To the editor:
I often wonder when or if the time comes that I am put to the test would I have the courage to act, would I have the knowledge knowing what to do. Imagine, saving a choking victim in a restaurant, providing CPR and saving someone who collapsed from a heart attack, saving someone from drowning, saving a baby who had no pulse and wasn’t breathing, stopping and turning your vehicle around to rush to the scene of an ATV accident involving a seriously injured person, calling 9-1-1 and providing comfort while help was on its way, or offering your home to a homeless family, or having lost a dear loved one in tragedy having the courage to fulfill their wishes to donate their organs so that five different people could have new life.
Wow! Imagine all of this happened in Aroostook County just this past year.
The American Red Cross, Pine Tree Chapter, celebrated these life-saving acts at the Real Heroes Breakfast held at the Northern Maine Community College on April 6. What a moving event. There was even a young boy recognized for dialing 9-1-1 after his mother had collapsed while brushing her teeth, he stayed with her until help arrived. I think everyone at that event swallowed pretty hard or wiped away a tear to two. It was the kind of event that made one stop and think about all the wonderful acts of courage that are done every day by everyday people but never seem to make it to the headlines.
The American Red Cross celebrated these incredible acts of courage and concern while acknowledging the life-saving and life giving efforts of thousands of Red Cross Disaster Volunteers who are on call 24-7 to go anywhere at any time of the day or night to bring comfort and support to disaster victims. Whether thousands of miles away after tornadoes or just up the road in Fort Kent after a devastating fire, the Red Cross is always there.
Well I don’t know if I could do what these incredible, selfless and courageous people did but after returning from the breakfast I decided to do three things. One, call the Red Cross and sign up for their next CPR and First Aid class; two, make sure my driver’s license has the organ donor symbol and tell my family that I want to be an organ donor; and three; write a check to the American Red Cross. It was the least I could do.
Congratulations to the real heroes, God Bless and thank you.
Bill Flagg
Stockholm
