DAMASCUS- On May 26 of this year, a little boy in Goshen Township was nearly killed in a freak accident, his head having been caught under the wheel of his mother's vehicle. Thanks to the quick and determined response of the Damascus Volunteer Fire Department, 19-month-old Brayden Delp and his family Monday night were able to visit the EMS personnel who saved his life, sharing their gratitude and praising God for their efforts.
"They literally saved his life that day," said Brayden's mother, Lorenalynn. "I can never thank them enough and will always be in debt to them. They are all fully dedicated and all had angels with them. I don't think any one of them walked away without tears in their eyes."
According to the family, Brayden was injured after he fell under Lorenalynn's vehicle while running after her when she was leaving their Sharon Lynn Drive home. Family members shouted for her to stop, but when she did, one of the tires was resting on Brayden's head. Family members attempted to lift the vehicle off the child, but were unsuccessful, so his father, Randy, had to drive the vehicle off.
Article Photos
Riley Farmer of the Damascus Fire Department EMS team greets 19-month-old Brayden Delp during a visit to the station Monday night. Farmer and other EMS personnel helped save Brayden’s life in May after he had been trapped under his mother’s vehicle at their Sharon Lynn Drive home in Goshen Township. The family visited the EMS personnel who saved his life, sharing their gratitude and praising God for their efforts. (Salem News photo by Kevin Howell)
Brayden suffered multiple fractures to the back of his skull, right side of his face, both eye sockets and several other bones in his body. He had to be revived three times that day- once on scene, once during the life flight to Akron Children's Hospital and once in the elevator at the hospital.
"People say there are no miracles anymore, but this is proof, [Brayden] shouldn't be alive today," said Shawn Freeman, Brayden's grandmother. "We want people to know what [the Damascus Fire Department] means to the community and show our gratitude, because God gave them the ability to save his life."
EMS personnel who responded to the incident insisted they did nothing out of the ordinary, but admitted the difficult nature of the call.
"It was the worst call I've ever been on," according to EMS veteran Linda Murphy. "We didn't think he was going to make it and it's just amazing that he did."
"We just did what we could, but it was tough," said Riley Farmer, the mother of a little boy around the same age as Brayden.
Brayden, whose brain had swelled, spent several weeks in incubation at Akron Children's Hospital before being transferred to the Children's Institute in Pittsburgh for rehabilitation. He returned home two weeks, walking and talking and showing no signs of the accident.
