The Christmas Tragedy
Written by Kristen Epperson
Was it God’s design or simply man’s error? No one really knows the
answer to this question. The way the events happened that led up to this tragedy
left me with my own ideas about this.
It was October 1995, when Grandma announced to the family that she was
selling her home that she had lived in all of my life. We were all in a state of
shock to hear her news. My mother tried to tell her that she didn’t have to do this,
and my grandma firmly said, "Yes I have to do this." At this time we thought that
she said this because she was lonely living in her big house all by herself. So
Grandma sold her house to the first person who saw it, and in just one week she
began giving all of her valuable possessions to her loved ones. She gave my
mother an antique oak bedroom set that was my great great grandmother’s.
Within a month, she had sorted through and packed what would fit in her small
apartment. Grandma moved into her apartment and seemed to be all right with
this new change in her life. There would be no more family get-togethers at
grandma’s house and this was a hard thing for all the family to deal with. I
remember going to grandma’s house every Christmas day for dinner, and of
course to see what present that she and Grandpa had for us. We used to have a
really good time playing BINGO for little prizes, and we had a really fun way to
exchange Christmas gifts. We called it our "Christmas steal". Grandma really
enjoyed playing this game. I couldn’t help thinking about how Christmas would
never be the same again without Grandma’s house to go to for the holidays, but
this was not by far the saddest part, for it was yet to come.
It was December 25, 1995, Christmas Day. We were having our family
dinner at my mother’s house. The weather was bad, but we were not aware of its
severity. My brother Eric went to Portland, Indiana, to pick Grandma up for this
dinner. After he had already left to pick her up, she telephoned us to say that she
thought the weather was too bad for us to come all that way to get her. I told her
that Eric had already left to get her, and she said, "Okay, I’ll be looking for him".
Eric and Grandma made it back to mom’s house safe and sound. When Grandma
arrived, she was in such a playful mood, which was out of character for her. She
was just like a child at Christmas. She couldn’t wait for us to open our gifts she
had brought for us, and she was trying to hurry up and eat dinner so that we could
have dessert. There was nothing my grandma loved more than her sweets. My
grandma was 81 years old, and yet she was so youthful, so full of life. She had
just been to the doctor and had received a clean bill of health. Grandma had
raised five children, worked on a farm, and also became a nurse. She was
employed at Jay County Memorial Hospital where she worked until it was time to
retire. Then she still did volunteer work a the hospital. She was an active
member of the Moose Lodge in Portland, and had many friends that she did
things with. Christmas day came to a close and it was time to take Grandma
home. My mom offered to spend the night with her; nothing tickled her more than
to have one of children spend the night with her.
On the way back to Portland, it became apparent that the road conditions
had worsened. They were traveling down State Road 67 North, when all of a
sudden a car came into their lane and hit them head on. Both cars came to a halt.
My mom looked over at my grandma, who seemed to knocked unconscious.
Mom jumped out of the car and immediately started to do CPR on Grandma. The
man from the other car got out and tried to help with Grandma. When the
accident was announced over the police radio, it was announced as a minor
accident and it took a while for the ambulance to show up. Mom was still working
frantically to save her mother. She had a pulse at this point, but was not
breathing on her own. The ambulance finally arrived and they worked in Grandma
for a while, trying to get her stable before they transported her to Ball Memorial
Hospital in Muncie, where she died shortly after arrival.
After the Christmas dinner at my mom’s house, I had gone to pick up my
children at their dad’s house. When I arrived at his house, he ran out the door and
told me that my mother and grandmother had been in a serious accident and for
me to go to the hospital immediately. So I took off and headed for the hospital,
thinking nothing bur the worst possible scenario. When I arrived at the hospital,
they took me to my mother’s room. I was relieved to see her face, but she was
crying so hard. Then she told me of the Christmas tragedy, that Grandma had
been killed. My mom had only minor injuries to her knee, a cracked knee cap. I
am so thankful that I still have my mom. I can’t imagine her pain of seeing what
she saw and knowing that she had heard Grandma’s last words.
I knew that Christmas would not be the same without Grandma’s house,
but I can’t imagine what it will be like this year without Grandma. We were left
feeling so empty inside. We had her funeral and went to the cemetery to bury her.
In my opinion, I feel like it may have been God’s plan for Grandma. He was ready
for her to come home. We will miss you Grandma!