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At that moment, I remembered my faith. I’d been so caught up in my feelings for Max that I hadn’t prayed in a long time. But now, faced with my mortality, I turned back to my Creator. Clutching my wounded leg, I prayed with fervor.
“God, please help me. Let me not be lost here, alone and afraid.”
Despite the pain wracking my body, I felt a wave of peace washing over me. It didn’t dull the pain or stop the bleeding, but it gave me something just as vital. Hope in the midst of chaos.
Now that I could think without panicking, I dragged myself to a relatively clear spot in the shed, my leg throbbing with an agonizing pulse. I recalled Grandpa’s lessons on emergency first aid.
“Always be prepared, Anna,” he’d said. “You never know when you’ll need to save yourself.”
His teachings about wounds like this became vivid in my mind. I needed to apply a tourniquet. It could lead to nerve damage and the pressure could harm the tissue, but leaving the wound to bleed out had far greater consequences.
However, the thought of applying emergency first aid without any help sent waves of fear crashing through me. I clutched the fabric and then tried to steady my trembling hands.
“God, please guide me,” I prayed, clinging to the newfound calm His presence had given me.
I carefully cut a long, narrow strip from the blanket. It had to be strong to withstand the pressure I was about to exert.
My hands fumbled as I wrapped the strip a few inches above the wound. It was crucial not to place it directly on the laceration but between the wound and the heart to stem the blood flow.
As I tied the knot, a sharp pain shot through my leg, drawing a gasp from my lips. I gritted my teeth to focus on the task.
Then I found a sturdy stick amidst the rubble and used it to twist the tourniquet. The pressure was excruciating. I bit my lip to stifle a cry and pressed on. With each twist of the stick, the pain intensified.
But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I had to compress the artery to stop the bleeding.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the tourniquet was tight enough. I secured it in place, tucking the end of the stick into the blanket strip to ensure it wouldn’t come loose. It was crude, but it would have to do.
Exhausted and in agony, I scanned the wreckage for anything that could help me elevate my leg to maintain circulation. My eyes settled on a section of the shed’s structure that had fallen at an angle.
I carefully maneuvered my leg onto the makeshift support, wincing and stifling cries of pain as the movement aggravated the wound.
The position was awkward. My leg rested at an angle on the cold, hard surface. But it was necessary. I could hear Grandpa’s voice in my head, calmly instructing me on the steps to take to stay alive.
I held the legs of the table and pushed it to that section. Luckily the table wasn’t too heavy. I swiped the debris beside me away. My movements were slow, but I eventually cleared the floor. I spread the blanket, then lay back while pushing the table to cover me as best as I could. Afterward, I wrapped the blanket around my shivering body.
For a moment, I monitored the bleeding. In a few minutes, it slowed. A small mercy in this nightmarish ordeal.
Despite the throbbing pain in my leg, I smiled, acknowledging that I’d managed to buy myself some time. Time to survive.
But survival was more than just stopping the bleeding. I was still trapped and injured with the storm showing no signs of abating. I needed to find a way out of the shed.
I closed my eyes and let out a shuddering breath.
“You can do this, Anna,” I whispered, trying to draw strength from within.
Grandpa’s teaching, my faith, my will to survive – they were all I had now. And I clung to them with everything I had.
With fumbling hands, I brought out my phone from my pocket and dialed the ranch workers and Max.
“Hello, Anna. Hope you’re okay.”
It was Max’s voice.
I sighed in relief, then spoke in a trembling, slow voice.
“Max, I’m in the shed. It has caved in, and I’m bleeding pretty bad.”
“Anna, how deep is the wound? Have you done anything to stop the bleeding?” he asked in a worried tone.
