Letter to the editor

Published December 16, 2011

It was 1:30 a.m. when I went to my car on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011. When I got to my car I was greeted with about 3 inches of fresh powder to scrape off, so like any Minnesotan, I grabbed the ice scraper and I went to work. I got the driver’s side pretty clear, but when I stepped on the curb to clean off the passenger side I met my match: ice. I slipped and fell off the curb, and my foot went under my car. I heard a snap and felt an immense amount of pain, more pain than I’d felt before from any normal fall.

All I could do is scream. I frantically searched for my cell phone, but I was bellowing in pain and couldn’t find it. Another student heard my screams, and after a brief screaming conversation across the street, he came over to me to see what was going on. I’d never met this student, but he acted heroically. We briefly tried to decide what to do, because my car exhaust was blowing in both of our faces. He helped get me out of the way of the exhaust, and then sat behind me the whole time as he called 911 for an ambulance to come and take me to the hospital. After the ambulance arrived the student disappeared into the darkness and the paramedics took over.

The holiday spirit is that of giving selflessly of oneself to see joy come across another’s face, right? Had this student not had the courage to walk across the street and help a screaming girl out, without knowing what he was going to find or whom he was going to see, I wouldn’t have gotten to the hospital when I did. I may have been in the cold much longer, and the injury would’ve worsened as I wiggled in the snow looking for my own phone, alone, in the dark and the cold. He stayed with me, he kept me company, and he tried to keep me calm. The word courage is so frightening to many people, but it takes courage to save a life, and as “The Princess Diaries” tells us, courage is not the absence of fear, but the knowledge that something else is more important than fear. This man that helped me Sunday night is a picture of courage, and a load of thanks goes out to you. Thank you for being nothing short of a hero.

Brianna Klaras
Student