SOME YEARS AGO, while driving to my son's school to pick him up, I was involved in a serious collision. A car ran a red light at high speed and hit my small car broadside. When my vehicle came to rest, the blunt force of the impact was mind–numbing—I had an obvious head injury, and I was completely disoriented. The teenage driver who had run the red light was unhurt, and I heard people telling me that help was on the way. I asked them to please call my husband. Since he is a Christian Scientist, I knew that once he got word of what happened he'd begin praying for me.
When the police and paramedics arrived, my vital signs and blood pressure were checked and monitored. After locating a hospital that would accept a head trauma patient, the paramedics lifted me out of the car, strapped me to a board, and placed a viselike device around my head and neck. An ambulance took me to a football field where a helicopter transported me to the regional trauma center.
On the flight, a paramedic sat by my side checking and rechecking blood pressure. For the first time since the collision, I felt that I had the time to pray for myself. A sheet had been placed over my face, and oddly enough, this added to my sense of quiet and privacy.
