The wonderful lady Doris whom I wrote about just crossed my mind, and so I have re-posted the story here. Sorry for the repeat! Nine years ago this month, a very unusual period of my life began; I was first-on-scene at an unusually large number of car accidents, some minor, others very serious such as the first one, which Ill write about here. I have often wondered about those months, those people, and why it had all happened. What follows is a rather long read.... Early one morning, I was taking my usual backroads route to work thru Harnett County, NC. At a sharp curve in the road I was flagged down by a desperate looking lady, who told me that a car had gone down the nearby embankment. I instructed her to call 911 (which she had not done), pulled the truck over and ran down towards the wrecked car. The car had rolled on the way down and I could see a person hanging halfway out of the passenger-side window. This person was the only one in the car. Despite the copious blood all over her face and upper torso, I could tell that this was an African American female of rather slim build. Her bright, cheery clothing contrasted eerily with the carnage of the scene. She had gone right thru the window pane and was hanging from her waist. Lots and lots of blood. She was concious and could speak. I knelt down next to her and said “Im Terry and you are gonna be alright” as I stripped off my shirt (in order to use it as a compress/rag). I found myself drifting into a detached, yet hyper-alert state. As I supported her body and applied pressure to a gaping wound on her scalp I engaged her in what turned out to be a truly remarkable conversation. Her name was Doris, she said. She started to drift off but woke right up via gentle taps on her cheek. Somehow I felt that I should not let her drift off.. Theres not enough time nor space here to relate the conversation properly, but as I wiped the blood from her face I could see that this was a woman of great personal beauty. However, I soon discovered the great beauty of Doris lay within. Doris was more concerned about MY well-being than of her own. “Im so sorry Terry, to be putting you to trouble like this” etc etc. It turned out that she was from NJ. What can I talk about related to NJ, I wondered. For some reason I started talking about...of all things, NJ native Bruce Springsteen! At this she smiled, revealing the fact that a couple teeth were gone now...”Everybodys proud of Bruce”, she said. Then she began to worry. “Ill not be able to help at our churchs event this weekend. Thats going to put a burden on my friends”. Practically everything she said expressed concern for others; her family, me, her church, even the EMTs (who seemed to take a year to arrive). Again, I cant go into the contents of the conversation but it was extremely touching. This woman was love, love in human form. Finally help arrived in the form of a sheriffs deputy, who took one look, went to the rear of the vehicle and vomited on the ground. Helpful. When he recovered, he took over but Doris said “Dont leave, Terry” and the cop nodded “OK”. Moments later the ambulance arrived, and an extremely competent and professional woman took charge of the scene. I was quickly thanked for my help and asked to leave. I took one last look at Doris. We had our first eye contact at that moment. “God sent you to me Terry. I love you and thank you”. “I love you, too” I replied. And I did. I climbed back up the steep embankment and got into the truck and waited. The semi detached “pro mode” Id fallen into started to fade away, and the reality of what had just happened started to make itself apparent to me as the “whump whump whump” of an evac helicopter filled in the background. It landed in an adjoining field, and I watched as Doris was loaded into it, and flown away. I never found out who she was, nor of what became of her. Looking back I know that I could have learned something via the papers, but I never looked. I did call the hospital but there was nothing they could share (because I was not a relative)...other than that Doris was alive. In the 10 months to follow I was first on scene at around 8 more wrecks, one of which was serious (it wasnt a wreck per se, rather, a guys car collapsed on him while he was working underneath it along I-40 on the way to Wilmington) I have often wondered about those days.....
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:33:09 +0000
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