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Customer Service Do's and Don's
By Lt. Don Capoldo, Naval Hospital Lemoore, PAO
"You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie.
You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here."
From Sara McLaughlin's "Angel"
I have always loved Sara McLaughlin's "Angel."
Now it has so much more meaning for me.
I was approached about doing a piece on alcohol abuse and drunk driving.
As the Public Affairs Officer for a major Naval hospital, writing an article
about that topic to educate a community is just part of the job.
When it came time write my column on customer service this week,
I was drawing a blank, so I do what I often do when I cannot think of a topic.
I went for a ride.
I picked up my infant son Jackson and went for a Sunday cruise in our mini-van.
I had no idea where I would go so we just headed towards town and I waited for a sign.
I was on the road for about fifteen minutes when that sign came in the form
of a man standing in front of his green Ford Taurus on the side of the road.
He had his arms spread wide and he was walking towards a California Highway Patrol officer.
He was being given a sobriety test.
I have been working in health care for over ten years, the last two and
a half with the Navy. I have seen my fair share of people who were drunk
come through various hospitals to get their stomach pumped, go through drug
or alcohol detox, or go through surgery or to the morgue.
This week's article and column instantly came together clearly.
They would be one. I never really thought about it, but when serving
an intoxicated customer in a hospital setting there are only two feelings
I have experienced. One is empathy for those brought in by a friend to sober
up or to get medical attention for alcohol poisoning. The other is sorrow for
those who just wrapped their car around a pole and were dead on arrival.
I have never really thought more about it because I have been lucky enough
to never have to deal with a situation where a drunk driver killed someone
other than himself or herself. I would much rather serve a potential drunk
driver or someone who abuses alcohol with an article geared directly to them
than serve one during my next night as Command Duty Officer in the Urgent Care Clinic.
So, this column is for you Mr. Green Ford Taurus. I wrote and wrote and wrote
articles on the topic of alcohol abuse but none really felt like it might just
make you listen. I scrapped them all and came up with this column.
I started doing some research on line. At first I figured I could fill
an article with statistics about alcohol abuse and drunk driving.
As I explained, none of the articles felt as though they were any more
than what a thousand other articles said about the dangers of drinking and driving.
After a few hours of clicking on hundreds of web sites, I found myself mesmerized
by the song "Angel" playing repeatedly while I read on and on at one web site.
After reading and listening, I felt that the story of Karen Ferreira might just
reach Mr. Green Ford Taurus more than the fact that a drunk driver kills a person every 33 minutes.
It was the words of Margaret, Karen's mom, which moved me the most.
"To my beloved daughter…
The fifteen years you were in our lives, were the happiest I have ever had.
You were the kind of child that every parent wishes they could have met, your charisma
melted the coldest heart. You were matured and wise beyond your years and as I watched
you grow into a lovely young woman, I basked under your warm smile. I grew with you and
you were my best friend, my sister, my daughter, I was so proud of you."
Two and a half years ago, a driver under the influence took the life of Karen Ferreira
and left her brother, Doug, unconscious. Doug and Karen were airlifted to a regional hospital,
where Karen was pronounced dead and Doug received immediate surgery to reconstruct his shattered
right femur, knee, heel and ankle. The accident occurred after Doug picked up Karen from her
part time job as a hostess at a local restaurant. The driver who hit them was a repeat DUI offender.
Three surgeries and eight months later, Doug recovered.
As a father of three, my immediate thoughts turned towards what
it must have felt like for Karen's parents to receive the phone call
from the local authorities. I did not have to think to long, as Margaret
shared those thoughts on the web site dedicated to the memory of her daughter
and to raising awareness of and increasing penalties for drunk driving.
"It was approximately 8:45pm, Wes and I were getting ready to call it a
night since Wes has to wake up at 4:40am to go to work each morning.
We weren't worried that the kids were late getting home, because usually they stop at Dairy Queen…"
"Wes picked up the phone and I saw his face pale, I asked what was wrong and
he said that there has been an accident and all he was told is that Doug was
OK and Karen was unconscious, they were taken to University Hospital of New Mexico,
at the Trauma Center. The minute I heard UNM Hospital I knew something was wrong…(we have)
a fine hospital in the area, only something dreadful would go to UNM Hospital.
I started shaking like a leaf and we called our neighbor and friend to drive us there, such was our fear."
"When we got there we asked about our kids at the reception window, and were told to wait.
A Social Worker came out and asked us for the names of the children and I got this horrible
feeling when I asked: "Are they alive?" and her answer was they haven't identified the victims yet.
When I heard the word "IDENTIFY" I knew one or both were dead. I blacked out falling hard onto the tile floor…"
"I must have come to reality when this thin female doctor tells
us that Doug is alive but Karen has passed away.
My God, I felt my whole soul tear into pieces as I
started screaming at the top of my lungs.
The screams couldn't stop to give way to tears…I felt I was dying a million times such was the pain."
"In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness that brings me to my knees.
In the arms of the Angel far away from here."
The song is still playing as I write this, nine hours after I have
called Doug Ferreira and talked with him. I knew I wanted to share this
story but it was so deeply personal that I could not write about it without the permission of Karen's family.
I asked for Margaret when I called and was told that she was not home.
I knew from the voice that it was a young man on the other end.
I knew from something much deeper that it was Doug.
I told him who I was and what I do, and I asked his permission to quote the web site.
"That is what it is there for," shared Doug.
I have no idea what made me stop at Karen's site.
I have no idea what made me look for their phone number and call.
I had searched hours for data and pulled up multiple search engines
that listed victims of drunk driving accidents that collectively had
over two hundred seventy personal stories, many of them with contact numbers.
There were thousands more but I had to stop somewhere.
I stopped on Karen. Maybe it was the music or maybe it was something
else that made me click on Karen's site, but the story I was told could
not have better readied me for this week's writing task or more importantly,
opened my eyes wider to such a tragic issue. Besides Margaret's testimony on the web site,
there are statements from Doug and Wes, Karen's stepfather.
There are pictures of the accident and there are declarations
from countless other families who have lost loved one's to drunk or drugged driving accidents.
There is passion and anger, frustration and loss, and there is love
in Karen's web site. There is reality. So, in my search for an article
on alcohol abuse and drunk driving, I found myself writing a customer service
column to you, Mr. Green Ford Taurus. I found a piece of another family's
existence that changed the way I look at life and alcohol consumption.
I found Margaret sharing the story of her only daughter, Karen, to whom she makes the following promise:
"You were my only daughter, our family was like a strong chain of love
and now the link is broken without you. I know someday we will all become
a strong chain once again, when we meet in Infinity…I promise you, Karen
that you will not become just another statistic for our Government to put
on their records. I will keep trying in your name and all children who like
you, lost their lives to a crime that can be prevented. I love you, my beautiful Angel now and forever."
In Doug's statement, he said, "I will forever ask God, WHY…"
I do not know why Doug. But I do know you reached me, and maybe we can both reach Mr. Green Ford Taurus.
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