Local Everyday Heros

Tonight was a night not much different from any other saturday night, and although we usually go to our local Church for Mass on Sunday, the family and I were headed to Saturday night mass tonight instead. But still, Like I said, tonight wasnt much different from any other saturday night.  That was untill mass was just about over.

At that time, my oldest child (in the pew at church) turned around to pick up her coat, then somehow tripped and fell hitting her head on the way down.  As a parent, you never want to see your kids get hurt or have any kind of pain, however being a Dad of 3 kids under 6, I’ve learned not to get too worried because bumps and bruises happen all the time. This was not one of those times.  Quickly after hitting her head, she began to cry (at this point I’m still not too worried).  After my wife and I reached to pick her up, we realized the back of her head was bleeding, A LOT.  We both quickly rushed her to the church bathroom and applied pressure to stop the bleeding.  Within a few seconds, some good friends came to the rescue (God Bless you Mrs Shultz and family).  She graciously gave my wife and I some quick advice and called 911 for us as well as jumping in and watching over our other kids too (our own and our Youth Group kids who we were with).  She and her family are Local Everyday Heros in my book.

After the 911 call was made, 3 other Local Everyday Heroes arrived.  2 EMTs and one of our towns finest.  The EMTs (one of who also leads the local girl scout troop) came to our aid and quickly and professionally.  They helped us stop the bleeding, helped keep both of us and our daughter calm, and quickly extinguished any fears our daughter had about stitches or worse.  Amongst thoughts and concerns about my little one, another  thought kept coming through.  Do the Local Everyday Heros we are surrounded by really know how much they are appreciated?  Does Mrs. Shultz really know how much she helped us tonight?  Does she know how much we appreciate her and  what she did?  Do the EMT’s know how much they are appreciated for everything they do?  Sadly the answer is probably no.

A few years ago we were in a similar situation when my little guy had a febrile seizure in a restaurant and an unknown local hero (off duty EMT) ran to our side.  I regret that in the hustle and bustle of the moment we found ourselves in, I never had the chance to get his name or simply to stop, shake his hand, and say THANK YOU for everything he did that night.  So tonight, I am taking this time to say THANK YOU to the off duty EMT who helped us back then;  to say THANK YOU to the EMTs and Officer who come to our aid tonight; to say THANK YOU to all of the Mrs. Shultz’s of the world who instinctively run to the aid of others in need, even when they dont have to.

 Tonight I am taking this time to say THANK YOU to all of our Local Everyday Heros who more than likely do not know how much they are appreciated and how much they mean to us as well as everyone around them.

THANK YOU!