The phone call came late afternoon. Unexpected. Urgent. Dan’s niece had been involved in a horrid car accident and she wasn’t expected to make it. Could we come? Now?
We packed quickly, gravely, weighing whether we should fly or drive the distance from Sacramento to Portland. We decided to drive through the night. We arrived at the hospital to find the family gathered in an austere little waiting room with gray chairs and dull walls. Everyone was holding everyone else tightly just to keep from unraveling, from drowning. Dan’s niece was on life support and the doctors were just waiting for the last of the family to arrive and a few more test results before posing their dire prognosis.
Twenty three and gorgeous, she had been with her boyfriend, unbuckled in the back seat with their three year-old boy for a short drive in their small town just north of Portland. Inexplicably, he ran through a stop sign, crashing wildly into another vehicle. Their car rolled over and over, ejecting her part way out the window, resulting in massive head injury and the hardest decision any parents could ever be asked to make — to unplug or to hold on for dear life.
For dear life.
Prayerfully approaching the tubes and lines keeping their daughter alive, two frightened parents stood over her crushed and broken body and decided they HAD to hold on. Regardless the outcome, they insisted that every measure possible was to be employed to save their daughter. They would take whatever came — they just wanted to keep her alive … in whatever condition she emerged and for as long as possible. With their marching orders in place, a staff of doctors and nurses began a very long and arduous fight to keep Dan’s beautiful niece alive. Amazingly, she lived. One by one, lines and tubes were removed and day by day, an inspirational woman took shape.
It’s been several years now since the carefree life of a beautiful young mother was instantly deconstructed and then rebuilt into one of special beds, wheelchairs, medical devices and daily care. For her, a quick happy-go-lucky decision to ride just a short distance unbuckled in a car … turned into a forever life of being buckled into a wheelchair.
That’s why, when I saw this video — this elegant supplication — I knew I had to share it and ask you to pass it on. Please share this with others if you have the means.
Please.
And then decide yourselves to buckle up before you turn on your car’s ignition.
Please.