Your Health Today June 2013 - St. Anthony's Medical Center

amazing care
St. Anthony’s caregivers put fire
chief on the road to recovery
ANSWERING
the
Richard Knight has dedicated his life to
serving others. For 20 years, he has served as
volunteer fire chief of the Potosi Fire Protection
District. And each holiday season, he teams
with Vera, his wife of 30 years, as Santa and Mrs. Claus to
spread cheer at nursing homes.
But on Monday afternoon, March 25, it was Richard’s turn
to be served – by St. Anthony’s – after his public service
took an unexpected detour. He was on a non-emergency
call, hauling water for fire assistance to the neighboring
town of Richwoods, Mo., when the wheels of the truck he
was driving slipped off the wet road. He over-corrected,
causing his load of 16,660 pounds of water to shift.
The truck rolled not once, but twice. Although he was
wearing a seat belt, he was halfway out the side window
by the time the truck came to a rest.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, no, this is not going to be
good,’” recalled Richard, 51. “I didn’t think I was going
to survive the second rollover. I guess I have a few more
things to accomplish, because somebody was on my
side, telling me it just wasn’t my time.”
“The first night I came home from the hospital,” Vera
Knight reflected, “to see his boots on the floor, and his
coat and lunch box, was really hard.”
He escaped the ordeal with broken ribs and vertebrae,
but did not suffer a concussion. Richard was released
on March 30, after he was fitted with a back brace by
orthopedic surgeon Benjamin Crane, M.D.
“We feel like we’ve been blessed,” Vera said.
“I cannot stress to anyone enough how wonderful
everyone at St. Anthony’s was. We were treated not just
with professionalism, but with love. They treated us as
though we were family members.”
“Since we’ve been home, we’ve looked at the photos
of the truck, and realize what a miracle it was that he
was able to live through it,” Vera added. “It’s been a
growing experience for us, a humbling experience. Petty
things in our lives that once seemed so important, now
are not so important.”
Dr. Crane said Richard likely will make a full recovery.
6 | YOUR HEALTH TODAY | JUNE 2013