I'm going to use this platform to brag about 2 of our team members...
Darren Worley (left) and Gary Dalton (right)
Monday morning was a challenge for motorists after 4-5 inches of snow was dumped on Highlands. That morning, as a safety precaution, Darren drove his wife to work first, where she is employed at Highlands/Cashiers Hospital before he came to work at the Club. Gary also comes to work from that direction; he lives off of Buck Creek Road. As Darren cautiously inched his way towards town, he noticed a car slid off the road into the ditch, just below the Little Bear Pen subdivision. Darren is a long time EMT with a huge heart. He stopped, to see if the person needed help. At the same time, Gary was a few seconds behind Darren and saw him stopped to help the stranded motorist. Gary, a former police officer, also stopped to lend a hand. By this time, these two guys had Rt.64 temporarily blocked with their vehicles, while they approached the stranded car in the ditch. Numerous cars stopped behind them, some impatient while others sat and watched; no one else willing to help.
It turns out, the stranded car was a husband and wife who were desperately trying to get to the emergency room because the man was in the midst of having a heart attack! The problem was, his passenger side door was up against the side of the ditch and he couldn't get out of the car. Gary and Darren climbed in the back of the car and reclined the passenger side seat back as far as it could go and then pulled the man out through the drivers side back door. They immediately put the man in Darren's 4x4 and proceeded to the hospital. Meanwhile, Gary left the scene to come to work, while Darren and the couple headed to the hospital.
Once they headed up the hill just before the hospital, it became clear the man more than likely wouldn't make it. He gasped for air while his skin continued to turn a deeper shade of blue, according to Darren. The hospital was ready for the man when they got there. When Darren eventually got to work, he just assumed the individual didn't make it. He learned the couple were members at Wildcat Cliffs CC and recently returned from a vacation.
It wasn't until Monday night that a friend of mine texted me. Her request was to know who at Highlands CC helped this couple. It turns out, the man survived and the wife of the man was trying to reach out to her, "heroes" as she put it! After he was "stabilized" at Highlands Cashiers Hospital, he was airlifted to Gainesville, GA where he remains in ICU. Of course we are praying he makes a full recovery. These two members of our staff, without any question, saved this man's life.
I tell you this story because I love these guys. Selfless acts are commonplace with my team and this is one example of a huge impact they've had in someone's life. I can't tell you how proud of them, I am.