From: Joe and Laurel Gorka
Saugatuck, Michigan
February 26, 2000
Doc,
The following is a true story, and I hope it has the
ability to touch your life with love, as it has ours.
Subject: Good Results: Head Trauma
This is the whole story of our "accident" experience. I hope it can be used to touch and bless many, many lives as it has ours. It was a tremendous and wholesome experience; a good story of how Love works. As you read this, remember Laurel and I and our 20 year old cat, Maggie, are O.K.On Wed. 1/12, Laurel and I and our 20 yr. old cat Maggie, packed for a week's stay up North in Traverse City and left Saugatuck in our Suzuki Sidekick about 4:30pm.
About 6:30pm, on the US 131N freeway after dark we encountered a snowstorm and ice, and at a point just north of Reed City. As I felt uncertain about the icy surface below us. I began to pray and started to feel like God was really driving the car, and there was no fear.
During this time, our vehicle suddenly spun and started towards the shoulder. There was traffic behind us and I straightened the wheel and steered towards the ditch. Soon our car was going down the side of the hill off the road. Suddenly the front end hit something and our forward movement stopped. Then the back end slid around to the right and hit something and we stopped briefly. Just as I thought the vehicle had stopped, it started rolling on its side over side, down the hill. On about the second full roll I stopped hearing Laurel's voice saying Oh My God, Oh My God, and I stopped saying " it's O.K., it's O.K., everything's O.K." and I don't remember seeing anything more or know how many times the vehicle rolled, until the vehicle came to rest, upright on its tires.
When my vision came back "on" I looked saw Laurel's seat was empty, and that the roof was torn off the car in two pieces. I couldn't get out my door, so I went out her passenger side door. As I stepped out, I saw our 20 yr. old cat, Maggie, jump out through the open roof and run into the woods. I took a couple of steps in that direction and heard Laurel say "No., Joe, I'm under the vehicle, get this thing off of me, it's pinching me".
I couldn't see Laurel under the car, I only heard her voice.It was dark and snowing heavily. I found myself going to the opposite side of the car by the left rear wheel and I lifted the car up, part way off of her. I heard Laurel's voice say, " that's good, it's not pinching on me anymore, just don't put it down, lift it more and I can pull myself out. So I tried to lift it more and couldn't, and thought "God, now what? are you going to give me the strength to lift this?" I still couldn't lift it anymore. As I was holding it up off Laurel, I heard a man's voice behind me calling "should I call 911 on my cell phone?" I said "no, come help me lift this off her". The man, Kent Price, did help, and as we were lifting the vehicle off Laurel I asked her how she felt. She said "my butt hurts". Laurel pulled herself out from under the vehicle and as we were holding it up, we couldn't see her and said "you can put it down now, I'm out and o.k.., where's Maggie?" I always thought Laurel is O.K.
I said "Maggie's safe in the woods watching us, she'll come out when everything's O.K."
I sat Laurel her up and looked down and saw her scalp was pulled back off her skull. There was blood all over her face and blouse. Her head looked like the top of an orange after it's peeled. Instinctively I took her scalp and put it gently back into place and lightly pressed it down along the laceration lines. Later, in the hospital, the trauma surgeons told me that was the best thing I could do. The length of the laceration lines was about 18 inches.
At the accident site, again Laurel said "I'm fine, go get Maggie." Kent held Laurel in his arms and blanketed her with her coat. As I walked towards the woods to get Maggie, I heard a bystander scream "Oh my God, look at the blood, she's dying".
At that moment I felt fear cut deep into my thought, and the fear picture in my mind was "I just killed my wife in an accident and lost my cat." Then, I asked God; "Is that it God, did I lose my family ?" Suddenly the feeling of calm that I had been feeling through most this time this returned and I was certain again everything is O.K. with Laurel and Maggie. At the same time the bystander was screaming this fear thought, Kent called to me " She's lost consciousness." I ran back to where he was holding Laurel and her head was all the way back and her eyes were open, but she was not responding. I got close to her looked into her blank eyes and called for her "Bongo, wake up, wake up, Laurel wake up, think about Maggie, keep thinking about Maggie, keep thinking about Maggie!. "
In less than a minute, Laurel awoke and said "I'm O.K., I'll keep thinking about Maggie, where is she?" I said she's fine, "I'll find her after all the people are gone, until then she'll watch us from the woods". Laurel only lost consciousness for about 1 minute all the while she was sitting up in the snow, against the car, waiting for the EMS.
It was shortly after that time I realized how contageous fear is, particularly when it comes from another person by surprise. Because of all the injuries they saw, and the snowstorm, the EMS technicians set up a large tent with floodlights over Laurel and the vehicle and worked on Laurel's head trauma for about an hour at the accident site. They called for a medical evacuation helicopter to fly her back to the Butterworth Trauma unit in Grand Rapids.
Osceola County EMS
Other EMS Links
Osceola County EMS argued desperately to get the med-evac chopper in to fly her to Grand Rapids, but the pilots could not fly into the snowstorm in the dark. So, EMS first took her to Reed City for skeletal x rays. Once the EMS left, the State Police directed me to ride with them to the hospital. I refused explaining I had to retrieve Maggie. They said I could come back later for her. But the tow company was already pulling our wrecked car up the hillside and I felt I would'nt find the spot again if I left.I explained to the Trooper, Maggie was like a child to us and I had to go find her and asked him for his flashlight. He said O.K., I'll give you 10 minutes. So, I climbed over the fence and tried to find her tracks but couldn't because the new snowfall had covered them. No tracks! Then as I walked deeper into the woods I found all sorts of tracks and paths going in many directions. Too many paths to follow, I needed the right tracks.
After about 20 minutes of searching the police began calling me out of the woods over loudspeakers. I knew my time was short. Then I saw firemen coming into the woods to bring me out. I knew they could scare her away if they came too close. I knelt down and asked the Father through Jesus Christ, who I know has authority over all flesh - Maggie's too, to direct me to my loved one. I knew Christ Jesus knew Maggie because of the healing she had last summer, and once loved is always loved. After that I felt I knew I would find her and that it didn't matter how much time was left to search. I felt as if I was looking into a white patch or ribbon of light called Christ, and the message was your "joined one" is safe.
Soon I saw some tracks I "knew" were hers. Then I saw her eyes flash in the light. I went to her and picked her up. Just then, I heard a fireman which had come to find us in the woods, say "wrap her in your coat". Then the firemen started cheering and shouting to each other, "he's got the cat!" , because getting Maggie back was the only thing Laurel talked about for the whole hour or so EMS worked on her at the scene. As I walked out of the woods, I realized how far she was in there, and marvelled at how I was led to find her. A fireman took her briefly and wrapped her in his coat so I could climb back over the fence. I saw him kiss her on the head, and then he gave her back to me.
I thanked all the firemen and the Trooper for giving me the time and the flashlight to find Maggie. He said, "I never thought you'd get that cat back, how did you do it?" I told him exactly: I prayed to Who did it, and that all I did was prayed.When I brought her out, the firemen started cheering.
The Trooper drove Maggie and me to the Reed City Hospital. It was a great comfort to Laurel when I walked into Reed City's E.R. with Maggie, and Laurel pulled on her tail. She looks back at that moment and says that is when she knew everything was alright. There was too much head trauma for the hospital facility at Reed City.
Just as they were loading Laurel and her I.V.'s into the EMS truck, for the haul down to Butterworth/G.R. , our friend Danny pulled into the Reed City parking lot with our truck. I jumped in with Maggie in my arms and we tried to follow the ambulance truck to G.R.
It must have been going 90 because I was afraid to drive that fast behind it, with all the blowing snow.
Laurel entered Butterworth's emergency unit at 10:30pm and the Trauma Doc's worked to close her scalp with sutures and staples until 1:30am. Then she went for her first CT head scan. That revealed some bleeding on the right temporal lobe of her brain. They called nuerosurgery and decided to postpone brain surgery for another CT scan of the head in 24 hours. She had a number of other wounds, broken jaw, lacerated right ear, nearly severed, a right broken hand and some large areas of third degree burns, where the exhaust manifold had her pinned down along her left back and flank, and a steady, slow bleeding from inside her left ear.
This was in addition to the extreme muscle pains and spasms in her back and neck. The doctors estimated Laurel would be hospitalized for 4 - 5 days minimum. I called two members from my Church in Saugatuck to continue the prayerful work and validate what was happening.
Twenty four hours after the accident, the second CT Head Scan revealed Laurel's brain had stopped bleeding and we could expect the brain to begin absorbing the blood, that open head surgery would not be necessary if this trend continued. The next days proved to be a wonderful combination of natural, spiritual healing and medicine's best efforts to aid that process.
Her progress has been fantastic and we know God took care of all of us. Her attitude is one of constant gratitude as is mine. Laurel was discharged by Dr. Dean Smith , Chief of Trauma on a sunday, after 4 days.
I could write a book about all the good that has happened to us since I lost control of that vehicle, and how God engineered the outcome, the good people we met, the excellent experience with the Docs' and nursing staffs.
It was as if the entire series of events was prewired for the best possible results.
The insurance man said in his 15 years of covering West Michigan auto accidents, Laurel is the first one he met who had been ejected from a moving vehicle; all the rest were fatalities. WOW!
Laurel's been home now for a few weeks, and we are constantly grateful for this physical and spiritual experience and growth.
One night during Laurel's jaw surgery, a friend asked me about the terror I must have felt when the vehicle was rolling down the hill. I reported I had never felt so calm and comfortable in all life from the moment I lost control of the vehicle.I don't ever remember feeling so protected, like a child, and I remember feeling a part of me actually enjoyed the ride. We are both convinced God = Love, and is our parent and protector. It was a life changing experience and I know we'll feel the Love and gratitude forever.
Warmest regards, and the Best of Love to you. Please send us some mail to say hi.
Joe Gorka & Laurel Larson
Saugatuck, Michigan and Matlacha, FL
Updates From Joe
I asked for Strength......... And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.I asked for Wisdom......... And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity......... And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage......... And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love......... And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors......... And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wantedI received everything I needed
Email this story to a friend.
Updates
Febraury 29, 2000
Hey Doc,What a great loving gift, to us, others and yourself. We are forwarding the new accident website to our friends including some of the trauma doctors and nurses that cared for us during Laurel's stay at Butterworth and Reed City hospitals.
I'm also going to get it out to the Osceola County EMS Director, the Reed City Volunteer Fire Department, and the Michigan State Police Reed City Post. These were people who were all touched by the marvelous events of January 12, 2000.
We're leaving for Fla. March 1. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get on the web again.
With Love,Laurel and Joe
Joe and Laurel's Cottages
From: "Joesph Gorka" jgorka@accn.org To: "Doc" Subject: Follow-up Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 21:06:58 -0400 Hey Doc, We took another look at the "accident" website you developed and we took a memorial day visit to Reed City/US131site. We actually found the exact spot where the car stopped rolling and landed on top of Laurel. We picked up some broken glass, some of the roof and handles that were still lying there since last January 12th. We also found a prayer sheet which I had stuffed in a book before we left Saugatuck. This small piece of paper survived the snow and wind and rain. It was still very legible and a part of it reads:"Good thoughts are an impervious armor. Nothing can be added to the mind already full... and not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are benefited. The right thinker abides under the shadow of the Almighty, and her thoughts can only reflect peace, good will and health." When we returned home we visited the accident website you so generously created. We marveled over what we had been through and so many good thoughts of inspiration you added for the visitors to the site. We are still feeling gratitude each day. Laurel is continuing to improve in weekly physical therapy. Her broken bones are mended, her burns are healing very well and she is optimistic about recovering fully from the closed head injury. Thank you for your loving kindness, Doc. With Love, Laurel and Joe
From: BUCKAROO@RESTEL.NET Lyle & Sandy Hintz To: jgorka@accn.org Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2000 1:00 AM Subject: Accident Website Hello, after reading this beautiful testimony of God's Great Faithfulness, I wanted to write and express to both of you how this has touched my heart deeply. Praise God, His love is everlasting and His mercies never ceasing. Thank you for sharing this beautiful testimony, gives us hope and edifies. God Bless You Both. A Child of the King, Mrs. Lyle Hintz
Friends
I believe in friends
and in the healing that comes
from laughter, and tears, and stories shared.I believe in the wisdom
that can be found
in simply having fun together,
and in truths that are born
out of trust and honesty.I believe in the strength
of one hand holding another
through the dark nights of the soul,
and in the miracles
that can happen
when we see ourselves
through the kind and caring eyes
of those who know us so well
and love us just the way we are.
If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don't.
It's almost a cinch you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost.
For out in the world we find
It's all in the state of mind.
To the stronger or faster man;
Is the man who thinks he can. |
Life's Little Instruction BookTreat everyone you meet like you want to be treated. |
 Another Inspirational True Story - (Doc's) A Collection of Inspirational Stories
|
My Wish for You
May your joys be as bright as the morning, and your sorrows merely be shadows that fade in the sunlight of love. * May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet * Enough trials to keep you strong * Enough sorrow to keep you human * Enough hope to keep you happy *Enough failure to keep you humble * Enough success to keep you eager * Enough friends to give you comfort * Enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness * Enough wealth to meet your needs * And one thing more;Enough determination to make each day
a more wonderful day than the one before.~ Irish Blessing
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Joe Gorka
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