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by Sue Orsen The Victoria Gazette
Tuesday, April 3rd It happened on our first day in Ireland. We had finally landed Tuesday, April 3rd, in Dublin at 8:41 a.m. (Dublin time) after an exhausting 9 hours of flight time from Minneapolis plus 3 hours of overlay in Atlanta. Our group of 32 included Father Bob White of St. Victoria and other friends and people with connections to St. Victoria. Liam, our bus driver and tour guide, drove us up the east coast of the Emerald Isle to Downpatrick where we visited the St. Patrick Cathedral. Father Bob gave us a prayer and blessing as we encircled the saint's grave. Said Liam, always ready with a quip, "St. Patrick didn't get rid of the snakes. He turned them into politicians." On our drive north, we saw the landscape of sheep country that included picturesque rural settings and many small green pastures fenced in by shrubbery. No posts and barbed wires needed for Irish sheep! After arriving at the Europa, a five-star hotel in Belfast, our group was treated to a 6 p.m. dinner featuring perfectly baked and seasoned haddock. After dinner, some of us walked across the street to a "snug," one of the three pubs Liam had identified as he pulled up to the Europa. "A snug is a very large confession box," said the man of wit. We walked through Robinson's into Fibber McGees for a glass of wine and we had the table of our choosing. But by 9 o'clock, when the band started, the place was packed. We all enjoyed the outstanding musicians, especially the bagpipes. At 10 o'clock Allan and I decided to "go home" and catch up on some sleep. But we didn't make it home to the Europa We were standing in a light rain at the crosswalk, waiting for our red light to turn green. When it turned green, I looked to the left, as always, before proceeding forward. It was clear so I started across the street. A car coming from the right then plowed into me like I was a sack of bones instead of body and blood. In Ireland they drive on the left side of the street, which usually works okay, but not when they're running a red light, speeding, and perhaps intoxicated. It also isn't natural for Americans to look right for oncoming traffic before crossing the street. I next remember lying there on the wet pavement, face up, not minding the soft light rain, with police cars and lights, an ambulance and lots of people all around. Someone from the crowd yelled, "Don't move her until you put on a neck brace." I felt the neck brace being placed. Allan said someone from the crowd took off their coat and laid it on me. I kind of remember that. I realized I was being transferred to a gurney and then easily picked up and rolled into the back of an ambulance. I saw that Allan and Father Bob climbed into the back of the ambulance with me. Someone covered me with a warm, maybe heated blanket and off we went. I was comfortable and not in pain. Allan, who had only been a couple steps behind me, had helplessly watched, and told me what happened. The car that ran the red light crashed into me from the right and I bounced up, smashing my face into the windshield, and was then thrown forward 15 to 20 feet rolling and landing on the pavement some distance ahead. Allan said the driver stopped the car about three feet in front of my body. Allan said the police interviewed him, the driver, and other people in the street. He said people offered to assist us and confirm what had occurred -- the running of a red light on a popular tourist street. Someone told Allan that the driver was put into the back seat of his own car and that a policeman drove him away. In the Emergency Room at the Royal Hospital in Belfast, I didn't get sleep for yet another night because of all the tests and tubes, IV's, x-rays and scans. I was transported in bed, down halls and through elevators from one floor to the next. Father Bob, always a trooper for people in his care, stayed with me and Allan until midnight, when we insisted he get back to the hotel and tend to himself and the group. My injuries were diagnosed as a fractured pelvic bone, a punctured bladder, and a broken nose -- so far. Allan believes my left side was hit because at the last minute I had seen the car coming from the right and tried to get back to the curb. That rings true to me. I had planned to fill the front pages of this May issue of the Gazette with the adventures and highlights of our trip to the Emerald Isle. Those plans haven't changed, but the content and context is very different from what I had anticipated. As I reread my daily notes, I find them to be rather boring. But it's what I wrote, and it's all I have at this time.
THE REST OF MY STORY APPEARS IN THE PAPER EDITION OF THE MAY 2018 ISSUE OF THE GAZETTE. |
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May 2018 |
