It was Wednesday morning, April 29, 2009.
I volunteered to chaperon my daughter's 5th grade field trip from Cox Mill Elementary to Camp Thunderbird in South Carolina. I was just a few miles away from the camp, when I received the call...
"One of the buses rolled on the highway", was what I was told.
Not sure I was hearing correctly, I asked the caller to repeat herself.
"One of the school buses was in an accident and flipped onto it's side and some of my students are on it!"
The caller was Mrs. Black, my daughter's 5th grade teacher. Now, I was beside myself.
Mrs. Black had been following me to the camp. I turned my truck around, met up with her where she had stopped and asked her one of the hardest questions I ever had to ask anyone...
"Is my daughter on that bus?", I asked nervously and knowing I might not like the answer.
"No, only the boys from my class were", was her reply.
I couldn't help but feel great relief. That relief was soon replaced by concern for I know a lot of the boys in Mrs. Black's class and they are great kids.
We decided to continue onto the camp until we received further news and instructions on how to handle this on our end.
Upon arriving at the camp, we saw the parents/chaperons who had already arrived, some with tears in their eyes. They had already heard the news. Others were looking for answers. We had none to give.
Mrs. Black asked me to help call the parents of the children that were on the bus.
You can't imagine the fear and helplessness I heard in the voices of the parents who didn't know what condition their child was in or even where their child was. I knew I had to keep my composure for their sakes.
We finally received word that the children, from all 3 buses were being taken to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Dept.
We hopped back into our vehicles and were off to get our kids.
We arrived at the Police Station with great anxiety, not knowing what we would find.
A Police officer led us to a room where the children were. I remember opening the door, running all kinds of visions through my head of the condition of the children.
The first thought that came to my mind was, "Is this a party or what?". There were most of the children, running around, eating pizza, drinking juice boxes and by the looks of it, they were having a grand old time.
The parents, on the other hand, looked like they went through the ringer, twice!
Unfortunately, it wasn't as happy an ending for everyone. Some of the students were taken to the hospital to be checked out. Most had scrapes and bruises. One boy had to have surgery for a hemorrhage in his head. He is doing fine. One of the teachers hurt her arm badly. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
I am taking this as a wake up call.
We have to always appreciate our loved ones, for we never know what will happen to change our lives forever.
Hug and kiss your child today!
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