Amen!

It was 1987 when I received a nudging to go drive a semi truck. The feeling never left me. One night we were watching a movie on TV when a commercial came on to drive the Big Rigs, I wrote down the number & called it the next day. Never saw that commercial again. Went to the office that was in Milwaukee got the necessary paperwork done & signed up for the 3 week program in Sun Prairie, WI. for February, 1988. Graduated, quit my job as a nurse, after 20 yrs., at a VA. Hospital. Signed on with a trucking company in Waupaca, WI. Worked there for 6 months when the owner of Medical Scanners went to my Driving School looking for a Nurse/Trucker. They gave him my name & number, no cellphones then, only a message recorder on your home phone. I took a leave of absence from my company and joined Shared Medical Services driving a MRI Scanner in the state of Wisconsin only. After 2 months of being there I was enroute to La Crosse one evening traveling on I-90/94 heading to Mauston for fuel. When a Monson Driver passed me. I had seen their company trucks before while driving for Transtar and knew they were a Conventional Fleet, but this was a Cabover. When it was clear for him to enter the right lane again I dimmed my lights to signal him to come back over. He then called me on the CB radio asking what the MRI was? I told him but also said I was getting off at the next exit for fuel, if you want to stop I’ll show you the scanner. He did stop & parked somewhere in their lot, while I was on the fuel island. He was from San Antonio, TX. an older man about late fifties dressed in bib overalls & a large Texas hat. After fueling I parked the scanner on the lot & we went in the restaurant for coffee and a nice visit. When we left he followed me to LaCrosse, chatting on the CB the whole way. I bid him goodnight as I exited the highway. He continued on into Minnesota somewhere. In the morning, my boss called & told me I was to go to Beloit for an emergency scan on Saturday morning. This was Thursday, I left LaCrosse heading for Portage to get the unit washed & have lunch as I had plenty of time to get to Beloit. Boss wanted the unit washed every week. After getting it washed I parked far away from other trucks because the generator made a lot of noise and would not make anyone happy trying to sleep. As I walked toward the restaurant I spotted a Monson cabover was about to knock on it when I realized I did not know his truck number. As I walked past the front on it I turned & looked up, there was his hat on the dash. The motor was running, he was sleeping inside. The day was hot, humid and very still, no wind. I went to the driver’s side & knocked on the sleeper while calling his name, it was 10 minutes before he woke up. Seeing me he said, " I’ll put on my boots & hat and we’ll go for coffee". As we walked toward the restaurant he was coughing, I asked, “did you catch a cold since I saw you last night?” He said the air conditioning bothered his sinuses. Once inside the dark entryway I removed my Photo-grey glasses as I could not see so well. That’s when I saw his face, it was beet red & his nose, lips, ears and nailbeds were blue, he had Carbon Monoxide Poisoning! I asked him if he was headed somewhere, he answered to Indiana in the morning. I told him I needed to get him to the Portage Hospital right away. He said, " you know what’s wrong with me, don’t you?" I said, yes but I’m not allowed to tell you! I told him to sit right there as I ran to get my tractor cab & take him to the Hospital. Once there I told the ER Nurse to have the Doc draw blood for Carbon Monoxide, he has lightened up now, but was a whole lot worse when I found him. He laid on a stretcher with 100% Oxygen per Venti- mask. MD told him you’re a lucky man that our MRI driver found you when she did. They took him to his room saying you’ll be a guest at our hospital overnight. I jotted down his phone number then asked for his Company number and his number so I could call his wife, because I was the only one who knew where he was. He said you’re suppose to go to Beloit, I said, " this is an emergency, my boss can drive the unit." I asked him if there was anything he needed and where to find it in his truck. He told me. I told him I’d bring it to him after I called my boss. Once back at the truck stop I put my unit back together, got his stuff & called my Boss. Boss came gave me his pager number & keys to his pickup and said “call me when you want to go back to work.” I took Joe his items and gave him my phone number in case he wanted anything else. Told him I’d see him in the morning about 9am. Next morning as I walked into his room, he was on the phone with someone, he said, “I got to go my Angel just walked in the door.” He hung up looked me straight in the face and said, “Doc said 10 more minutes and you wouldn’t had been here anymore!” If I wondered why I had that feeling to go drive a semi in ‘87 I was looking at the reason! From that day on GOD always had me in the Right place at the Right time to save someones’ life! From doing CPR on another driver at 2AM in Marshall, MI. to being awakened early in the morning to get to a severe accident in Iowa on I-35 South at the 134 mile marker to get Emergency help from a React Base, some 30 miles away via my CB radio and tending to a young man with a severe would due to the accident. To picking up a Grandmother & her 5 yr. old grandchild in a blizzard on I-90 in Minnesota one night because their car died before they frooze to death walking for help. I have a sign on my wall that reads "The Will of GOD will not take you where the GRACE of GOD won’t protect you! I know this to be TRUE!

Love you folks…keeping you in my heart and in my prayers. Be well, stay safe.

God is amazing