courier

Last nite about 6:15 PM or so my husband Jay was driving home from Wichita Falls. We have the papers printed there since we started having them done in color a few months back. We send the pages electronically and by the time Jay gets to Wichita Falls they are usually done, he packs them in the back of the suburban and returns to Munday where we label them and get them to the post office. He had called me about 5:30 and was just getting ready to head back home.
We’re not sure what happened but I believe Jay went to sleep while driving. He says he doesn’t remember anything until he realized he was off the road, then over corrected and ran off the highway and rolled the suburban at least once. I received a phone call from a lady who had been behind Jay – she had found his cell phone and my number was first on the list so she called. Three cars behind her was none other than Mickey Jackson of Munday. Mickey lives around the corner from us and is a deacon at the church we attend. Many of you will remember that he was one of Munday’s first EMT’s. I know there were three of them and that Bobby Hutchinson was one but I can’t remember the 3rd party right at this moment.
I’m still not sure how Mickey got to Jay in the surburan – all I know is that he did and he knew what to do! Mickey literally pulled Jay’s bleeding scalp back down over his forehead and held it in place. It had been deeply cut open in several places and the bleeding was extreme. He also knew to make Jay keep his head still in case of trauma to that area – that proved to be very wise in the long run.
A helicopter was called to transport Jay but those of you who know him know that he is “rotund.” They could not comfortably or safely get him out of the suburban and loaded and they had to wait for the jaws of life to get him out and his legs untangled from the dash and seat area. Meanwhile Mickey was still pressing on Jay’s forehead and scalp area to help with the bleeding issue.
When my daughter and my oldest son and I arrived at the scene (near Dundee – or Camelville as we call it) about one hour had elapsed. Mickey had called me just a few minutes prior to us getting there and until that time I didn’t realize that he was there. The ambulance had only been gone about 3 minutes – so the patrolman said. We got out of the car and obtained wallet and keys from the patrolman who then got a call from the transport service. The officer told us that we needed to get to the hospital as quick as we could – they were very concerned about the head wounds. Mickey set his flashers to blinking and led us to the hospital “with haste.” I’m not very familiar with WF and while I knew the general vacinity I didn’t know the exact location of the hospital.
Mickey and Linda Beth had been enjoying a day of great weather and doing a little shopping in WF. They decided to fore-go one shopping stop and head on home as they were tired. Hhmm – if they had made that other stop they would have never been in the position so close to Jay’s vehicle. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
When we arrived at the hospital Mickey and wife Linda Beth were already there and waiting for us slow pokes! They stayed until late into the evening – I’ve kind of lost track of time.
It was pretty much touch and go last nite because Jay’s blood pressure kept dropping dramatically. At times it was 67 over 45, usually his blood pressure is very high because of his size and he also has congestive heart failure. The neurologists and cardiologists were called in and they couldn’t pin point an exact reason why his pressure was so low but were concerned about the possibilities of internal bleeding.
To make this long tale slightly shorter just let me say that there is no brain damage – Praise God! Jay had lost a tremendous amount of blood from the scalp wounds and had to have two units of blood along with saline solutions, etc. He finally stalized about 3:00 this morning.
So do you think it was a coincidence that Mickey and Linda Beth Jackson were only four cars behind Jay? I do not – I believe that they were sent. No, I KNOW that they were sent. God knows what angels to put in what location, doesn’t he? And while it always amazes me it really shouldn’t – it’s a God thing – It’s what He does. Not many people could handle the situation like Mickey did and his help was probably instrumental in the good reports that are coming in now on Jay. Yes, he does have two breaks in the top vertebrae in his neck and one in his lower back. His head wounds are not really good but they could be SO much worse. The doctors told me today that if the bone chips in his neck had gone the other way that there probably would have been spinal chord damage.
Our pastor James Jackson got to the hospital last night. He stayed all nite in WF because Gene Brown, another dear Munday man, had biopsies on his lung this morning. With Jay there late and Gene in the same hospital James was on “double duty.” He also took my boys to lunch which was a great break for them.
Hometown miracles? Yes, we have many, many of them – add this one to your list!