Screeching tires and crunching metal interrupted their leisurely lunch at ChickFilA… A quick glance out the window spurred them both into action. Sure enough, a BMW and a Jeep had played tag and now they were ‘it’. She had finished her training just in time…
“Let’s go!”
Beth and her friend Amy, a certified EMT (not her real name), ran out of the restaurant to assess and assist those involved in the accident. The Beemer was smashed against a utility pole; the driver appeared to be unconscious, so Amy went to him while Beth rushed over to the other car. The teenage driver was crying and trying unsuccessfully to climb out of her wrecked vehicle…
“Hey there, I’m here to help… I'm Beth; what’s your name? How about you lean back and rest so I can get a look at you? Take a deep breath for me, that’s good, you’re doing great. Are you hurting anywhere? Don’t worry about your car… Believe me, your parents will be way more concerned about you; you can always get another car. Sure, I can call your dad for you. I promise, I won’t leave you here alone; someone will be here real soon to get you out, we need to wait for them… Just a few minutes longer, hang in there…”
Emergency workers arrived on scene; Beth and Amy reported their observations and returned to the restaurant.
Beth was elated to have been in the right place at the right time, putting her new skills to use. She took great satisfaction in knowing she had helped someone in need, like others did for her brother. Gracie, on the other hand, was green around the gills, having watched the entire thing from the parking lot. Being so close to yet another car accident at the front of her store, hearing it happen, and this time with her sister acting as a responder, was almost more than she could handle.
“Mom-This is it, I know it’s what I’m meant to do!”
“Not me, I’m doing something else!”
Amazing… Another moment of shared experience, confirming their chosen paths: both heading toward a career in nursing, with one seeking to make a difference in trauma/ER and the other, anywhere else but in there…
The ripple effect from losing their brother continues, but in this instance, in the best possible way…
Wishing you many blessings and hope…tg
Tammy will update her blog twice weekly…
