Week of November 23, 2014
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 driver's 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 woosh…she sails out the window…floating like a frisbee
through the rain…across that intersection landing in a puddle, on her bottom,
screaming and crying.
I am yelling,, “my baby, my
baby.” My sweet Bob turns around to see about us only to find me pinned in my
seat frantically 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, landing 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. They immediately 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 a patient
and flight crew can go in the helicopter. Our pastor drives us to St. Pete.
There are four days of MRI’s, CT scans and other tests. Everyone
is amazed there are no broken bones, or internal hemorrhaging.
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 severe injury or
death.
Finally everyone agrees. this is a miracle.
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.
Lesson learned: Don't ever unbuckle your child while
the vehicle is moving.
Our baby is now teenager 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
every day to the fullest and with gratitude.
Dundie
Crisp
Sarasota, Fl
