jokers wild ii's blog

update on the family visit..

  Hey again guys,

In regards to my blog last night about the kid that was killed in the accident yesterday morning I wanted to first thank you all for the kind words and well wishes.

Yesterday morning began like any other morning for me. I was awake at 4:30 AM and showered, shaved, all that good stuff so I could get out of the door at 5:15 AM. I was running behind by about 5-10 minutes just because I did not sleep all that well the night before (friday night) and decided to hit my snooze button once or twice,lol.

 Anyway, I left my house and proceeded to make the 30 mile commute to work just like every other morning. I turned down a very familiar road, and I can remember seeing dust on the roadway and I was thinking "what in the world is all that dust doing on the road like that" and proceeding to slow down when I noticed a vehicle over turned on the side of the roadway. I pulled over and immediately ran over to the vehicle to check on any occupants of the vehicle.

 As I approached the vehicle I was hoping for the best, but quickly realized the best was not to be had on this day. I saw a young man hanging upside down in the car and he was moitionless. I immediately called 9-1-1 and identified myself and what I had found and asked for immediate assistance. I had to break out the back window to get inside of the car with Ryan and I immediately felt for a pulse. Ryan had a very faint pulse and without being graphic, he had suffered alot of trauma. I then realized that this was even more serious than I had initially thought, and called 9-1-1 again to let dispatch know that The young man was in extremely bad condition and that the EMT's would need to step it up a notch to basically what we call "10-33" traffic.

 I attempted to get ryan out of his seatbelt so I could start CPR on him but due to his weight being on the buckles I could not get them undone. I noticed him take a really huge deep breath, followed by some very strange noises that I care not to describe right now. After several minutes I realized Ryan had taken his last breath right in front of me. I stayed with him until rescue arrived and we were able to extract him from the vehicle. CPR was started once he was removed from the vehicle, however he was pronounced dead once he arrived at the hospital.

  I knew his mother fairly well, she has been an EMT for a number of years and even was a Deputy Sheriff for a year before going back to EMT line of work. I have had the occasion to meet with her and ryan's grandmother today and I have honestly felt no better in my entire life. I questioned "why me" to no end, and even at one point wished I had of took a different route to work so I did not have to see him like that.

 The mother and grandmother were very thankful, along with the other 20+ family members at the house when I met them today. They explained to me that 15 years ago she had lost her brother in an automobile accident and for two days he sat in a trauma center with no family members because he had no I.D. and no one knew who the family was, or how to make contact with them. When they did learn of his location he passed away before any of the family could ever see him, and he had died all alone. I began to understand the comfort that they felt from having someone with their loved one, and I immediately felt selfish and foolsh for not wanting to be at that accident. I have learned alot about their family, and how a simple act of compassion to what first seemed like a total "stranger" could effect the hearts and minds of someone that ended up being so close. I have never felt the peace and calm that came over me today. My wife smiled, knowing that I am not religious she told me that I might not believe it, but God was with me and Ryan, and he made our path's cross that morning for whatever reason.Thank you all so much for allowing me to lean on your shoulders lastnight.

 Oh, and I almost forgot to add, Ryans mom told me today that she spoke with COPA, (sp?) and since they harvested his Organs, 36 Organ Recipents would benefit from his organs. She said that they were informed that a gentleman was already in line for Ryan's eye's and that the man was blind from a hunting accident and has not seen anything in several years, but after a successful surgery he should regain his eye sight!

 Thanks again guys! Sorry for the long blog!