
"Hello, Ms. Leisa," Lincoln said and smiled. It was a normal greeting, but the smile was so much more. It was the smile of someone who was saving someone's life, of someone had taken control of a situation, and someone who was making a difference, right then and right there. He was giving orders, he was leading the crowd of helpers. He was telling people what was going on. I sat on the ground next to Luverne, resting her broken arm on my leg. Blood was everywhere. The other young woman who had helped Luverne lay down was on the other side of her, calming her, talking to her. Lincoln was helping the man, the driver. In a matter of minutes, the driver was laying on his right side on the left side of me, and Luverne was laying on the right.
The police arrived and said that the ambulance was just a few blocks away. I started talking to Luverne again, still holding her hand while I put a hand on the driver's shoulder. I asked the man what his name was, he just looked at the crowd blankly. "You're going to be ok," I said again. The police officer asked him for his name, again the man said nothing. I checked his pulse, it was so faint. "I think he's in shock," I said. Lincoln repeated to the officer, "he's in shock."
I heard the officer say, "the vehicle is stable, we have two people, no other passengers, they are stable." A paramedic came over to Luverne. I felt Luverne's hand go limp in mine, I said her name. She didn't respond. I told the paramedic, "she's not breathing, but she still has a pulse." He centered himself directly behind her head, kneeling holding her head stable and started talking to her. Still nothing. He placed his hand just under her neck and pushed. She gasped, again he said her name. Luverne answered. "Yes." The girl across from me, on the other side of Luverne, made eye contact with me. She had tears rolling down her cheeks. We knew that Luverne was barely holding on. The other woman stood to let the paramedics in, as she stood, blood poured down her legs. The paramedic looked at her, and asked her, is that your blood or hers? I looked at the ground where she had been kneeling in her shorts, there were two puddles of blood on the pavement, and shards of crystallized wind shield glass, right where she had been kneeling. "I don't know," the girl replied.
Paramedics secured Luverne's neck and head in a brace. I moved as they brought in the board and watched as they rolled her slightly to put the board under her back. I backed away a bit as they brought in the stretcher and lifted her onto it. As the second stretcher arrived, I held Luverne's hand again. "You're okay," I said again. Another woman came to my side, and took my other hand and then put her hand on Luverne's leg. "Thank you God for life, thank you God for the wonderful people who are helping your children through this tragedy, please continue to care for and watch out for everyone who is part of this. Thank you God, our life belongs to you and we are forever grateful for everyday you give us to help one another. Amen." Luverne squeezed my hand just slightly, and whispered "Amen." "Thank you" she added in a whisper. As they rolled her towards the ambulance, I caught Lincoln's eye. "Thank you Lincoln," I said.
I am so grateful, for this day, and for everyday.
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