Gifted Heroes
A couple of days ago I happened upon a terrible traffic
accident on a four-lane highway near my home. Other
motorists attended to the injured people lying a few feet
from their cars. The accident was in the median of the
highway, and traffic was whizzing by on both sides, making
it dangerous for all involved.
I moved down roughly fifty feet from the accident, flagged
traffic over to the farthest lane, and motioned for drivers
to slow down. It was a bitter cold day, and I began praying
for the people lying in the median. Traffic was hard to
handle: some motorists did not care if there was an accident
or not; all they wanted was to get where they were going as
quickly as possible.
Then the sounds of sirens came, as personal vehicles with
flashing lights attached to the roofs rushed onto the scene.
Fire trucks followed, with uniformed men barking orders and
scattering to every inch of the scene. Within seconds a
small generator emerged while a fireman pulled the string to
start it. Another fireman maneuvered the Jaws-Of-Life
electric saw to free trapped occupants of one of the cars.
Ambulances and police cars arrived and the scene was soon
teeming with capable men and women taking charge and taking
orders. Police officers parked distantly at both ends of the
scene, with lights flashing to warn drivers to slow down and
pay attention to what was ahead. They placed orange cones on
the highway to direct traffic to one lane and to keep
drivers from getting too close to the scene as they passed.
Although I moved back closer to the scene, I tried to stay
out of the way, but I wanted to be near enough in case any
of the professionals needed help. As I stood in amazement
watching these heroic men and women, I heard them talking to
the victims. I would later learn that accident victims can
easily go into shock unless treated immediately, if only
psychologically.
That's why one of the volunteer firemen crawled into the car
where a woman lay trapped in the back. "I'll bet you have
never had so many men trying to get to you at one time, have
you?" he said to the woman. "Why, when that door opens,
you'll have dozens of men reaching for you!" I saw a smile
on the woman's face. A smile! Trapped in a car where half a
dozen people worked to get her out, and this woman was
smiling!
I think it takes a special person to crawl into a decimated
vehicle to calm down a trapped victim. I believe it takes a
gifted individual to perform CPR by the side of the road
while nearly run over by traffic. It would have to take guts
to walk into a burning building to rescue the people trapped
inside. This is why I believe that the ability to serve
others in a time of crisis, requiring as it does superhuman
courage, is a gift from God.
After the accident I spoke of my amazement to each person on
the scene. None, however, thought of themselves as special
or gifted. In fact, they laughed off the reference of
heroism, yet today they are more than heroes to the victims
and families whose lives they saved that day.
So to all emergency workers and volunteers, whether working
in fire departments, ambulance services or police
departments, let me say thank you--thank you for using your
divine gift of extraordinary courage and for thus being our
heroes during the worst times of our lives.
Mike Collins mikecollinsemail@yahoo.com