Touching Story
I got off to an early start.  Before my first appointment, I took a
friend to Kansas City International Airport and drove back by my usual
route. Approaching the fork where I would turn left, I was in the left
four lanes. Then my car began to move right, almost involuntarily, as
if someone had taken the wheel from my hand and was steering for me.
I spoke to myself out loud saying, "Why did you do that?" as I
continued to drive along.
My white suit was perfect for this beautiful summer day.  Knowing my
tendency to speed in good weather, I put on my cruise control and
enjoyed the scenery. I continued down the highway, singing, when a
voice in my head said, "Slow down."  I looked at my speedometer and
saw I was only going sixty mph, so I thought, I'm fine, and waved my
hand dismissively.
A moment later, a voice that sounded as if it came from the back seat
yelled, "Slow down!"
Startled, I slammed on my brakes, which brought me to a near stop.  I
had just enough time to utter, "What was that all about?" when the
little white car in front of me started losing control.
I immediately moved to the side of the highway, sensing a bad accident
was about to happen.  By the time the white car crossed all three
lanes and slammed into the guardrail, going about seventy, I was at a
stop.
The minute I jumped out of my car, another car stopped beside me.  A
man rushed over and asked, "Why did you slam on your brakes?  Nothing
had happened yet."  I answered, "I don't know."  Then he said, "Thank
you.  You saved my life!"  I asked how, and he went on to say, "I was
speeding, going about eighty-five--I'm late and was trying to make up
time.  I've had so many speeding tickets that when I saw you slam on
your brakes, I assumed you saw a cop.  So I hit my brakes too.  I
would have been directly beside that car when it started to lose
control."
Still stunned, he got into his car and drove away.
As I approached the wrecked car in the middle of the highway, I
whispered to God, "Why me?  What do I know about first aid?"
The driver, a pregnant woman, and her husband were sitting in the
white car, both looking badly injured.  Blood was everywhere.  His
teeth were broken, and they were crying and scared.  I knew we needed
help and an ambulance.
A car stopped, and a woman asked, "What do you need?"  I answered, "We
need to call the police and an ambulance.  These two people are badly
injured!" She drove away to find a roadside phone.
As I walked back to the couple to tell them help was on the way,
someone yelled from a passing car:  "You've got to get them out.
There's fluid leaking under the car!"
I went to open the driver's crushed door, when the woman told me it
wouldn't budge.  There was jagged glass in her window, so I knew she
had to exit by the door.  Using all my strength, I pulled on it.
Unbelievably, the door gave way.
I helped the frightened woman out of her car and set her down, then I
ran back for her husband.  The passenger door was jammed against the
guardrail, and an obstruction blocked the front seat.  He could not
slide across to get out the driver's side.  I shouldered his weight
while he hoisted himself up and out of the window.  I helped him lie
down on the road next to his wife.
He was bleeding so badly that I thought to myself:  We desperately
need two towels.  At that moment, a woman stopped her car and yelled,
"What do you need?"  I told her, and she reached in the back seat for
a Kmart bag, which contained two towels she had just purchased.
Returning to the couple, I applied a towel tourniquet on the man's arm
and placed the other towel under his head.
They were going into shock, and I knew they needed blankets to stay
warm. Another woman pulled up and asked, "What do you need?"  I said I
needed two blankets.  She walked to back of her van, pulled out two
blankets from a laundry basket filled with clean bedding, and said she
had to leave.
As I covered the man and woman, I realized I had done all I could do
on my own.  I thought:  I need a medic--I need someone right now!  I
looked up and saw a man in a white uniform on the side of the highway,
running toward us.  I didn't see any vehicle; he seemed to have
appeared out of thin air.  He told me he was an off-duty medic.  I
stepped back as he began to administer first aid to the couple.
I'm sure I looked confused when the police came and told me I could
leave.  My mind flooded with the grace of the miracle.  I had received
everything I needed the moment I asked for it.  For the first time in
my life, I comprehended how safe we really are.  Our angels are only a
whisper away, to do God's work in our lives.
I realized I had just enough time to get to my appointment.  When I
arrived, I suddenly remembered, starting through the office door, that
I was dressed completely in white.  I looked down in disbelief.  After
all I'd been through, my clothing was spotless......
Diann Roche
  

© 1997 dshyanne@geocities.com


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