The Lifesaver

      When I was a small child, the lifesaver was a tiny, donut-shaped candy that came in a cylindrical package with other tiny, donut shaped candies. Depending on the brand and the flavor, they might be all white, all pink or even an assortment of many colors, each color denoting a different flavor. In adolescence, I became aware of a different kind of life saver, one that came in human form and sat atop a very HIGH chair watching the crick below where children of all ages and sizes, shapes and abilities were swimming. As I inched toward adulthood, life saver came to mean any person who played a significant role in the life of another human being ESPECIALLY when help was critically needed.
      The year I was due to retire I was involved in an auto accident caused by a woman who charged onto the highway from the opposite side of the road on which I was traveling. The force of impact was so great I was propelled off the road and down an embankment finally coming to rest on a small upward incline in the field. The first life saver was my seat belt which immediately and firmly snapped me into my seat. Because I was pinned in the car by the mangled door, I had to wait for someone to arrive and help me get out. . .the person who did had been traveling behind me and had seen the accident. He was the second life saver. The ambulance arrived momentarily, but I declined to be taken to the hospital. I could walk and talk, and except for a few aches and pains caused by the force of impact, I thought I was fine.
      In the months that followed, I had the expected aches and pains caused by the accident's force. I also had inordinate difficulty going to sleep until I was awake nearly 24-7. While the aches and pains faded, the insomnia didn't! I attributed this phenomenon to the abrupt and recent changes in my life. . .I'd retired after a 30+ year-career in education, my youngest child had graduated from high school and was off to college, and my partner of forty years was on his way out the door. Because I knew so little about traumatic brain injury, I never associated my insomnia with the accident and muddled along until, eleven months after the accident. I took an overnight bus to Virginia to visit my daughters, arriving early Saturday morning. I was physically tired from the trip, but not sleepy, and that evening my daughters, granddaughters and I went to supper at TGI Friday's where I began to experience very strange sensations. Finally, I turned to my daughter and said, "I don't feel quite right, I think I'd better go to the ladies' room" a comment which would be the last thing I'd remember for a long time.
      Fortunately for me, my daughter, life saver number three, is very perceptive and, sensing something quite wrong, she followed me into the restroom where she found me being wretchedly sick to my stomach. When she heard me hit the floor, she became alarmed. I had collapsed and was unconscious. Like a soap opera drama, the pace of this story picks up as an ambulance was summoned and I was rushed to Henrico Donors' Hospital where life saver number four performed emergency brain surgery and informed my daughter that if I survived the surgery, I had a chance for a full recovery. Life saver number five is my other daughter whose keen sense of order and management allowed her to take over, sign the necessary papers, send her sister home to take care of her daughters, and stay at the hospital overseeing the arrangements for me. Life savers numbers six and seven are my two sisters who have supported me throughout my recovery, providing financial assistance, emotional support and personal encouragement the combination of which has put me back on the golf course, pushed me to continue an ambitious writing project and restored my self-confidence so that I can now take care of myself.
      Life saver number eight is my adult son who has stayed with me ever since his father left, keeping me safe when I was really NOT fit to be alone. Life saver number nine is my circle of friends without whose support and encouragement I would not only feel alone, I would have had no ready hand for assistance as needed, i.e. when two different medical emergencies--a sinus hemorrhage and a broken foot--each necessitated a trip to the emergency room. And last but certainly not least Life Saver number ten is US Debt Resolve whose representative Kim Ulrich is helping me to get my finances back on track. I've no idea how I ended up in such a financial quandary as I have nothing to show for the money spent, but I'm sure I'll not live long enough to get everything repaid on just my retirement without their help. My future now looks less hopeless than it did before as I make plans to move south within the next year and spend the remainder of my days with as much sun on my face as Heaven allows.

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