The Blanket

Last Saturday on our way to the boys’ games, we were on I-15 traveling at about 75 mph. Out of nowhere Matt yelled, “OH MY GOSH! That car just flipped!” As I looked up I noticed a car still flipping into the field to the right of us. Pulling on my shoes I dialed 911, Matt pulled over, and we hit the ground running toward a family in their crushed compact car. Every window was gone, glass was everywhere, the airbags were deployed in full force, and a child inside was screaming. Looking back at my conversation with the 911 operator, I wonder how she could even understand me. Luckily they are trained to understand people under duress. As the dust settled we were amazed to find this little family of mom and dad and two kids (15 yrs & 8 yrs), all wearing seatbelts, banged up, cut, and terrified- but mostly FINE! By the time the ambulance got there, Matt had the big cuts wrapped, Shawn & Melissa (other witnesses to the accident) took care of the 8 year old and the dad, while Tyler, the 15 year old driver (with a permit), and I became best friends. His mom was hurt, so it instantly became my role to help this cute little teenager who was in shock and disbelief, to settle down and breath.

At one point in the mayhem, I remembered I had my own kids sitting in the vehicles on the side of the road. I looked up, and Jace was holding his blanket up where I could see it, offering it to this family. I ran to him and grabbed it, and rushed back to wrap it around Tyler. The wind bitterly cut through the wrecked car and whipped around us all as we found our teeth chattering, bodies shaking, and fingers freezing.

One by one each wreck victim disappeared into the ambulance, and our work was over. We knew their first names only, and they never knew ours. As I looked at the wrecked car, I realized the mom would want her purse, so I ran back and found it under shards of glass in the back seat. I also found the 8 yr. old’s baseball hat, so I tucked it in the purse and silently prayed the little boy could play baseball again soon. Handing off the purse, we got the ‘go ahead’ from the police to leave. Then, I thought about Jace’s blanket and turned to ask him if he wanted me to go get it out of the ambulance. He said, “NO. He needs it a lot worse than me!”
It was surreal climbing into our own vehicle and driving away wondering if they really were ok. Then I thought about Jace. He was alone in our car for most of the action, because Hayden was riding in the car ahead of us with friends. Jace did just the right things by staying there, not being scared himself, and then going beyond and thinking of something he could do. He could offer HIS blanket.

I thought of all the times in the last eight months a blanket has helped Jace through a hard day. It was quite a sacrifice for him really, but he didn’t mind at all. He was willing to part with an item of comfort, because he saw a need in someone else. I’m pretty sure he learned that from all of you blanket makers out there who have taught by example and lovingly given to him.

We were shocked when our doorbell rang one night, and there was the family! They had watched us drive away and got our license plate number- then investigated to find us. They were all on their feet, they all had smiles, and they were holding THE blanket. I screamed with happiness and one by one hugged each person. I told them they looked different without glass in their eyelashes! We shared our own versions of the wreck that could have been awful- and eventually we gravitated to Jace’s fuzzy head. They were surprised to learn about his cancer. When Tyler learned it was Jace’s blanket that warmed him on that icy day, he shared a look of understanding with me. He thanked Jace for letting him borrow it, and the two became instant friends.

Thank goodness for blankets.