Tuesday was a horrible day for me and our community. A day that was supposed to be for children who were ready to start the new school year, seeing friends that they haven’t seen for couple of months and meeting new friends. A day where a child’s biggest and only fear should be “will my lunch taste good?”
I can’t imagine putting my child on a bus and then less than an hour later finding out that the bus had been involved in a terrible accident.
This day will go down as one of the worst days in my 30 years of working. I will not talk about the bad things I saw but will share the good things.
I watched as parents and passersby stopped to help: they ran in, saw a need and fulfilled it. I watched Andrew Diener and a couple of other people push the bus over and pull a female out who was trapped underneath. (Yes, I said they pushed the bus over, uphill at that.)
I saw nurses that pulled over to help. They were working, treating, caring for these young scared injured children. They were amazing!
I cannot unsee what I saw that day, forever etched in my mind. Thirty years on this job and I can tell you that every death of every child that I have worked doesn’t get easier; I would say it actually gets harder.
I have received so much support from friends, family, fellow law enforcement and the community. I cannot say enough how much I appreciate the support of the community for the victims and their families and for the caring support for me and the other people dealing with this. I appreciate all of you!
I pray for everyone dealing with this, and I pray for the children injured, mentally and physically. I cannot say how dark and deep the pit in my heart is for the parents of the child who didn’t survive the crash. I am so sorry for your loss, and words cannot express my sadness.
At times on Tuesday and today, I have wondered how I am going to get through the day, but then I would get overwhelming support from people at the exact time I needed it. The same people who took time just to find me just to make sure I’m doing OK, the hugs, the love, the texts, the calls.
WE will get through this! How I do I know? Well, because I have seen the love and support from each and every one of you. You helped me get back up.
Thank you.
We are Warrior Strong.
We are Ohio Strong.
We are Nation Strong!!!
