Please Don’t Leave Me

You may have heard of the Washington DC Metro train crash that killed six people. Have you ever wondered how you would react in a crash? A inspiring and miraculous story of what happened in the most affected car shows how important it can be just to be there for someone.

The Rev. Dave Bottoms, a chaplain who’d served in Iraq, was riding the car when the collision occurred. As he saw a wave of debris hurling toward him, he prayed “God, make it stop.” It stopped just before his seat.

As you can imagine, there was crying, screaming, and confusion. Rev. Bottoms heard, "I'm here. I'm here. Please don't leave me." He crawled toward the woman’s voice, which was under a huge pile of debis. Years ago, when he first joined the service, a mentor had told him: "You don't let anyone suffer alone."

She told him she was dying. He told LaVonda King she was not alone. People were desperately trying to get out of the car. It has fumes, dust, and they were worried about explosions. Rev. Bottoms stayed, reassuring her he was still right there.

Knowing that hearing is the last sense to go, he kept talking to her even after she stopped moaning. Rev. Bottoms was the last person to leave the car after help arrived, but LaVonda felt a caring human connection before she passed on.

You can read the full story at Three Minutes to Ft Totten.
Bottoms was a hero, showing incredible courage to comfort another who was dying. It made me think about how just being there, giving full, caring attention to someone, is a gift under any circumstances. Bottoms recited the Lord’s Prayer, but mostly he just let her know someone cared.”

Namaste,
Hedy
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