Hero Hank

I'm going to warn you right now, this is going to be a long post and one that has raw emotions. I'm not going to sugar coat anything. I am going to tell you my life story & my journey to meet my hero. His name is Hank.

I was born on August 25th to Jim & Karen. Five days later Jim, Karen, myself, and their good friend Joe were going on a roadtrip downstate to visit Karen's Mom, Joyce and show her their new baby...aka me. =)

Their trip only took them as far as Epoufette, MI though. A pickup truck crossed the center line, crashing into our car head on. The driver of our car was killed instantly by the steering wheel decapitating him. Jim was ejected from the car & thrown into the ditch. Karen was laying on the back seat sleeping & I was sitting on the floor behind the passenger seat. The driver of the pickup was drunk...have I mentioned lately how STUPID drunk driving is?

I have always known about this accident & I was told that a police officer gave me CPR and brought me back. For my whole life I have always wanted to meet the man who gave me a second chance at life. I have searched and searched. Lost hours upon hours of sleep scouring, digging up any information I could possibly get my hands onto in search for this man. I don't think most people, other than my husband know just how much time I have given to this search and just how much I wanted this. It's been my dream. My. Whole. Life. I have heard stories about the accident, my injuries, Karen's injuries, Jim's injuries and Joe's death my whole life. I have heard the story about when my family went downstate to sign papers so the officer could be given a medal for saving my life. The day that we went downstate I was in the car with my Mom (I was adopted by my grandparents when I was a baby) Karen & Jim (my biologicals) went in to sign some papers, a cop came to the car that my Mom & I were in, asked if we needed anything. My Mom stated why they were there, the cop said, "that was me". Apparently I was sound asleep but when he said that I woke up and smiled at him. Keep in mind, I have heard these stories my whole life. I needed to thank the man, somehow, someway.

Now, just two weeks ago I got a call from Jim's wife telling me that the man who saved my life was up at my camp!! Jim was up at camp with my brother Bruce & Bruce's friend Hank. They were tapping maple trees. Anyways, Bruce jabbed his eye with a twig. He was fine but that whole incident got the guys talking about accidents. This Hank fella went on about this gruesome accident he came upon about 34yrs ago, the woman screaming in the car, pointing to her pink bracelet on her arm, the driver being decapitated, the baby in the backseat, the man walking from the ditch, being in Epoufette, Labor Day weekend, the baby's head being smushed like a pancake...it dawned on Jim that Hank was talking about the accident he was in!!

Ok, I go my whole life looking for this man. The man who hit us was a previous Mayor & everything was covered up. There is no record on file of our accident. Not even in Lansing!! I spent days, months and most of my life scouring anything I can get my hands onto to find this man and he lives a half a mile from my brother Bruce!! No kidding right?

Well, tonight I met Hank and his wife, Sue. I am still in awe, complete disbelief that this lifetime dream has come true. My brother Bruce went with us to Hanks house. Several years ago Bruce was in a bad motorcycle accident and it was Hank who was there for him. He is truly a hero. On our way to Bruce's we passed the neighbor houses & there was a man outside standing there. My stomach was in knots. I asked Ken if he thought that could have been Hank. We had no clue if it was or not. My heart raced. I hoped I wouldn't bawl like crazy. I am extremely high pitched when I cry. I tried to psych myself up, tried to play out the conversation we'd have. Just how can you thank someone or even come close to thanking someone for giving you a second chance at life. Hank pulled me from the car. He was on the scene before the cop even arrived. There was gas & oil all over the place. He didn't have to do that, but he did. How could my thank you ever be enough? Clearly my emotions were running wild.

We pulled up to the house, Bruce wanted me to go in first, I was too nervous. What happened afterwards was a whirlwind of hugs and thank yous. He tried to shake my hand...nope, he was getting a hug!! We all hugged and he and his wife said to have a seat. We sat at the table, Hank said "have you been staying out from underneath crushed car seats?" When he found me I was smushed under the seat. It was a total ice breaker. It was awesome actually. We talked and talked. Then talked some more. He told me what he saw, the gruesomeness of the scene, the smell of blood, how my head was a pancake when he took me out & put me on the hood of the car, he spoke of the man from the pickup truck reeking of alcohol, what it looked like when my head retook shape. He spoke vividly of everything & how they prayed, he always wondered what happened to that family. Did they live? What about the baby? Was she alive? He told me everybody cried when the officer gave me CPR and I started coughing and crying.



My whole life I have searched for the Cop who saved my life. I never once even thought that a good Samaritan could have been the man who gave me life. Hank pulled me from the car. Had he not done that, who knows what would have happened. The way I see it is, he saved me. He was there, listening to Karen screaming frantically in the backseat, pointing to her pink hospital band. He realized there was a baby in there, took me out and then another hero gave me a breath. Do I know who the other hero is? No...but I will find out.

Meeting Hank & his wife was like meeting old friends. I am certain we will make many memories in the future. I am certain. I have a hero, and his name is Hank =)