James Lewin with his grandson Brian

Now here’s a heartwarming true story:

Last Friday night, James, a 65-year-old grandfather (a retired firefighter with 29 years of service), sacrificed himself to save the life of his twelve-day-old granddaughter, Sara, who he was pushing in a stroller. They were walking home after attending a candlelight walk and tree-lighting ceremony.

Just before a pickup truck hit James, he pushed the stroller out of harms way (bending the axle and breaking the handle). James suffered a fractured left wrist, a dissected artery in his neck that has caused several strokes, six fractured ribs, a bruised lung, multiple facial fractures, a broken nose, and a horrible road rash all over his body from being dragged 75 feet by the truck.

Although heavily sedated and breathing with help from a ventilator, James responds when his three-year-old grandson, Brian, says, “I love you Grandpa.”

The family has said the injury could have been much worse but credits their faith for the baby’s survival and Jim’s recovery.

“The doctors are very pleased and amazed at Jim’s progress,” says his wife Carol. “His nurse told us about people who put guardian angel pins on the patient’s arm band so we are buying a guardian angel pin.”

And on their family website they’ve written:

“Lessons Learned These Past Days: We need a strong faith in God, a good supply of helpful scriptures, united network of family and friends, patience and flexibility. We need to take care of ourselves (sleep, food, hydration and time away from the hospital – very hard to do) so that we can remain strong in order to continue helping Jim. We need to structure our days so that we have a consistent routine. We need to ask for help when needed. We need to be aware of what each family member is going through. We need to constantly show appreciation for those people who are taking care of Jim and taking care of us: doctors, nurses, medical staff, chaplains, social workers, victim’s advocate, police, family, friends and community who visit us, bring us meals and try to help us in so many ways. We also need to be aware of how we can help other people in the waiting room like asking about their loved one, offering to get something for them, etc.

Thank you everyone for all of your continued love and kindness,

Carol, Kim, Kris, Suzanne, Brian & Sara”

You can visit their website for updates and more “lessons learned.”

Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My friend
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