Have you ever been friends with an angel?

Have you ever been friends with an angel? We have.
In fact, we're the parents of an angel. It's kind of an elite club that no one wants to be a part of, but you are all the same. This week we tearfully welcomed our friends Jim and Helen into that club. For those of you close by you may have been following the news or seen Gus' obituary in the paper. What these articles have failed to mention is that Travis was there.

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Tuesday afternoon Travis received a phone call from our co-worker and good friend, Jimmy A, asking if he wanted to go fishing with he and his son. Anyone who knows Jimmy knows wherever he goes, Gus goes. And you didn't mind having him tag along because he was was an awesome kid.

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So they decided to go kayak fishing at Norwich Lake, Jim and Gus in one kayak and Travis in another. They noticed that a couple boats were going a little faster than they should, fast enough to make Travis somewhat nervous as the sun began to set. He decided he would move about 200 yards away from Jim and Gus to find another fishing spot when he heard a loud bang. He initially thought the speedboat had hit a dock until he heard another boat asking if everyone was ok. And then he knew what had happened.

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As he paddled to the accident, Travis saw Jim attempting to hold Gus above the water. He was eventually able to slump him over the side of the kayak until Travis was able to get into the speedboat and pull Gus up. It was at that moment that Travis was able to see the magnitude of Gus' injuries. He was missing his left arm, had broken ribs, ruptured lungs, and gashes on his head and legs. Jim had also been injured with a gash on his leg and deep bruising and swelling on his lower back.

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Travis held a towel over Gus' back in order to keep as much air as possible in his lungs, but for the second time in 6 months he was holding a dying angel. Jim was able to tell Gus how much he loved him and was proud of him while waiting for the ambulance, but soon after he left his Father he was gone.

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I visited Hazel the other day, begging for her help to comfort her broken hearted Father and friends. As usual, she was willing to drop whatever she was doing to comfort me. I perceived her tell me that she had been at the accident and helped Travis do what he needed to do in those horrifying moments. I wonder what Gus saw as he looked around the boat that night. She wouldn't have looked like the baby in the pictures he saw at her memorial service, but I hope he was able to recognize her. I pray that her presence was a comfort to him in those confusing and painful minutes.

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Oh how we pray for you Adampolous family!

What an honor it is to know your angel by name. And we're so grateful to all of you who cared for us during our time of need. So many of your actions and words have guided our steps over the past few days. It is going to be a long journey of healing for all of those involved, including Travis. He is feeling the effects of what I would diagnose as PTSD and continues to struggle deeply to digest what he saw. If you notice that he is not his jovial self, please be patient and sensitive to what he has been through recently.

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Sweet dreams Gus. We can't wait to see you again on that bright morning of the Resurrection.