Tender Mercies

Sometimes the stories I write don't get to be published.  They aren't exciting enough or there just isn't room. But those stories teach me lessons as well. I am in an interesting position - before I was a journalist, I was a volunteer for our town's fire/rescue department. Now I get to do both. However, when I respond to a scene, I am always a first responder before I switch hats.

One particular day, the pager went off in the middle of a quiet summer afternoon. It announced a personal injury accident at mile marker 8, southbound on the highway that snakes winds through the valley that I call home. It was a single car roll-over.

These calls always get the adrenaline going because I never know what I am going to encounter when I get on scene.

This was what we saw:

I actually took this picture after the patient was in the ambulance but this was the vehicle.
The debris, mainly car parts and personal belongings were spread across at least a hundred yards.  As my partner and I approached the vehicle, we were told there was only one victim, the driver. An amazing first aid kit that rivaled the one in our hands lay next to the drivers side door.  One man was in the seat behind the driver, stabilizing his spine, another was bending down next to the driver and speaking to him to keep him calm while another sprinted to pry open the passenger side door so I could get in to take vitals.  I think that one saw me eyeing the broken window, looked at me and realized that I would probably get stuck if I attempted to climb in - which was indeed my plan (not the getting stuck part - that's just a hazard of the job).

We learned as we talked to those gentlemen that they were the first to stop at the scene.  One was dressed in scrubs, he happened to be a nurse on his way to work and he was also the owner of the first aid kit (of which I am extremely jealous). The other two were surgical technicians at a local hospital. All three jumped in and helped, breaking out the remaining glass in the back window and climbing through to offer what aid they could. These gentlemen were also the first to leave the scene, disappearing back into their cars and driving away as soon as the patient was on the stretcher.

We learned that our patient was indeed wearing a seat belt which saved his life.  Otherwise, we would have found his body near the pile of ribbon from the cassette tapes or by the suitcases. The car had rolled at least a couple of times and took out a road sign before it hit the concrete barrier.  Right above our victim's head, the roof of the Jeep had been crushed in, cutting his head open.  However, it also applied just the right amount of pressure to stop the bleeding and keep it to a minimum. One more inch and it could have killed him - a half inch less and he would have bled profusely.

I don't know this man or what decisions and choices he had made in his life before this accident.  I know very little about him. Some of the possessions that were scattered had us and law enforcement a bit concerned. But God was watching over him.  He was blessed so abundantly.  His life was spared.  He never even lost consciousness.  He was still able to joke with us a bit.  He offered his appreciation to us multiple times.

Our Heavenly Father offers each of us His tender mercies.  He watches over us.  He may not take away the trial or the accident or the pain but He will do what He can to make it as easy as possible for us.