Desert Messenger

December 18, 2019 ww.DesertMessenger.com 7 Opinions expressed in letters to the editor do not necessarily represent those of the Desert Messenger. letters to the editor Free childrens books from Lutherans "Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." ~Mattie Stepanek 70 N. Central Blvd., Quartzsite OPEN Monday-Saturday 7:30am-4pm featuring: Rock Java's Tea & Specialty Coffees Delicious Baked Treats FARM FRESH PRODUCE NOW AVAILABLE! Craft Fair 1st Sat. of every month! Daily Activities! QIA 928-927-6325 235 E. Ironwood St., Quartzsite BINGO Opens at 5pm. Early Birds 6:30pm. Main 7pm. Concessions Available DID YOU KNOW? Take a credit on your Arizona State Tax Return – Up to $400 for individuals and $800 for couples! With AZ Charitable Tax Credit, you can donate up to $800 to Friends of the Quartzsite Food Bank and get all of it back in your Arizona tax refund. Your gifts to the Quartzsite Food Bank COME RIGHT BACK TO YOU! The Arizona Charitable Tax Credit is a wonderful opportunity for YOU and FQFB. Help us feed the hungry in Quartzsite. Info at QuartzsiteFoodBank.com or 928-927-5479 THANKS TO LPCSO I just witnessed the most heart- warming event. My neighbor is an 86 year old that lives alone and has no family in the area, and mostly is a shut-in. He was visited by Santa, Reindeer, the nice Meals on Wheels lady, and three or more Sheriff's Dept. Officers.. They brought presents!!! I didn't see what was in the packages...but he was so touched by the kindness he was crying afterwards. I just wanted to say a big Thank You LaPaz County!!! That was so darn nice!!! I'm so glad I live where people still care!! Sincerely Carolyn Nelson THANKS TO OUR EMTS There may be some people in Quartzsite, especially Snow-Bird visitors that do not know what a su- per-effi cient EMT Unit functions out of the Fire Station in Quartzsite. I would like to share a personal experience. It began at lunchtime, March 24, 2019. My wife and I were eating lunch with friends at a local restaurant, when I started getting a bad case of what I thought was indigestion. It kept getting worse, so we went back to our house to get antacids. By the time we arrived, the pain had severely escalated and I was perspiring profusely. When the antacids gave no relief, my wife called the fi re department and asked if there was anyone there that could confi rm if her husband ... me...was having a heart attack. They replied yes, so she told them we would be there in 5 minutes. As we pulled up to the fi re sta- tion, about 6 or 8 EMTs came hurrying out to our car, carrying life-saving equipment. A young lady EMT climbed into the front passenger seat with me, pulled out her scissors, and proceeded to cut off my T-shirt. She had the sticker snaps on in just seconds and had me hooked up to the ECG machine and in maybe 3-4 minutes total, an- nounced the high probability of a heart attack. The team determined to fl y me to Phoenix for treatment, but when a second ECG was per- formed, it showed the indications of a well advanced heart attack, and the determination was made that Phoenix was too far away and I was fl own immediately to Lake Havasu City, which is half the time than to Phoenix. The two EMTs that fl ew with me in the Life Flight Helicop- ter gave me just the right medica- tions to keep me alive and prepare me for upcoming surgery. Just as we were descending toward the landing pad, I heard one of the EMTs say he had just received the instruction on his headset, from the surgical doctor to administer Fen- tanyl. It took 22 minutes to make the trip. When we set down on the land- ing pad at the hospital, the surgeon and his team, were waiting by the landing pad and the instant the heli- copter doors were open, and the two EMTs jumped out, the surgeon, Dr. Atassi, and his team, Ted, Tianna, and Lola jumped in the helicopter for fi nal preparation, continuing as they ran with me on the gurney into the surgical department, which had been prepared for my needs, while I was being fl own there. Within a few minutes my drugs had taken ef- fect, and they were inserting a bal- loon into my artery to open the area which was 100 percent blocked and placed two stents in the opened ar- tery. They and the wonderful tech- nology man-kind have been allowed to discover saved my life! It was essential for the EMT to get me to the hospital quickly, and what a wonderful job they did. My wife and I would like to ac- knowledge them and nominate them for the Grand Marshals of the Hi Jolly parade. Please when you see them out and about, take the time to thank them for their profes- sional services. P.S. About a month later we took them a thank you gift of a few cases of ice cream bars, which they recent- ly told us they really had enjoyed as it was getting quite warm by then. Vern Miebach Quartzsite Covenant Lutheran Church with the help of Thrivent was able to pur- chase $1,200 worth of books for our local children in Quartzsite. Scho- lastic Warehouse allowed us to buy a book and get one free hoping that each elementary school age child would have a book for Christmas. In order for home school and desert children to be included we will have a free book giveaway day at our lo- cal library. Bring your children on Friday, December 19th to our local li- brary to pick out their own book and enjoy free cookies. Reading is a lifetime adventure that begins at an early age and thrives the more you read. All are welcome so bring your children in between 10 am and 4 pm. Thank you Billie, for letting us put on this amazing event. Maggie Ross, Sheryl Vopat and Covenant Lutheran Church.

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