Oh, thank goodness, the last day of school before Christmas break 2001. I hurry to sign out at the Nederland Elementary school office. Oh, yes, I need to get gas in my 1963 Plymouth Valiant before I head down to Golden to pick up my granddaughter Anastasia. She is 3 years old, going to be 4 in February. If I hurry, I can pick her up and get home before dark.

It’s 2:45 p.m.

I go to the filling station. The ‘63 Valiant gas tank opening doesn’t fit the gas nozzle as well as the newer cars. I put the nozzle in and turn on the pump. I put it on fast full because I’m in a hurry. Just then, the nozzle with all that pressure jumps out of the gas tank and starts whipping around like a mad snake. The gasoline flows all over me, in my face. I scream. It’s in my face. I scream, it’s in my mouth, my eyes and my hair.

A man comes running over, he turns off the pump.

I scream, “I can’t see, I can’t see.”

He takes my arm and leads me into the Food Store and reassures me all the time in a very calming voice, “I’ll take care of you,” while leading me and holding my arm tightly. He yells at the store keeper, “I need water right away, to rinse her eyes out quickly!”

He starts flushing my eyes out at a sink in the back of the store, soothing my fears with his steady voice. The store keeper calls emergency, a cop and a paramedic come. They ask me questions. I can barely see the man that saved me. He talks to the cop, then I don’t hear his voice anymore.

They ask me if I have anyone close to bring me some different clothes, because mine are soaked in gasoline. I give them my daughter-in-law’s number.

Ressa comes right over and I change. They flush my eyes with lots of sterile water. Ressa drives me to the Emergency Care unit at the Boulder Medical Center. They flush my eyes with quarts of sterile water. Finally they release me with instructions.

Ressa drives me to Golden to pick up Anastasia. The daycare closes at 6 p.m. and we arrive at 5:55 p.m.

I have to sign Anastasie out because my name is on her chart to release her, because I pick her up every other Friday.

All the other children are gone.

She is the only child there. It makes me think of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, when he is the only one left at the boarding school.

I apologize for being so late and tell them of my mishap.

The headlights on the oncoming cars cause my eyes great pain.

We finally get home, of course my husband Mike has been worried about us.

Keep flushing my eyes with the sterile water for many days.

I called the police department to find out the name of the man that saved my eyes, but they don’t have his name. I thank the paramedics from the fire department.

I wanted to thank that wonderful person but I couldn’t find him. I decided I have been touched by an angel.