"Brace Yourself!"

We are driving home from lunch after church in a driving rain, As usual I’m sitting in the back seat of our van beside our six-month old baby, Rachel. She is strapped in her rear facing car seat and is having a serious crying episode.

After several minutes of trying to comfort her, I realize that she has a very soiled diaper. No wonder she is screaming. I said to my husband, Bob, who is driving, “Brace Yourself, I’m taking her out of her car seat for a minute to change her diaper.”

I place her on the carpeted floor and change her diaper and remove her stained pants. I think I was still leaning over tying the dirty items in a Publix plastic bag when I hear Bob yell, “WATCH Out!”

Our van is T-boned, hit right in the back seat drivers side door. The impact busts out the window beside me and sends our van spinning in the middle of the intersection- (Bahia Vista and McIntosh. Rd.)

“Oh my God,” we are in a wreck and Rachael is not in her car seat. Glass is raining over both of us. All I see is little Rachael in mid-air seemingly suspended there for a moment, her bright blue eyes looking right into mine. And then wooosh…she sails out the window…floating like a frizbee through the rain…across that intersection landing in a puddle, on her bottom, screaming and crying.

I am screaming, “my baby, my baby.” My sweet Bob, who doesn’t know Rachael has been ejected, turns around to see about us only to find me stuck in my seat yelling and pointing across the road screaming, “Go get her, please. Go get her.”

A kind man in a light blue sweater, who sees the accident, gets out of his car to help. He cautions about not picking her up. Try telling a daddy he can’t pick up his crying baby who has been thrown 30 feet through the air, landing in a puddle inches from the metal base of a utility pole.

Bob says he knew she was “whole” when he put his hands under her to lift her into his arms. The kind man in the blue sweater, holds a poncho from sea world over Bob and baby and walks them back as I crawl over the front seat and out of the van.
The ambulance arrives with the EMT’s who see our baby bleeding from the mouth, strap her on a back board and take us all to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Several tests are made while we wait three hours for the storm to pass so that Bay Flight can air lift her to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. Only patient and flight crew can go in the helicopter so our pastors drive us to St. Pete.

There are four days of MRI’s, ct scans and other tests. Everyone is amazed there are no broken bones, internal hemoraging. The bleeding from her mouth turned out to be a small glass cut. Doctors and specialist kept coming in and out of Rachel’s room, all amazed and totally not accepting that she is really ok. They all keep telling us that when someone is thrown from a spinning vehicle the ending is always sad, severe injury or death.

Yes, finally everyone agrees. This is a miracle.

Fortunately the people in the other vehicle were not hurt and Bob and I had minor cuts and bruises that healed quickly but getting over the thought of what might have happened has taken longer.

Bob and I are so thankful that our baby was not seriously injured and following checkups have confirmed she is 100% fine. She truly was touched by an angel. When we share her story people can not help themselves from wanting to touch her.
She is now eight-years-old and we look at every day as a true gift. Thank you for reading Rachel’s story and pass it on. Choose to live your life today to the fullest. Brace yourself and live today with passion.

Dundie Crisp

PS Moms if you have to change a diaper, nurse or console your child ALWAYS stop your car or ask the driver to go to the side of the road and stop. Some moms have said to me, "Oh what are the chances"--well...!