{"id":681,"date":"2023-08-28T13:27:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T18:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/?p=681"},"modified":"2024-06-19T06:14:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:14:29","slug":"earth-angels-and-the-jaws-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/28\/earth-angels-and-the-jaws-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Angels and The Jaws of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One week ago today (August 20, 2023), my husband, Scott, and I stepped out to relax on our back porch after coming home from church and were settling in for a lazy afternoon when we suddenly heard the worst crashing sound we\u2019ve ever heard in our lives coming from the front entrance of our neighborhood.\u00a0 We took one look at each other, and our instincts immediately had us running to the scene of the accident.\u00a0 We had no idea what we would find but we kept going until we got there.\u00a0 In that short run, our minds were already spinning on how we would best be able to help and not make the situation worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, Scott has assisted in over 7,000 heart related surgeries and was used to the intensity of the operating room.  I followed his lead.  Of the three victims, the one who was in critical condition was a beautiful African American lady named Charletta, who had been hit nearly head on by another victim who was also the perpetrator of the accident.  He was barreling down our narrow laned country road when he saw the third victim, a man in a jeep who was trying to turn left into our neighborhood, and swerved around him, colliding with Charletta who had the right of way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband immediately went to Charletta to see if she was alive and could talk and hold her hand.  The airbag had deployed and she was in pain but she could speak.  Amazingly, a nurse from our neighborhood was coming home, saw the scene, and jumped out of her car to also check on both her and the perpetrator.  The driver of the jeep called 911.  I crawled into passenger side of the car with Charletta, to try and calm her, pray over her, say scripture over her, and held her right hand and she gripped mine hard.  That gave me hope that while she was hurt, she was going to be okay.  It was blazing hot outside and we were both pouring sweat.  The car was smoking and thankfully, my husband turned off the motor.  She was able to give me phone numbers to call family.  I promised her I would not leave or be too far away.  When the EMS and Fire Department, and then police arrived on the scene, I was told I had to leave the vehicle.  I promised her that I would keep in touch with her family and continue to pray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fire Department had to use \u201cThe Jaws of Life<\/a>\u201d to remove her from the accident. That was quite a miraculous sight to witness.\u00a0 I ran back home to get a huge pitcher of ice water and rushed back to the scene in hopes of giving some to Charletta but could not.\u00a0 I felt helpless.\u00a0Scott was able to help the jeep driver to get photos and to encourage him to record a video and describe what had just happened.\u00a0 The perpetrator was injured but was able to walk.\u00a0 Because the perpetrator\u2019s car only clipped his jeep, it miraculously and dangerously only knocked him into the ditch, almost onto the train tracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The police arrived and started the process of getting the story and the details in order.  The EMS and Fire Department did their jobs with absolute precision.  Other neighbors had gathered to see if they could assist.  I stood there literally incredulous on one hand on how short and fleeting that life is while praising God for my neighbors and first responders.  It reminded me yet again that no matter our age, EVERY PERSON IN THIS WORLD has a purpose EVERY day of their lives even during the worst circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I have walked through my share of trials and tribulations, I have never experienced this type of trauma.  Both my husband and I feel as though we have been dealing with a little PTSD.  Our bodies shook for several hours from the adrenaline that sprang into action in us after coming upon this accident.  We are better now.  I have kept in touch with the family.  I am heartbroken to report that Charletta succumbed to the injuries of the accident and died 3 days later.   Thankfully, Charletta and her family are Christians, deeply grounded in their faith.  Her sister, Phynna, over and over has thanked me for being Charletta\u2019s \u201cangel.\u201d  I am honored to have been able to be there for her.  Even though I was born with a Sanguine Personality and am a happy go lucky person, this has hit me hard and the tears flow freely.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to share this this story because it has reminded me of the brevity of life, reminded me of things I know, and taught me a few lessons about what to do or not do in an emergency:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Life is short.  As we all have been told a million times, don\u2019t take it or those you love for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Be available to answer the call for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Call 911<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Get to know your neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The EMS responders taught me to never get in the car with a victim, especially when the airbags have deployed.  They passenger side could deploy at any moment and cause severe injury or death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Do check to see if a victim can talk, give him\/her verbal comfort, and DO get info from them if possible to call their family members if you have your cell phone available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 My sister, a critical care nurse, informed me that victims who are injured are never to be given water because it will impair treatment or emergency surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Stay out of the way of the first responders but stay close by to be helpful in answering questions if you have answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Do call your local city council members and highway department to see about getting more safety measures implemented on country roads or roads not marked well.  Follow up with an email and letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 DRIVE SAFELY.  Remember that driving is a privilege and not a right and that our vehicles are weapons that can and do kill others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 DON\u2019T DRIVE while impaired in any way: looking at cell phones, poor vision, alcohol consumption, or drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Follow up with families to either express condolences or check on the injured person and\/or recommend services that may help them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Don\u2019t be afraid to be someone\u2019s \u201cangel.\u201d  While I may never be able to forget the images and the feelings, I am blessed to have been a comfort to someone in distress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You never know when you may be the one who is tapped to be \u201cJesus with skin on, an earthly angel, or the one who provides The Jaws of Life.\u201d\u00a0 May God Bless and keep us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
\n
\"Dark
Debbie Robbins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Debbie was recently crowned Ms. Senior America 2023. She holds a degree in Vocal Performance and has performed across the continental U.S. and abroad. She\u2019s also a talent and interview coach to contestants competing in The Miss America Scholarship Organization. Debbie is married to Scott Robbins. They have one son, Jackson, born when Debbie was 44. He is now a senior in High School.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I have walked through my share of trials and tribulations, I have never experienced this type of trauma.\u00a0 Both my husband and I feel as though we have been dealing with a little PTSD.\u00a0 Our bodies shook for several hours from the adrenaline that sprang into action in us after coming upon this accident.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,21],"tags":[42,173,43],"class_list":["post-681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-engagement-patriotism","category-technology","tag-grief","tag-jaws-of-life","tag-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1372,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681\/revisions\/1372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}