By The Prater Family

It was a very hot summer day in June 2009 when our dad, then 79 years old, was on his way to a church retreat.  Although he had not been feeling well the few days prior, he was determined to go and interact with his fellow deacons.

He drove from our parents’ home in the Sharpstown area to Highway 6 in the Fort Bend area. While driving, he lost consciousness. His green pickup truck veered into oncoming traffic, between cars, hit an embankment and flipped over into a ditch. Witnesses described the truck as a crushed can.

First responders used the Jaws of Life® to cut him out of the vehicle and called for Memorial Hermann Life Flight® to come to the scene due to his condition.

He was transported to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center where he spent five days under observation and undergoing a number of tests. Doctors determined he did not have a heart attack or a stroke and believed his episode was linked to possible heat exhaustion and dehydration.

We recently celebrated our dad’s 89^th birthday where he jokingly let everyone know he “feels 65.” We know without the quick action of Life Flight and the care he received at Memorial Hermann-TMC we may not have been able to see this milestone.

Thank you to the men and women of Life Flight for their care and getting our dad to the emergency care he needed! We are forever grateful we have been able to spend 10 more years, 10 more birthdays 10 more Father’s Days and hundreds of more memories with him since that day.

Read other remarkable stories of dads below:

• Sailing from Stroke to Newfound Strength
• Playing It Safe: A Young Dad’s Close Call with Death
• Young Dad’s Hardest Job Ever: Coming Back from a Stroke
• Young Dad Walks Again After Life-Changing Hip Surgery
• This Prostate Cancer Survivor Has Important Advice for Other Men