Don Mueller
As the father of three school-age children, my heart sank when I received the late afternoon text on Nov. 21: "Children's Hospital at Erlanger: Code Triage: Woodmore Elementary School bus accident, 30 plus children on board, fatalities confirmed." It didn't take long to understand what was about to take place: Dozens of injured children needed immediate pediatric trauma care, and Children's Hospital at Erlanger was the only place for them to go.
That night the Erlanger Health System staff responded with compassion, professionalism and clinical excellence. Our world-class trauma teams quickly organized and came together as they are trained to do. Within hours of the tragic accident, an estimated 800 people flooded to Erlanger. Every parent who arrived at our doors was hoping their child was not among those who lost their lives in the crash.
What happened that night was nothing short of amazing. Clergy, chaplains, family and friends began praying. They prayed that the doctors and nurses would be successful in saving as many of these children as possible. They prayed for the injured, for the lost, and they prayed for each other.
In true Southern fashion, the community's first response was to send food, both to families and to our staff. Boxes of pizzas began arriving, some ordered by strangers from as far away as Ohio. Casseroles, desserts, cases of water and juice boxes followed.
A bus driver from outside Chattanooga called to express his condolences and wanted to know how he could help pay for funeral expenses.
Then the community began to organize. First responders began collecting teddy bears. The Ronald McDonald House, which supports and houses our pediatric families, was deluged with donations. Clothes, toiletries, games, and blankets began arriving at our Emergency Room entrance by the carload. The Community Foundation and United Way began accepting monetary donations. The Red Cross called to ask how they could support the families over the Thanksgiving holiday. Individuals, young and old, appeared at our hospital to collect and help sort the donations. Some of these volunteers were from local schools, colleges, sororities and fraternities. The Hunter Worley Foundation offered to pay for funeral expenses and provide post traumatic stress counseling at Woodmore Elementary. First Tennessee Bank began matching donations. Blood Assurance sites had lines of donors stretching around their buildings. A banner from a hospital in Washington state arrived with personal messages of support from their staff to ours. The list of people and organizations reaching out to support these families continues to grow. Hundreds of companies, businesses, churches and schools offered to help.
Immediately following the crash, community leaders began to arrive. They all had the same request: no cameras, no media. They simply wanted to meet our patients and their families, to see what they could do to help. Among those who paid quiet visits were Gov. Bill Haslam, Sen. Bob Corker, Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Mayor Andy Berke and Mayor Jim Coppinger. Even UT football Coach Butch Jones and three of his players flew in to meet with our families and autograph Big Orange T-shirts and ball caps for our injured patients.
As with any event of this magnitude, everyone has at least one stand-out moment. Mine took place the night after the bus crash as I sat in the Children's Hospital emergency room lobby. I saw a young man come through the front door of Children's. He was dressed in saggy pants and a white tank top. I watched as he walked up to our front desk, reached into his pocket and pulled out a substantial amount of cash. He carefully put the money in a jar marked "Donations." As he started to walk away, I approached him and asked what motivated him to make such a generous donation. He told me he worked for a local distribution company and had two young children himself - a two-year old and an infant only 2 days old.
"I have two small babies and just wanted to come by and see what I could do to help," he said. Simple as that.
To me, this overwhelming response represents the true spirit of giving. It means showing up. It means helping someone you do not know or may never know. It means reaching out and taking action in whatever positive way you can.
This tragic event, involving one of the worst school bus accidents in the nation, will never be forgotten. Our prayers will continue to go out for the children who lost their lives and for those who survived - and for their families and school. But those of us at Erlanger will never forget the heartfelt outpouring of support from strangers near and far. We will never forget what it means to be part of a very giving, very loving community and nation.
Don Mueller is chief executive officer of Children's Hospital at Erlanger.