My name is Ted and I have just experienced what I can only call a miracle. Yeah, I know, you probably don't believe in miracles. Well, I don't believe in coincidences but I do believe in providence.
It all started a year ago last November. I was alone in my old farm house in the rural hills of our state. I, at that time, was a bachelor with little likelihood of marriage. It wasn't that I wanted to be single, I just had never found the person I wanted who also wanted me.
I have adequate funds to live on without having to work for the rest of my life. Before you call me lucky I should tell you why I have the money. Shortly after earning my Ph.D. in Physics my parents decided to take a trip to Idaho. My dad was a successful surgeon and my mom taught physiology at the local university. They invited me along since there were four seats in my dad's private plane. The plane was almost a flying antique. It was an early Piper upper wing monoplane just a bit bigger than a Piper Cub. It had been made in the forties and used wood and canvas construction. The trip and vacation went well until our return flight. My dad was only licensed for VFR (visual flight rules). That is, he didn't have the training to fly only by instruments. Since the trip was only about three hundred miles, and the airstrip was only a very flat hayfield that had been cut and baled the previous week, dad didn't file a flight plan and only had the local flight information from the weather bureau radio messages.
We were about a hundred miles from nowhere when the ceiling closed down on us. We had relatively heavy rain, but could still see the ground. What none of us saw was the ice build-up on the wings. By the time my dad realized that the controls weren't responding right it was too late. (Older small planes normally were not equipped with de-icing systems on their wings and control surfaces.)
It was obvious that we needed to make an emergency landing. Our problem was that we were over some pretty rugged ground with lots of trees. Dad made the best landing he could, but it wasn't good enough. Our left wing hit a tree rupturing the left wing gas tank.. If the plane had not broken in two, just behind the pilot's seat, I would not be telling you this. The plane was an inferno before we came to a stop. I was severely burned and had numerous broken bones. My folks weren't so lucky. They both died.
I didn't fully appreciate the damage done until I came to in the university's burn unit. They did the best that they could, but it's hard to make a new face with what they started with. My hands, arms, and legs were a mess, but my face would require me to wear a mask to keep from frightening people.
Anyway, a year ago November I was sitting alone in my living room looking out at the snow and sleet, with a nice fire in the fireplace. I was glad to be inside. The road in front of my house is a twisty unpaved back road. Unfortunately, it is also easy to mistake the turn onto my road with the turn going to Smithton. Along about dusk a car came tearing down the road. It was going far too fast to handle the curve in front of my house.
The crash was messy. Fortunately there was no fire and later I found out that the driver was belted in properly. I called 911 and was informed that our county was under a state of emergency. Even emergency vehicles were staying in town or on main roads. I got on my heavy clothes and went out with a flashlight and first aid kit to see if I could help. The way the car had landed had caused the windshield to pop out. When I worked my way in to the driver it was obvious that she was out cold. It was also obvious that the gas tank had ruptured.
Based upon my fear of being burned again, I decided to risk moving the driver. I tried to be as careful as I could. It took me ten minutes to slide her out. I could have done it more quickly but I didn't know how badly she might be hurt.
When I got her inside the house I removed her heavy winter coat and boots and laid her on my couch in front of my fireplace. Being a doctor's kid I was relatively well versed in first aid. My dad had insisted I take enough first aid to almost be certified as an EMT. It came in handy now. I proceeded to check her arms and legs of signs of fracture. Her head, although bruised up from hitting the drivers side window and being hit by the air bag, didn't feel like it had taken any severe blows. However, it was obvious that her legs needed attention. She was bleeding from both shins.
I got my first aid kit open and brought in a fresh bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Her pants were tight enough that I couldn't roll them up her leg, so I cut them away with EMT scissors. The leg cuts were deep, but the bone was not showing. I washed them with the peroxide and then covered them with betadine. I butterflyed the wounds as well as I could and then applied Telfa pads, a double layer of surgical sponge, and an ace bandage. There was now some seepage but no serious bleeding.
I got out my penlight, peeled up an eyelid and checked the pupillary reflex in each of her eyes. They contracted at the same rate, but she was still definitely out cold. I covered her with blankets and sat down to pray and to wait. I was worried that when she awoke I would scare her with my face and hands. I put on some gause gloves and a surgical mask. That would cover some of my facial damage.
************
It was half an hour later that she started to show signs of coming to. I had already put a basin and towel next to her knowing that she might well be nauseated upon coming to. She was.
After some serious vomiting I helped her clean up with the towel. She looked at me, and the room and asked the obvious question. "Where am I?"
"You are in my living room. Your car was wrecked and I knew that you needed to be warmed up and your wounds attended to. I can assure you that you are safe here."
"Are you a doctor?"
"No, but my dad was. He insisted I learn how to provide good first aid."
"Who are you and why are you wearing a mask and gloves?"
"My name is Ted and I didn't want to frighten you with my hands and face. They are not at all pretty."
"Why?"
"I was badly burned a few years ago and the doctors did the best that they could. However, good is a relative term. By the way, what is your name?"
"My name is Ebony. I'm thirsty. Could you make me a good stiff drink?"
"No, I can't. Alcohol would mask signs of a concussion, and before you ask so would any pain killers. However I can offer you some tea or hot chocolate. I would have said coffee, but the caffeine would have boosted your blood pressure a bit and I don't want to see you hurt any more than you are."
"I'd like hot chocolate then. I want to sit up."
She tried to sit up but couldn't do it.
"You might be better off laying down for a while. I don't want you going into shock. However, if you insist on sitting up I will help you sit up."
Ebony insisted on sitting up so I very gently helped her sit up right next to the right arm of the couch. After putting the blankets around her again I went into the kitchen and made two cups of hot chocolate. I brought them out to the living room, handed her a cup and took a seat in an armchair.
"To drink this, I am going to have to take off the mask. I need to warn you that you will not find the result pleasant. I'm sorry!"
With that I removed my mask. She involuntarily took in a brief breath and looked away from me.
"Thank you for warning me, and thank you for having the mask on when I regained consciousness. Why did you go out in the bad weather to rescue me? If I were in the city, people would call in the emergency and then leave to do whatever they had been doing."
"Well, that is a complicated question. First, as a Christian I am called on to help people when I can do so. Second, I know what it is like to be in a wreck that catches fire. I couldn't stand by and watch it happen to anybody. Third, I just wanted to help."
"What are you going to want for helping me?"
"Nothing. I would consider an attempt to pay me to be a sort of personal insult. I didn't do this for a reward. I am not in need of money. I have most of the things I want. So, please don't even think about payment. If, within the next two to three hours you are still looking okay, and if your pupils still contract and expand at the same rate I will help you into my guest room. It has a good lock on the inside of the door. You will not be disturbed."
"I don't know what to say. I am not used to people like you."
We sat back and watched the fire. I helped my guest to the bathroom, once, and finally into the now warm guest room. I showed her where there was a good bathrobe and helped her to the edge of the bed where I had folded the blanket and sheet back, Then I left the room.
********
I was up long before my guest awoke. I made a fresh pot of coffee and a nice coffee cake. As I was finishing up my kitchen chores I heard the bathroom door close.
A few minutes later I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. I immediately saw that her face was black and blue and that she was having difficulty walking. I quickly pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, helped her sit, and slid the chair into place at the table.
I got my penlight and checked her pupils again. The rates were equal and rapid enough.
"Would you like some coffee and coffee cake?"
"I would love some. Can I also have some ibuprofen or acetaminophen?"
"Yes, you can. Since they operate in different ways in the body you can actually take both at the same time. The acetaminophen is very good for headaches and the ibuprofen is very good for muscle aches." I brought bottles of both medicines to her and then served the coffee and cake.
"Do you take anything in your coffee?"
"No, thank you. Could you drive me into town later?"
"I wish I could, Ebony. There is a county wide state of emergency due to the ice and snow. We are snowed in. Don't worry though, you are as safe here as if you were in your own home. We have plenty of fuel for heat and more than enough food."
"I don't have a home anymore. My source of income dried up and the area I lived in was too expensive. I have no family so I decided to go to Smithton and find a small place and some type of job. My grandfather was from Smithton and I fondly remember that town. By the way, what do you do?"
"Well, when I want to work I do some technical work by means of the Internet. People don't have to look at me that way. Also, what I do doesn't need the presence of any people. Paper, pencil, and computer are all I need to work. However, I don't need to work. My parents had excellent insurance and had good investments. When they died I inherited it."
"I'm sorry to hear that they are dead. Was that the accident that burned you?"
