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 Wapakoneta Elementary School fourth grade teacher Jason Brandt, above, teaches his class on the first day of school. Staff photo/ William Laney By KAREN CAMPBELL
Assistant Managing Editor
With a few technology and communication glitches and parents learning along with students where they need to go, Wapakoneta City Schools students’ first day of class went without any major problems, administrators say.
“The school day is going fine,” Superintendent Keith Horner said Tuesday afternoon.
He said one of the biggest hurdles to overcome was a new pick-up and drop-off system at Wapakoneta Elementary School.
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Friday, 30 January 2009 |
By KRISTA HAYES
Staff Writer
Sept. 15 is a day a former Wapakoneta native says she will remember as one she helped save a co-worker’s life.
The actions of UPS Occupational Health Supervisor Donna (Rhind) Luessen helped save the life of UPS Manager Neil Hample after he suffered a critical head injury during the morning high windss from Hurricane Ike struck the Sharonville facility.
“Normally I wouldn’t have been in the building that Neil was in since I am responsible for many different offices in the downtown Cincinnati area,” Luessen said. “I was almost back to my main office at the Gest Street UPS facility when I received a call from my manager telling me that I needed to head back to the Sharonville plant because someone had seriously been injured. It was only because of the Hurricane Ike weather situation and power outage that I was even in that building in the first place.”
Upon arriving at the scene, Luessen ran to Hample, identified him and then assessed the situation.
Luessen learned Hample’s temporal artery, a main artery of the head, had been lacerated by some falling rollers. He was bleeding heavily, and when he tried to sit up another manager, John Crawford, made him stay down.
Luessen said she knew Hample was aware he would need some stitches but wasn’t sure if he understood the severity of his injury.
“When I ran up to Neil I saw that the temporal artery in his head had been lacerated and that he had arterial bleeding which can be very serious and critical, even life threatening,” Luessen said. “Imagine if you were to take your finger and place it to the corner of your eye by the bridge of your nose and then trace a line all the way up and back to the top of your head down to your earlobe — that was the part of Neil’s scalp that had been flapped over.
“It was a very serious situation,” she said. “He was basically scalped.”
While someone called 911, Luessen continued applying direct pressure to Hample’s wound and managed to keep him calm.
“I really applaud Neil’s calm demeanor through the whole deal because he was just so great,” Luessen said. “As a nurse, they train you to handle critical situations such as these, but you always find yourself praying that they never happen.
“After my adrenaline kicked in followed by my training, I was able to handle the situation, blocking everything out so that all that mattered at the time was Neil and I,” she said. “We had a true partnership and I don’t think the outcome would have been the same if he was agitated or excited.”
Luessen stayed with Hample while they waited for the ambulance. She even rode in the ambulance with Hample and stayed at the University of Cincinnati Hospital until his wife arrived.
“I have to give a pat on the back to all the paramedics who showed up to the scene, saw the seriousness of the injury and became my partners instead of taking over the situation,” Luessen said.
Luessen said Hample’s blood pressure was 110/70, but then 20 minutes later his blood pressure dropped prior to them arriving at the hospital.
Rescue squad personnel were worried he might be bleeding to death, she said.
As it turned out, Hample’s laceration required more than stitches. After some plastic surgery and stitches, Hample was back to work three weeks later. Physicians told him it would take about a year for scars from his operation to fade.
On Dec. 30, U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, presented Luessen with a Certificate of Recognition for Humanity during a ceremony held at UPS District Headquarters located in downtown Cincinnati. Luessen was in what she thought was a normal staff meeting with other UPS staff when Schmidt appeared.
“At first when I saw Jean I didn’t know what was going on, but then I saw Neil and his family walk through the door I got all choked up and the tears began to flow,” Luessen said. “The whole experience was bittersweet and it was an honor to receive such nice compliments a recognition from such as distinguished woman as Jean since I think so much of her as a person and friend.”
Since that September morning, Luessen said she has become good friends with Hample as well.
“Neil and I have become great friends,” Luessen said. “We exchange e-mails, letters and now even Christmas cards on a regular basis.
“Although Neil and his family may think I am his guardian angel and many have now labeled me as a lifesaver, I believe the truth is that Neil really did have an angel sitting on his shoulder that morning,” she said.
“I’m just glad that he’s still with us today, and I know we’ll stay close friends in the years to come.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 30 January 2009 )
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