On the way to church...

So. Last Sunday we ended up having to replace a hot water tank because it was attempting to burn down our house. Yet we still managed to get to church on time so I could teach the Sr. High Sunday School class. And this Sunday we made it out of the house with time to spare. In fact, we were just about to turn the corner at the church when...

We slid past by about 10 feet. No big deal really. We were already on the inside shoulder to turn left so other vehicles could pass by. Conditions were less than ideal - blowing snow, gusting winds, and a sheen of ice across the highway. I had repaired the window on the van so we could use it. The tires are better than the ones on the car, and I wasn't taking any chances today. We were stopped and getting ready to back up to turn at the church, so we were watching the traffic coming behind us. Just one maroon SUV in the far lane. And it just fish-tailed. And now it's going into the ditch across from us. Rolling. It went over at least 1 1/2 times before resting on the roof. I looked for traffic again, crossed the highway with the van, and turned on my hazard lights. As soon as we came to a stop, I hopped out, signed for Faith to dial 9-1-1 and ran down into the soft and packed snow in the ditch.

I got the passenger door open to find an elderly couple gathering their wits about them. The wife had released herself from her seatbelt, but the husband was still strapped in upside down with blood on his head and hands. The wife was most concerned that he was trapped and couldn't get out, so I ran to the other side to get to his seatbelt which was an exercise in futility. I couldn't reach it. I returned to the passenger side and tried from there. By this time a pickup had stopped to help and a man came down to see what he could do. I finally got the seatbelt off and the husband laid himself out on the roof of the vehicle and slowly inched his way out. Unsure of what to do with himself, the man who helped sent him up the hill to our van to keep warm. He told Faith (in shock) "I need to sit somewhere warm." So he did.

Faith is on the phone at this time, talking to the 9-1-1 operator giving directions and assessing the situation, coming down on occasion to ask a question or two. The wife (who called herself Wendel) was unable to move but needed to straighten out her legs, one of which was definitely broken. I supported her head and neck while we shifted her into a more comfortable position. She was half in the vehicle, half out on top of my legs which kept her off of the snow. My one arm supported her head and neck, the other was used to put tension on her leg by lifting on her trouser. We had a grand conversation as I assured her regularly that the ambulance was on its way and that her husband was doing just fine. She was 85 years old, a retired nurse, and they were on their way home from the early service at a local Lutheran church. Having a pastor praying with her was reassuring, but we got interrupted a lot. I sent someone to look for blankets and they came back with a couple pairs of coveralls. My hat was on her head keeping her warm until we found another, and we covered her so I could just barely see her face. I told her the story of who I and my family are, which is always fun and complicated enough to distract someone from intense pain and discomfort for at least a little while.

Finally the ambulance showed up (only about 20 minutes after the call). After the paramedics assessed the situation, the brought out the spine board and braced it against my legs under her back. One of the gentlemen climbed into the wreckage to support her legs as they attempted to move her off of me and on to the board. In three swift movements they had her out of the vehicle and on her way up the slope to the ambulance. I got up and headed for our vehicle to see how everyone was doing. The husband was still sitting there, but Faith had told one of the people who stopped to grab their first aid kit to bandage up the elderly man's wounds. She also lent him my phone to call a relative or two. While Faith was on the phone and I was sitting in the snow chatting with the wife, another woman showed up at our vehicle and asked if she could have a ride to Evansburg. Faith told her to hop on in, moved some car seats around, and rearranged the children to accommodate her. The kids were surprisingly good the whole time. Maybe it was the fact that there were strangers in the vehicle, maybe it was the blood in the front seat. Who knows.

Anyway, the RCMP tried to get statements from us twice in the blistering cold and wind and both officers gave up, telling us to come in to the station sometime later. We were okay with that. I informed the paramedics that we still had the elderly driver in the front of our vehicle and thought that he would like to travel with his wife. One of them had checked him when they arrived, but he informed her he ought to be checking on his wife instead. She still examined him anyway assuring him that he needed to be looked at as well and that there were plenty of people with his wife. When we were released to leave, there was still an extra passenger in our vehicle. Right. It was now 10:35 and my Sunday School class I was supposed to be teaching was very much half over. Faith had called the church on my phone after she had lent it to the elderly man and after she was finished with 9-1-1. Her phone was in "emergency mode" (so cool) so she couldn't use it for anything else until dispatch released it. Anyway, We drove down the road, turned around the next mile up, made the corner to the church finally, and I dropped off the kids and Faith at church.

Then I cleaned some of the blood out of the passenger side door for comfort's sake and invited our fare to sit in the front. I know I say "fare", but it was really a gift. She had hit the ditch about 100 feet beyond the roll-over just minutes before and came in search of somewhere warm (and a ride). And in those conditions I drove her to Entwistle even though she said Evansburg - I think she was in a bit of shock too. She thanked and apologized profusely. We had a great 1/2 hour conversation, in part of which she revealed that she believed in Jesus Christ as her Saviour and preached to me a brief sermonette about the Good Samaritan. This was actually the kids' Sunday School lesson which they only heard the tail end of. The woman and I discussed love and good works interestingly enough. After dropping her in the middle of a street near a relative's house (because she told me she'd find a place to keep warm until they arrived home in a few minutes), I drove back to the church on a hope and a prayer. It was very slippery still and I caught the van moving sideways a couple of times in the gusting wind. Boy was I glad to be in a warm church just before the potluck started and I had to present at an initial interest meeting for a missions trip!

Just another adventure in the lives of Mark and Faith. Anyone for a little more crazy? Anyone?