Damn the consequences….

Submitted by: Ken VanEvery

This is not my Story, rather it is a copy and paste from a members Facebook page. After a brutal and tough extrication here are his raw feelings. I have never been prouder of my small rural fire dept in Northern Ontario.
Ken, Fire Chief

This evening, I watched a young man lose his life. I knelt in the mud of a cold, wet ditch on a long stretch of highway. With his head in my hands, he lay dying. For what seemed like an eternity, I waited for more help to arrive. My arms outstretched through the windshield of his twisted wreck. All I could do was lift his head, look into his eyes, and speak to him. I called his name, told him I was there to help, to hang on, more help is coming. More help came. The young man was removed from the wreckage, still breathing, then swiftly lifted away. His outcome is gravely uncertain.

This man, much younger than I, is a chilling reminder that our lives are all too fragile, and much too short. Too short to live with things undone, events not ventured, words left unsaid. Today is the last day I ever hold back my feelings. Damn the consequences, as bold and intense as they may be, those that mean the most to us could be taken away tomorrow. And the last face they may see is a kind stranger, urging them to hold on.