Time is a blessing

I have thought much about how to post this experience and here it goes. You don't know what you are given until it could be gone in a second. Thursday night my life changed. There is a larger respect and understanding of what is meant when someone says, "be safe" or "drive safely". It is not just something to say, it is something to mean and not take lightly.

ON a trip back from Perry, FL I came upon a two car accident in which there were critical injuries. I wasn't the only one on the scene, there were three other people, but I was the only one that had First Responder training. Much of what could be done was to assure them that help was on the way because they were both trapped in their cars and would need the "jaws of life" to release them. It took too long for official medical help to arrive, we were at least 10 mile from Perry. I don't know if anything could have been done to save either of their lives but I witnessed one passing into the next life a minute prior to help arriving. The other was breathing but unconscious and the medical team was accessing his injuries as I left the scene of the accident.

In my mind, I had always wondered what would happen if I did have to use my training. Just earlier in the week, I had gone to sleep reviewing my CPR. Well, I did stay calm and did everything that could be done. I was most proud of myself when the police arrived and that I could inform that we needed the "Jaws of Life" and report the status of both men. In a conversation with an Officer, I was asked what type of training I had. This would make Barbara Law (Prior boss/trainer/friend) proud of my performance.

It has really opened my eyes to not only the safety part but how important what I do for a living is for people. I knew how important it was because of my dad's death in an accident and how it helped my mom but to witness first hand an accident. It is even more realistic. Going to work the next day was excruciating but I survived and helped a few people too.

Here is the write up from the television news station below.
"A two car accident Thursday night leaves two people dead.The Florida Highway Patrol says the accident happened a little after 11 o'clock Thursday night near Highway 19 and state road 14 in Taylor County in the Eridu community northwest of Perry.They say 66-year-old Charles Back of Monticello was driving south in the northbound lanes of Highway 19 when he collided with a car headed north. He was killed and so was the other motorist, 30-year-old Scott Mcleod of Perry.There's no word yet on whether alcohol was a factor."