Meaning
As I was typing this last week, all I had in mind was to
write about a fun pursuit that I was recently in in. Jacked adrenaline, reckless speeds all in a
snowstorm, all that good jazz. I even
left my computer open as I went to work to remind myself that when I was home I
needed to finish the writing that I started.
That won’t be the case this week.
You never know what’s going to happen. Everyday I’m learning that more and more as I
work the job, that it’s always best to be prepared for the unexpected. On this particular day last week, I signed up
for a Holiday overtime shift. I decided to get to the post a bit early to catch
up on paperwork so that I could get as much road time in a possible. By 11 P.M. my shift start, the “Blue goose
(patrol car)” as we call it, was
affectionately steaming in the winter night, loaded and ready to go.
My partner and I had decided to stay in the post a bit longer
before going out on the road. I had just
settled in my chair at 11: 15 when that hair raising emergency tone (See my
last post for audio on it) that possibly freezes life itself went off in my ear. “911 call, PI (personal injury) crash, I-94,
mile marker 52. Unresponsive male, not breathing.”
I flew out of my chair with my partner hot on my heels. We were probably less than a 2 minutes away. In
my ear piece I heard my partner pipe up over the radio “County, 51, we’re
headed that way from the post.”
Every crash scene is different, but as I’ve learned the job,
I can usually tell right off the bat which ones are serious. I got a sickening feeling in my stomach as I
rolled up to the scene on the side of the interstate. A blue semi-trailer was pulled off to the
side of the road with his hazards on…about 50 yards up the highway was a
crushed car about 25 yards off the highway on the “ditch side” of the road. Our blue and red lights bounced off a man
who was frantically waving his hands at us.
I could see the panic in his eyes.
My partner had already started for the medical kit and I sprinted
towards the car. As I got closer, I saw
that this car was crushed on the back end with an individual slumped over the
passenger seat. The semi-driver was
frantic on the shoulder side of the road, almost as if he couldn’t believe
himself what had happened. “I just didn’t
see him man, he came up so fast, I just didn’t see him…”He started sobbing and
walking back and forth along the highway. “Sir, get in your semi, get your
seatbelt on, and stay there until I come and get you do you understand?” No
sense in getting another person injured…The semi-driver, who was obviously in
shock, looked at me and nodded on auto pilot as he retreated to the cab of his
semi.
It’s in panic moments again where I’ve learned that you have
to remain calm, and establish some sort of sense to a situation. By this time traffic had slowed to a crawl as
onlookers stared. My heart was pounding
in my ears as I waded through snow to get to the vehicle. As I got closer I saw that it was a male
slumped over the vehicle. One thing that
I’ve noticed about myself when a chaotic scene takes place is that everything
gets quiet on the inside for me, and I latch on to that.
As I turned this male over to examine him, lifeless ice blue
eyes looked back into mine. In that
brief second I wondered who this man was, what he did for a living, and what
his story was. I glanced down checked
for a pulse. None…by this time my
partner had arrived up to the car and broke out the medical kit. Together we lifted him out of the car and
onto a snowbank…It was there, on the side of Interstate 94, in 25 degree
weather that I gave CPR compressions for 8 minutes to
try and save this man’s life until an ambulance arrived. Those 8 minutes felt like an eternity. I’ll
spare the details this time.
He died.
Now, I didn’t write this to tell you of a cool story, or for
you to feel sorry for me, or any of that.
In fact, I write this as a challenge to you.
Every life has meaning.
Every life that is lived has value. Live a life that reflects your soul. Live a life of abundance, joy and perseverance. Every life should be a celebration of our
fullest potential.
Recently, I’ve decided to become a military nerd again and
have been reading any book that I can get my hands on regarding combat,
brotherhood, and the struggle to make it back home. Several of these books include “American
Sniper,” “Fearless,” and “Into the fire.”
In each book, it talks about a military service members sacrifice towards
their fellow brother in arms, and their selflessness. I’m always inspired by these stories of
bravery. It always inspires me and
encourages me that life is not nearly as tough as I think it is. But I always walk away from a book like that
thinking “Wow, what an incredible life that they lived.”
We can get sucked into living a life for ourselves. I’m guilty of this. But what I’ve learned is that the more we
help others, the more we live our life to its truest meaning and potential, the
more our story is shaped into what we were created for.
In the end, if you look back on your life, can you ask
yourself “Has what I’ve done made an impact or difference in someone else’s
life?” If you can answer that question
honestly, I think your grasping the idea.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!
– Jeremiah 29:11”
*I do apologize for the short post, since the case is still
open. I will make sure to write another
one shortly*
