GOOD SAMARITAN IS FREEWAY ANGEL.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Pam Stuber doesn't remember much of what happened after the car crash a few weeks ago, but she does remember this: When she came to - trapped upside down in her car on the 118 Freeway - a woman was banging on her window, warning her not to move because she might have internal injuries. The woman said she was a nurse, but Pam didn't believe her. When she looked up into Rhonda Orbach's eyes, what she saw was an angel. ``She pulled the car door open, and said she would take care of me until the ambulance arrived,'' Pam said Monday, when she met Rhonda for the first time since the Jan. 2 accident. Pam was driving to her job as manager at the Sports Chalet in Valencia when her car hit a slick spot on the Ronald Reagan Freeway and hydroplaned, crashing into a freeway wall and coming to rest upside down. Rhonda, a nurse at Kaiser Hospital in Panorama City, was also on her way to work that morning and was running late. But when she came upon the accident, she didn't think twice about what she had to do. Stop and help. Not medical help. Angel help, Pam says. ``I knew Pam probably had whiplash whiplash n. a common neck and/or back injury suffered in automobile accidents (particularly from being hit from the rear) in which the head and/or upper back is snapped back and forth suddenly and violently by the impact. and a concussion concussion Period of nervous-function impairment that results from relatively mild brain injury, often with no bleeding in the cerebral cortex. It causes brief unconsciousness, followed by mental confusion and physical difficulties. , so I took her hand and asked her to stay with me, to keep talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to me,'' Rhonda said. ``She was in shock, and her eyes were rolling back in her head. I didn't want her to slip into unconsciousness.'' They talked until the ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later - the accident victim and her angel. Every time Pam tried to close her eyes and go to sleep from the concussion and fatigue overtaking her body, Rhonda squeezed her hand and told her to look into her eyes. The women talked about their jobs and their families. Pam told Rhonda about her puppy and her boyfriend. Rhonda told Pam about her son, Glen, whom she thought was probably right around Pam's age - 25 or so. ``He graduated from Alemany High in 1996,'' Rhonda said. Pam looked up at her angel and tried to smile. ``I graduated from Alemany High in 1996,'' she said. ``I know your son.'' In the background, they heard the ambulance arrive, and Rhonda said it was time for the medical professionals to take over. ``I remember her telling me she had to go,'' Pam said. ``I squeezed her hand, and asked her not to go. I told her to write her name and telephone number down for me, and she did on the back of a gum wrapper A data structure or software that contains ("wraps around") other data or software, so that the contained elements can exist in the newer system. The term is often used with component software, where a wrapper is placed around a legacy routine to make it behave like an object. she found in the car.'' Pam was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is a hospital in Mission Hills, California, USA. The hospital has 254 beds, and is part of Providence Health & Services. History , suffering from whiplash, a concussion, and plenty of bumps and bruises Bruises Definition Bruises, or ecchymoses, are a discoloration and tenderness of the skin or mucous membranes due to the leakage of blood from an injured blood vessel into the tissues. Pupura refers to bruising as the result of a disease condition. . She was released after a day in the hospital. The nurses told her they had a heck of a time getting her to relax the tight fist she had made with her right hand when they wheeled her in, Pam said. When they finally pried pried 1 v. Past tense and past participle of pry1. it open, they found a gum wrapper with a name and telephone number on it. The thank-you card came in the mail a few days later, Rhonda said. Inside was a beautiful poem Pam had written about a guardian angel guardian angel believed to protect a particular person. [Folklore: Misc.] See : Angel guardian angel term for Christian namesake who watches over a young child. [Christianity: Misc.] See : Guardianship , posing as a nurse who stopped to help the victim of a car crash. ``What touches me is she's 25 and able to go there,'' Rhonda said Monday. ``Today, in our world, most of our kids don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how to go there.'' To go where you say thank you to a stranger by expressing yourself with so much feeling and honesty wrapped up inside a beautiful poem you've written. ``Without Rhonda stopping to help me, keep me awake and talking, well, I don't know what would have happened,'' Pam said. ``She was my guardian angel.'' Rhonda was a little hesitant to come forward and talk about what happened, but two things changed her mind. One, if it was her son in that car, she would want someone to stop, hold his hand and keep him talking until the ambulance arrived, Rhonda said. And the other is bringing more public awareness to the California Good Samaritan Law good samaritan law a law that provides protection against claims of malpractice for medical practitioners who render emergency care at the scene of an accident except when gross negligence or willful misconduct can be proved. , which protects people from possible litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. if they stop at an accident scene to help a victim. ``I was just doing what we should expect more people to do - try to provide some moral support and comfort to a victim - but they don't because they're afraid of getting sued,'' Rhonda said. Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Nurse Rhonda Orbach, left, kept crash victim Pamela Stuber, right, from losing consciousness until an ambulance arrived. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion