Yesterday afternoon while Corey was changing our brake pads, the car rolled forward, the jack slipped out, and Corey's left hand was pinned under the left front wheel. And he is alright. His hand seems fine, except for some surface scrapes and a lot of soreness. There may be some small fractures, but so far, nothing serious. Neither of us have any idea how his bones and flesh were not completely crushed under the weight of the car. It doesn't make any sense at all to two of us that have several semesters of Physics training. But we are grateful beyond words or comprehension that our prayers were heard and answered during those scary minutes of helplessness.
So here is the long version:
Yesterday afternoon, after a week of pre-final exams, Corey decided to take a study break with Zach, and they both headed outside to our driveway and alleyway with their tool boxes to change the brake pads on Corey's Accord, which Corey has done a dozen times. I didn't feel great about him having Zach out there while working, but Zach loves to "fick" things with Daddy, and Corey had only been able to spend an hour or two with Zach all week due to his rigorous study schedule. I stayed inside to take a shower, but got caught up in some computer activities, which was very, very lucky (and every time I say "lucky," I don't meet lucky. I mean divinely inspired, blessed, etc.). Fifteen minutes into it, I heard Corey yell, so I got up to see what was going on. I got outside to see Zach crying hard and Corey pinned under the left front wheel with the entire car tilting onto his left hand. Corey was amazingly calm for the amount of pain I knew he had to be in. I think I would have been screaming and crying. Of course, the first thing I did when I saw the situation was offer a silent plea for help to my Heavenly Father that everything would be alright.
My first thought was that I had to lift the weight of the car off my husband. I had no idea how much of him was being crushed, but I knew it was serious. I've heard the stories of the adrenaline rush of emergency situations giving people super-human strength to do things such as lifting cars off of people (in fact, Corey's grandfather had such an experience which saved the lives of several family members, which you can read about here.), and thought maybe I could do it. So I leaned my nearly-7-month-pregnant mega-muscles into the left front bumper and lifted with all my might a couple of times, which, as you can probably imagine, did absolutely nothing. How disappointing that I am such a weakling!
My next thought was that I had to get ahold of our home teacher, who is a hugely buff Dallas Cowboys football player that doesn't live too far away. But alas, I did not have his number saved in my phone (which I quickly remedied after the incident! Lesson learned: keep your home teachers and a buff body builder on your speed dial!!) Corey told me to get help, but I had no idea whom to call for. Our two next door neighbors are small, single women who are rarely home and probably weaker than I, and I don't know any of our other neighbors and didn't want to waste time pounding down doors. So I ran in the house and called 911 and explained the situation, and the dispatch was made.
This whole time, Zach was extremely traumatized and screaming and crying while I was trying to figure out with Corey what to do. What happened was that our driveway has a very slight incline, and while the driver's side front tire had been jacked up and tire removed, the car had started to shift forward after Corey put some pressure on a bolt. Corey quickly pushed Zach out of the way so the car wouldn't fall on him, and the jack slipped out, pinning Corey's entire hand under the rotor and wheel base. He didn't have his phone with him, and was out there alone with Zach in the alley and the door to the house was shut so that Zach couldn't have gotten in. Even after the fire truck and paramedics came, not one neighbor came out to see what was going on, which makes me think no one was home, (because no one is un-curious enough to not see why an ambulance is in back of their homes, right?) so they wouldn't have heard any cries for help either. If I hadn't been exactly where I was at that time, it could have been quite awhile before Corey got any help, and Zach could have wandered down the alley or in front of a car, or anything, Corey could have passed out, etc. It is just amazing to me still that things worked out the way they did. The situation and outcome could have been so very, very much worse.
Corey, with his clear presence of mind, told me to lower the jack and put it under the car. But I had no idea how the jack worked, and the frame of the car was so very close to the ground that neither of us thought that it could get small enough to fit under the frame. All I could think of was that the car had to be lifted or pried off my husband's hand, which extremity we desperately needed in his chosen profession of chiropractics. I wanted the strength to lift the car. I wanted the wisdom to know how to properly use Corey's tools to elevate the car. But neither came to me at this time. I quickly searched through the house and garage for something strong enough to use as a lever, and only found some weird hunting stand. After the fact, Corey thought this was hilarious and laughed hysterically at me, but it made perfect sense to me at the time.
He was surprisingly calm enough to walk me through the steps of putting the jack and wrench, which were both out of his reach, back together. Thankfully, it was just small enough to fit back under the car, and I used my feminine buffness to raise the car back off of his hand until he could slip it back out. I expected a bloody, crushed, massacred mess--maybe even a stump, because what bones are strong enough to withstand thousands of pounds of metallic force for 5 minutes straight? But there were just a few abraded scrapes. No bones popping out or digits hanging off. It was extremely sore, and took a few minutes until he could really bend all his fingers well. After we were sure nothing was seriously wrong, I called 911 back and told them we no longer needed their assistance. We have crummy insurance, and I didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a pat on the back. We were going to take him to the doctor if we felt he needed it. But they said they'd already been dispatched, and since the fire department is only about 1 mile away, we could already hear them coming.
When they arrived, we explained the situation. They carefully examined Corey's hand and encouraged us to still have an xray and exam, warning us that it would probably swell up very badly and he would be in severe pain before long. They had recently had another similar situation, and informed us it did not turn out well. Corey and I were both feeling like watching and waiting was the best thing to do, so we declined any medical treatment. The kind officers did, however, offer to replace the tire--and at no charge! When the fire truck arrived, our crying Zach went up and gave one of the firemen a big hug, which helped console himself. Poor thing! He really was terrified! Afterwards, we put Corey on the couch with an ice pack and Zach made sure he was right there to help with "Daddy's owie."
The firefighters replacing the tire
These marks and a really sore shoulder were my only evidences of trying to help!
Zack offering Corey an ice pack
After the ordeal, we offered a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude and wonder that things did not turn out any worse, and that Corey's hand was spared. I firmly believe that there was something or someone else holding the weight of that car off of Corey's hand. There is no way that a car can fall on a hand at a sharp edge with such momentum and have the mild result we experienced. Every day I pray for the safety and health of our family members. I sometimes worry about it being a "vain repetition" in my prayers, but I always mean it with the full force of my being, and I know Heavenly Father has heard and answered this prayer on many occasions for members of my entire family. I am so very grateful for the knowledge that the power of prayer is real. This experience has strengthened my faith. I know Heavenly Father watches out for each of us, especially when we are asking for Him to do so.
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