Neighbors Of Lancaster County: Amish Weddings Part 3

Vehicles pulled to the side of the street as the sirens blared. The ambulance turned onto the highway and then a few minutes later onto a side road and headed toward Juneberry Lane.

Zane breathed in deeply. Just because they were headed that way didn't mean the accident involved anyone in the Lehman family. A few minutes later, the ambulance turned again. Zane exhaled in relief-until he realized they were headed toward Trudy's school. His heart raced faster. The ambulance turned again, but the driver of the fire truck went straight.

"We can't go over the covered bridge," Bob said. "We'll take a detour."

By the time they arrived, the ambulance had stopped not quite fifty feet in front of a black SUV on the shoulder of the road. Bob parked the fire truck behind the SUV. Zane jumped down. A group of both Amish and Englisch were gathered beyond it.

An Englischer stood with his hands on his knees beside the SUV, his head down as if he was sick. He appeared uninjured.

Zane headed toward the crowd, past the SUV, with its dented front b.u.mper, and past the remnants of a buggy and the orange caution sign toward the group, just as a police car pulled up to the scene. Gideon stepped from the crowd toward Zane.

"It's Lila," he said. "She's injured badly."

Zane plunged forward.

"She's unconscious." Gideon grabbed Zane's arm. "You should wait here. She landed in the creek, and the horse fell on top of her."

"No," Zane choked, propelling himself forward, out of Gideon's grasp. She was now on the edge of the road. Beyond her was Billie. Two Amish men worked at freeing him from the torn harness as another tried to hold the horse steady. If Lila wasn't so good with Billie, Zane would fear the horse had spooked and caused the accident, but he doubted that was the case.

Charlie looked up. "She has a pulse," he said.

Zane squatted down beside her on the other side, relieved. She had cuts on her forearms, hands, and face. She was bleeding on her forehead and left cheek, but it seemed her arms took the brunt of the cuts. They were covered in blood, but the cuts seemed superficial. Her dress was soaked with water. He touched her forearm-her skin was cold and clammy. Thank goodness it was September and the creek was low.

Her eyelids fluttered a little as he said, "Baby, it's me. We're going to take care of you."

"Let's get her on the board," Charlie said. "After we get the neck brace on."

She could easily have a spine injury. Definitely internal injuries. And probably broken bones too.

The other paramedic handed Zane the neck brace. He reached around her neck, pulling away the hair that had fallen around her face, and fastened the brace. Her face was nearly as white as her Kapp, which lay on the ground next to her. Zane took a deep breath, trying not to panic.

Charlie knelt beside him, and they carefully rolled Lila onto the board. After they strapped her down, the other paramedic stepped forward and took one side of the board while Charlie took the other. Several men, including Gideon, rushed to help. The police had the road completely closed and one officer was questioning the driver of the SUV. He was around thirty, wore work boots, and kept running his hand through his hair.

Another policeman joined the Amish men attending to the horse.

As they neared the ambulance, Gideon stepped toward the driver of the SUV. Zane guessed the bishop would have some words of comfort for the man.

Zane was thankful for that because if it were up to him to say something, it probably wouldn't be very nice. He heard Gideon call the man "Donald" and then say something Zane couldn't understand. He turned his attention back to Lila. She looked so small on the board. So fragile. Panic welled up inside of him again. Please, G.o.d! Let her be all right.

Once they slid the board into the back of the ambulance, Charlie climbed in and then said to Zane, "Ride up front."

Bob stepped to Zane's side and said, "Give me your gear. You won't need it at the hospital."

Zane quickly stripped out of his pants and jacket and turned it over, along with his helmet, grateful others were thinking for him.

As Zane hurried to the cab, the Englisch man spoke loudly. "The horse veered to the left and pulled the buggy in front of me." Zane stopped and turned.

"I tried to stop," the man said. "Honestly."

Gideon, still standing beside the man, motioned for Zane to get into the ambulance. "I'll get Trudy home," he called out, "and then talk to Tim. Get going."

Zane seethed as he did. If he'd been driving the buggy, yeah, Billie might have done what the man said. But there was no way it happened that way with Lila. She was a good, cautious driver. And she knew how to control a horse, even Billie.

"Man, I'm sorry," the driver of the ambulance said, flipping on the siren. "I'm really sorry. Do you need to call anyone? Want to borrow my cell?"

Zane nodded, took the phone, and punched in his mom's number. As the ambulance turned around in the road, he could see the school ahead and the students who had gathered in the yard, watching the accident scene. He couldn't make out Trudy-but his heart lurched at what she might have seen.

His mom's voice came on with her usual, "h.e.l.lo, this is Shani."

"It's Zane," he said. "You need to go get Tim and meet us at the hospital. But wait until Gideon gets Trudy home."

His mom gasped. "What's happened?"

"It's Lila. She's been in an accident." He swallowed hard. "It's bad. She's alive but not conscious. Hurry."

As the ambulance pulled up to Lancaster General several doctors and nurses hurried out to meet it. Zane jumped down from the cab and then raced around to the back, explaining what had happened.

They pulled Lila out of the ambulance first, and Charlie followed. "She's been in and out of consciousness," he said. "Lacerations on her arms and face. Probable concussion. Possible internal injuries. Symptoms of a ruptured spleen. Possible broken bones."

Charlie turned toward Zane. "She asked for you."

Relief flooded through Zane, but he couldn't get past the threat of a ruptured spleen. Or what other internal injuries there could be.

"Has the family been notified?" an older nurse asked.

Zane nodded. "I'm her fiance. Her father should be here soon."

The nurse gave him a sympathetic look. "Did you just happen to get the call?"

Zane nodded again, taking Lila's hand as they made their way through the double doors. She turned her head toward him and opened her eyes. "You're here."

"I am," he said.

"What happened?"

"You were in an accident," Zane said. "You're at the hospital now. The doctors will run some tests and find out what's wrong." He squeezed her hand. "You're going to be all right." She had to be.

As they made their way down the hall, the older nurse said, "Hey, you look familiar. Aren't you Shani's son?"

"Yes," Zane said. His mom had worked at the hospital for over ten years, up in pediatrics, but she knew most everyone.

The nurse glanced back down at Lila and then at Zane again. "I'm sorry," she said.

Zane simply nodded again as the emergency department doc directed the group into a bay. Charlie spoke more with the doctor as the nurses tended to Lila. The doctor began the examination as a nurse hooked Lila up to the blood-pressure cuff. Immediately the machine began to beep. The reading was 80/50.

"Affirmative on the ruptured spleen," the doctor said, his hands on Lila's abdomen. "We need to get her into surgery now."

The nurse grabbed the phone as the doctor began pus.h.i.+ng Lila's gurney out of the bay.

Lila reached for Zane. He grabbed her hand and jogged beside the gurney.

"Your spleen ruptured," Zane said. "They need to remove it. That's what's most important now." She could die if they didn't stop the bleeding. They'd figure out the rest later. What other internal damage there might be. How bad her concussion was. If she had any broken bones.

"I'll be here when you get out," he said, letting go of her hand.

Charlie caught up with Zane and said, "I'll stay here with you."

"They need you at the station."

Charlie shook his head. "Someone will cover."

As they sat, Zane covered his face with his hands, thinking about his first day in Lancaster County, back when he was twelve. His father and Simon were both in Lancaster General that night. A workhorse Zane had spooked kicked Simon, and Dad had fallen and reinjured his leg that had been torn up in Iraq. Zane had seen Lila for the first time through the field gate that day, and he'd been enchanted with her ever since.

Charlie put an arm around Zane's shoulders. The physical comfort helped.

Zane tried to pray a second time, but still couldn't get past Please, G.o.d! G.o.d wanted him to trust, no matter what. All Zane could think of was that Lila had to live. He couldn't lose her now.

He wrestled with himself, going back and forth as far as trusting, until Mom and Tim rushed into the waiting room. Charlie explained the spleen injury.

"It's not uncommon in accidents," Mom said to Tim.

"So she's not in danger, then?"

"We hope not," Charlie said. "But it is very serious. Any internal bleeding is. And she could have more."

Mom's eyes grew even more concerned.

"Jah," Tim said. "I figured with the horse landing on her and all there could be lots of injuries."

No one said anything for a few minutes, but then Zane said, "I forgot to ask Gideon to get the horse home."

Tim nodded. "He told a couple of the other men to deliver him, after he'd calmed down, to our place."

"It didn't look like Billie was badly hurt," Zane said.

"We'll see," Tim answered. "Most horses don't escape injury in such a bad accident. I'll call the vet."

Zane wasn't sure if that meant Tim believed Billie needed to be examined-or put down. And he didn't want to think about it now. "How's Trudy?"

"She seems to be doing all right," Tim said.

Zane didn't trust him to truly notice. He wasn't known for taking his children's feelings into account. Zane glanced at his mom.

"Gideon dropped her off at the house just before I left with Tim," she said. "She stayed with Rose."

"Did she see what was going on from the schoolyard?"

"I don't think so," Mom answered. "But she thought the accident probably involved Lila, because she was so late."

Everyone was silent for a long moment until Charlie said, "We should go to the operating waiting room. The surgery shouldn't take too long."

Nearly two hours later the surgeon appeared-a woman, with her mask in her hand. Zane jumped to his feet and quickly introduced Tim as Lila's father. The doctor shook their hands and then said to Tim, "Your girl is lucky to be alive. The spleen had ruptured, plus she has a bruised liver and bladder. She had quite a bit of internal bleeding."

Zane grabbed the back of a chair for support.

The doctor continued. "I had an orthopedic surgeon check in. Lila also has a crushed pelvis. He's ordered X rays to see exactly where the damage is. And we'll also do a CT scan to make sure we didn't miss anything in the abdominal cavity. Right now she's critical but stable, so that's a relief, but she has a long road of recovery ahead of her."

Tim exhaled as Mom put her arm around him. Then she grabbed Zane's free hand. He held on as tight as he could.

Lila was alive. That was what mattered. His knees grew weak. He'd almost lost her-after all they'd gone through, she'd nearly been killed.

He needed to thank G.o.d, but all he could do was fight back his tears.

4.

Reuben stood in the doorway of the Lehmans' barn, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. His Dat had called and told him to close down the lumberyard early because Lila had been in an accident, and Reuben needed to help Rose with the milking.

As his eyes adjusted, he could see Rose at the far end of the barn, standing in a stream of light from the open door. Specks of dust floated around her, and she wore a vinyl ap.r.o.n, cinched around her waist, and a kerchief over her hair. "Denki for coming," she said, giving him a wave.

"Jah," he answered. "Have you heard anything more about Lila?"

Rose shook her head. "But it sounds as if it was a bad wreck."

Reuben glanced toward Trudy, who'd stopped shoveling. She'd turned eleven in March and had grown taller in the last year, but she still wore the baggie dresses and long ap.r.o.ns that little girls did. He didn't want to burden her with more fear than she probably already felt by asking Rose for details.

"I'll go get more cows." He grabbed a vinyl ap.r.o.n from a peg by the office door as Rose herded a cow into the first slot and secured the animal's head.

He started for the other end of the barn to herd in the cows that had gathered near the door. Maybe they could tell he was worried or maybe it was his lack of skill with animals, but he had trouble with several of the cows. He didn't particularly like to do the milking, even though he helped the Lehmans in the past, especially when he was courting Lila.

Now here she was, soon to marry someone else in a month, if her injuries weren't too bad. He s.h.i.+vered. He wanted her to be all right. He held no ill feelings toward her.

Rose was a far better match for him.

He gently pushed on a cow's neck, trying to nudge her next to the milking machine. She balked. Tim had such a way with animals that the cows practically waltzed into place for him. It wasn't how they behaved for Reuben.

"You have to be really firm with her," Rose said. "Or she won't cooperate."

Reuben pushed harder. The cow sidestepped toward him. Rose came around from the trough and pushed from the other side. The cow kicked.

"Oh, you . . ." Rose sputtered, shoving harder against the cow.