Your Stories of Strangers Coming to Your Aid

Debbie,

 

I am sure that it was this page that had a video of the new way to do CPR.  I ignored it the first time it came in your email.  I ignored it about 15 more times when friends forwarded it to me.  About the 20^th time I watched it. 

 

On a cool crisp Chicago morning at 6:59am my husband collapsed from Aortic Stenosis.   I calmly laid him out and just like in the video, told the nearest person to call 911.  I proceeded to do CPR just as the video said – never stopping for 5 minutes the compressions – hard and deep.  I kept calling his name and at one point when exhausted went to his feet and grounded them by hitting them to the ground by holding the cuffs of his pants.  The Ambulance was arriving and they found that he did have a heartbeat.  They put him in the ambulance and bagged him and he was a little disoriented but alive. 

 

There are some words you will never forget.  The ER doc said to me: “I cannot explain this but he was dead and now he is alive.”  I knew the answer…  it was the video that you shared on this website about the new way to do CPR that saved his life.  There were angels all around keeping the streets clear and my daughter near.  But the video was and continues to me the single greatest gift… 

 

Thank you for posting it and thank you for all your informative postings.  I admit that I do not read them all but I do open them to evaluate the content. 

 

Happy to report that we just celebrated 41 years of marriage on the 22^nd of September and married off our last daughter on the 20^th.  Your video made a difference in our lives.

 

Sincerely and with great amounts of appreciation,

 

Fran Malone

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Wonderful Debbie! So happy for you and especially David! My stranger story happened a few days after Hurricane Katrina in 2005...I was trying to get to my daughter's home in Georgia. I had no map, a non working cell phone b/c towers were down, the clothes on my back and my cat. I got terribly lost in Hattiesburg, MS. after wasting gas which was hard to get b/c the pumps were down...I got out and started waving my arms. the 1st car had my Guardian Angel in it. That's what I call her now. she said something told her to stop, she called my kids, she called to see where I could get gas and she led me back to the highway. She later told me she HAD to stop even though her husband told her never to stop for strangers. we are now Facebook friends and keep up that way. Her husband is in Africa serving our country-due home FOR GOOD in about 45 days so please say prayers for Jim's safe return.     Linda
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Debbie,

 

I so enjoy your hodgepodge from Geranium Farm. I hope you will consider this bit from my forthcoming book Occupying Aging for your series on the generosity of strangers.

 

Kathie

 

September 29: Giving from the Heart

                Today I did one of my favorite Saturday activities: I went to the farmers’ market. The day was a perfect, early fall, crisp and clear day. The café that sells egg rolls was still there; next week is their last week of the season. I went to pick out six gourds for little gifts for this week. One is for the gal who delivers home delivery library books for me, two for a birthday lunch, and three for gals who will help me with the pet food delivery next weekend. But, after having great fun pawing through all the gourds to pick a selection, things took an interesting turn. I went to pay and the Hmong farmer said “no.” He was giving them to me. I said no, I’ll pay, and he said no, and tapped his heart and said “gift from the heart.” Clearly he knew the truth of this quote:

 

No one has ever become poor by giving.

—Anne Frank

 

I thanked him many times and was moving off when he added a bag of potatoes to his gift. I will share the potatoes with guests on Monday and have a wonderful story to tell each recipient of a gourd. A bit of me squirms at the thought of him giving them to me because I’m blind, but the gesture felt generous, not slimy and condescending. I’ll just be thankful.

 

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.

—Maya Angelou

 

 

Katherine Schneider, Ph.D.