Here’s an interesting karma-synchro sent to us by Gabe Carlson, who spotted it in the Minneapolis Star-Trib.
A Canadian motorist who had a heart attack while driving in western Wisconsin is probably alive today because of a good deed he had done for a stranger along the interstate just a few minutes earlier.
According to the Wisconsin State Patrol:
Victor Giesbrecht, 61, of Winnipeg, was driving east Saturday evening on Interstate 94, about 9 miles east of Menomonie, where he stopped to help a motorist change a tire.
His good deed accomplished and just moments after getting back behind the wheel, Giesbrecht was stricken by a heart attack. His wife, Ann, at his side helped bring their pickup truck to a stop.
Seemingly right on cue, along came the passenger vehicle that had just gotten the roadside help with the tire. Ann Giesbrecht was on the phone and waving her arms.
“It sounds like they said: They helped us, what’s up with them?” Patrol Sgt. Michael Newton said Monday.
That vehicle stopped, 911 was called and one of its occupants, Lisa Meier, of Eau Claire, Wis., began cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency personnel arrived.
A state trooper discovered that Victor Giesbrecht had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. The trooper and a Dunn County deputy took over CPR, and a second deputy used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to deliver three shocks to Giesbrecht. He regained a pulse and resumed breathing.
A medical helicopter landed on the interstate and took Giesbrecht to Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. He was in serious condition Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Newton believes that if the Giesbrechts hadn’t stopped and helped with the tire change, his initial rescuer may have remained stranded along the side of the highway too long to play a life-saving role.
“If he had been a few more miles down the road and had his heart attack, it could have been a different outcome,” Newton said. “It’s an interesting turn of fate.”
Newton added that Dunn County having an AED on hand “was the tipping point” in saving Giesbrecht’s life. “Without that defibrillator, I don’t know that the outcome would’ve been the same,” said the sergeant, who added that Giesbrecht had suffered another heart attack about a year earlier.
We have to add some John Lennon lyrics:
Instant Karma
Instant Karma’s gonna get you,
Gonna knock you right on the head,
You better get yourself together,
Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead,
What in the world you thinking of,
Laughing in the face of love,
What on earth you tryin’ to do,
It’s up to you, yeah you.
Instant Karma’s gonna get you,
Gonna look you right in the face,
Better get yourself together darlin’,
Join the human race,
How in the world you gonna see,
Laughin’ at fools like me,
Who on earth d’you think you are,
A super star,
Well, right you are.
Great story! The what ifs are interesting too. 🙂
The what ifs made me wonder…
beautiful story – wonderful to hear stories like this one! too rare and far between!
That’s so cool. I do think karma is real but not usually instantaneous like that was! Great story.
That’s why I like to have an ornamental boomerang displayed around the house.
As a reminder to be careful with my actions,because like throwing boomerangs sometimes your throws get rewarded straight away,sometimes you have to throw again and sometimes careless throws become painful scars on your head.
Good throws and bad throws often return,but the bad throws are often the dangerous
ones that can really hurt you…or kill you .
I wish you all many happy returns with your throwing .-)
P.S. That’s what all the scars are doing on my head,if you were wondering.
We have a boomerang in our kitchen that was sent to us by an australian friend. I’ll now think of you and the karma analogy every time I look at it!
Awesome story! As the saying goes,”what goes around comes around” is so true. In this day and age, not a lot of people are willing to stop and help someone along the roadside so it’s nice to see that human compassion is still alive today.
Great story – karma seems to come in it’s own time, whether that be in what we call the future or instantly. I suppose if there is no such thing as time it always happens instantly, but we don’t realise this until what we think of as being later.
Good point, Mike! Instant karma, moment to moment.
We don’t always have to wait for a future lifetime to reap what we sow! And as we know, there are no accidents. I hope the fellow is OK now. Wish we had some way of finding out, but one thing is certain: he was a Good Samaritan, and that NEVER goes without positive return! The folks he helped Paid It Forward. Thanks so much for sharing this story, guys.
Wonderful story! Thank you!