She was riding on the side of a four lane highway on her power chair. There wasn't really a shoulder at spots, allowing her a safe margin from the cars whizzing by, but my guess was she was heading somewhere important out of necessity.
I drove past her, then pulled into a parking lot driveway in front of her, honked my horn and lowered my window.
"Want a ride?," I asked.
"You bet," she said, as a car whizzed by, kicking a stone up that pinged off her chair.
So I let down the ramp and she rolled on. We had a nice chat about how we both have dodged becoming wheelchair pedestrian statistics. She told me she couldn't use her car any more now that she was in a power chair. The bus route was in the opposite direction of her destination and she said sometimes they passed her by or didn't lower the lift.
It turned out she was headed toward a nursing home. Her father is very ill and she hasn't been able to see him. It was miles down the road, so when I dropped her off there I told her I'd come back to take her home.
When she got home, she went down the ramp and turned to me.
"It's a miracle, isn't it, the way you came along?" she said.
I nodded.
She began to cry, but waved and kept rolling.
Yesterday I found out that my friend Stacey died of cancer. She was a good hearted soul and I'll miss her. Stacey was my aide for a short time. She always brought a smile and a hug. I know she was a spiritual person, because her actions told me so.
I can't say anything more about her right now. I'll miss running into her down here on Earth. But I do know she would have loved this story. She would have said "That was a God thing."
7 comments:
My dear Wheelie, I am so sorry about the loss of your friend...I'm sending you a smile and hug from afar. Little miracles happen all the time if only we're alert to them.
Take good care.
Full Tilt,
thank you for the smile and hug, can use it :)
take care-
I'm glad she had a few less trips alone. Right after I wrote my post on wheelchair safety, a man in a wheelchair waited for my van to pass and then entered the roadway--there were no sidewalks. The truck behind him had to crest the hill before the driver could see him and brake. Very dangerous, and I worried. Unfortunately for instances like this, I have a single wheelchair lift rather than a ramp and removable seat.
Frida-
it's frightening to see how many people in wheelchairs have to use roads that are unsafe. I can't always stop, depending on what's going on, but if I can, I try to get someone out of harm's way. But, as you point out, it's a temporary fix. The real answer is available, affordable transportation.
I am sorry for the loss of your friend.
Friends are a "God thing."
As are kind passers-by who happen to have cars with lifts.
Transportation is definitely the answer...
Am very sorry for your loss. This was a lovely tribute to your friend, and a good deed in giving a ride to a stranger in need.
Thanks, Goldfish. Appreciate your kind words.
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