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I spent the evening brushing up on the Sunday School lesson I was to teach the next morning to my Second & Third Graders. Before that my 12 year old and I had gone over our Children's Church lesson we were both ministering the next morning. I had just finished typing up our church bulletins and was waiting for my husband to take a break and run them off for me. He was working the midnight shift that night. He was a Police Officer.Usually I left our Police Scanner on because it could talk all night and not wake me but if my husbands voice came on I would wake to see what he had. That Night for some reason I turned it off. I finally fell asleep waiting for him to come in. In the wee hours of the early morning I was awakened by the ringing of our phone. It was my Father-in-law (A Retired County Police Captain ) informing me that my brother-in-law also a Police Officer was involved in an accident and was being taken to the hospital. I told them Bob was on duty so I was sure he had heard but I would call dispatch. I dialed our dispatcher and when Dick answered I informed him about my brother-in-law and ask him if he could let Bob know. His voice was shaking and he said, "I can't Mary." At first as he spoke I was confused & didn't understand what he was saying then it all started to become clearer. My brother-in-law was not the one in the wreck but it was my husband Bob. The County Dispatch had become confused on who it was and had misinformed my Father and Mother-In-Law. I begged Dick to tell me how my Husband was. He kept saying, "I don't know Mary". I told him he was lying to me. I explained to Dick that the county was sending a car to take my In-Laws to the hospital would he send them to get me. He was almost crying as he said "Mary stay home and wait for someone to come." 4 officers had been hit while on foot and 1 was dead. He thought it was Bob, my husband. I got angry and said, "NO, I am going to the hospital." We argued awhile and I finally hung up on him. I called my sister and her husband who rushed me & our 5 children to the hospital. As I went back into the emergency room I went into a state of shock. There lay my husband covered in blood, his face was swollen the size of a watermellon. His tongue was so swollen it was hanging out of his mouth and every blood vessel in his eyes were broken. So far they knew he had 2 broken hips, a broken finger and a huge head injury. There was not one part of his body that was not bruised. They would find more injuries later. They took him to surgery a few hours after the accident to repair the head injury. It would be days before they could even think about trying to repair the broken bones because of the head injury. It seems while arresting one drunk driver. Another plowed into them all. Police Officer Dave was dead. Officer Greg had knee injuries. Another Officer was being treated for shock. The first drunk driver was in surgery. My husband had just arrived on the scene and was standing on the side of the road when he was hit. They estimated he had been hit & thrown 115 feet into the air and onto the highway by a 2 ton truck driven by an unlicensed drunk driver who also was carrying 5 bags of marijuana. The Emergency Room Nurses still talk about it as the night A drunk went bowling for Police Officers. I didn't see the humor in that. All in all that night 2 children & a wife lost their husband and Father. My husband not only lost his lively hood but has had 23 surgeries. has more to look for in the future and lives in constant pain to this day. My children lost many memories of playing sports and other recreations they had enjoyed with their Father. Our children learned young that life is not always fair. They learned how to help take care of a disabled Father While their friends played And I am proud of them because they did it well. Without complaint. They missed their home and family while I stayed by my husbands bedside at the hospital. I thank God we had a wonderful Christian family who were our friends and took our children in as their own while I stayed with my husband. They brought them to the hospital everyday to see their Father. We did not know that night if my husband would live or die The Nurse handed me my husbands belongings the night of the accident. Inside were his Uniform cut into pieces & his boots that were slit up the side. His twisted eye glasses with no glass. Onlys parts of broken pieces & wires remained that were his Police Radio. His watch was smashed & all the glass & parts shattered. His Badge had all the metal scraped off of it where there had been an eagle. His Service Revolver was bent and unrepairable. As I Looked at His belongings I knew it was a miracle he had survived And I could only wonder about the bag that Linda received. The wife of Dave. the Police Officer who was killed. At Dave's funeral as Linda & I Hugged & Cried. The guilt set in. I knew what she was thinking. Why Dave? When my husband finally did come home in a wheel chair it took from early morning till noon before we were thru with all the exercises and things that needed done daily for him so we could get him to the family room. We also had to have a medi van as he couldn't ride in a car take him three times a week to therapy. Plus the numerous visits to several different Doctors for the different injuries. I must admit I did ask myself "why" when neither my husband nor I drink. But I remember my Mother used to tell me. "Never question God." My husband tells me he saw Angels intertwined that night surrounding him and that he felt like he was being laid down on a pillow. I tease him that they forgot to use their shock absorbers on his bones. After 8 years of disability my husband is now an Administrative Law Judge. Yes with all his injuries he chose to keep going when his body didn't want to. And he still has his great sense of humor. And Walking.At times he must use a cane. He has a special cushion he must sit on. I remember the 1st time we were able to have a dance together again, We both cried and I so missed that little dip and swing he could no longer do. Funny how it's the little things you miss and remember. A drunk may have broke his body but he didn't break his spirit. Why did it happen? I don't know. Do I blame God ? Absolutely not. God did't do it. The devil's brew did. So please. This New Years. Be Safe. If you don't drink. Stay off the roads. If you do drink please don't drive or ride with anyone who has. Any Night And May You Have A Great Day, A Wonderful Week, And Blessings All Year Blessings, Mary     |
