Broken Branch

It’s not often you witness a one in a million coincidence. My wife and I were working on the lawn at our Jersey shore house when a young man was riding by on a bike about ten feet from the curb. There are three sycamore trees along the sidewalk in front of the house. As the bike rider was passing under a branch which hung out over the street, it cracked. The branch jutted out from the trunk about twelve to fourteen feet above the ground. It was about ten feet long and six to eight inches around. The branch came down hitting the rider across the face knocking him and his bike to the ground. His backpack came off and his phone went flying. I ran into the street. Helped him up and got him to sit on the curb. Grabbed his bike and his cell phone before it was run over. That’s how we met Akon.

He was stunned and had two large cuts across his check and small cuts on his forehead. My wife Maureen, a nurse, got some water and ice. When I asked Akon if he was okay, I realized he only understood a little English. I asked him where he was from. He seemed concerned and pulled out his passport from his backpack. He was an engineering student from Turkey and it was his first week at the Jersey shore on a student work visa. We communicated by me speaking slowly and using the translation app on his phone. He was on his way to work at a variety store on the boardwalk. He dialed his boss and gave me the phone to explain what happened. The boss was very understanding. We asked if he hit his head and if he felt dizzy. He said no, but he was a little unsteady. Maureen thought he should get the cuts cleaned up, maybe get a tetanus shot and checked for a concussion. We debated whether to call an ambulance or bring him to an urgent care. Using the translation app and repeating ourselves, we asked what he wanted to do. He didn’t want an ambulance because he didn’t think he had medical insurance. Maureen said he must have insurance as part of the work visa. At one point he started FaceTiming his brother and showing him the branch. I wondered if his brother was in Turkey. No, he was working in a nearby Walmart. We finally convinced him to let me drive him to an Urgent Care a few minutes away.

We walked into the Urgent Care and I explained what happened and the concern about insurance. The nurse was great. She confirmed he would have to have insurance as part of the work visa. She asked Akon his birthdate. I found out he was just twenty one. I thought about how I would have felt if I got smacked by a branch in Turkey and some old guy was driving me to a doctor. The nurse just needed the company name and his ID number. I called his boss back and got the name of the insurance company. We looked it up on line and found a bunch of links and a phone number. I called and the second miracle of the day happened. Someone answered right away. I gave Akon’s name and had his insurance ID number within seconds. He was clear to see the doctor. I gave him my number and told him to call me and I would come back to pick him up. A short time after I returned home, my phone rang. “Hi, Mike. I’m outside your house.” I went out to find Akon looking up from the side walk with a big smile. He told me they cleaned up his cuts. He was concerned about a scar which didn’t seem likely but I told him women would think it was cool. I gave him his bike and thanked me and we said goodbye.

The next afternoon I heard someone say, “Hi, Mike.” I turned around and it was Akon riding by again on his way to work. I gave him a big hello. He showed me his healing cuts and was on his way. I only did what I hoped anyone would do and made a connection with hard working young guy in a strange land. It was a one in a million encounter all because of a broken branch and we’ll both have “a can you believe it” story to tell.