The Ohio Independent Baptist, September 1968

• • IS over1n are As told by Dorothy E. Wills Coralyn Gleasot1, a 111issionar)', servi11g since 1953 i11 Ve11ezz,ela. i,nder Baptist Mid-Missions 1-1 1 as· retitrni11.~ fro,11 a co111bi11ed good-1-vill and vacation trip in 1-1.·ester,z Ve11ezt1ela 1-1 1 l1e11 s/1e and her co– \1•orker Pef?f.!Y Degno,z rot111ded a c11rve approac/1inR tlze toi\'n of G11anare a11cl 'rvere involved itz a 11ear /1ead-011 collisio,1 1-vith a tri, ck . The Police report listecl Cora/viz av cleacl! Deacl? - let /1 er tell l1 er SfOr}'- I awoke, bewildered! How did I get here? Here in a ho pita!! I know I am in Cleveland. Ohio, for I recog– nize Dr. Rouch, Medical Director of Bapti t 1id-Mi sion . A cast i on my arm. my leg my che t! An ac– cident? But I wa in Barnias, Vene– zuela, over 2000 mile via air from le, 1 eland. M )' co-worker, mi ionary Peggy Degnon. and I were taking a vacation trip through we tern Venezuela to Cucato Columbia. We had started the return trip around the Ande mountain to our mi ion tation at Pureto Ordaz, 1200 miles away. We pent the night with TEAM mi ion– arie 1 yron and Dorothy Philippi at Sarnia . T.he next morning I backed ottl of the g arage to continue our trip - Thi i the la~t I remember! '·Dr. Rouch, I called, "Dr. Rouch! hat happened to Peggy?'' He had perplexed look on h1 face as he gentl}' answered, ·· oralyn don't you ren1en1bcr? When you arrived here [our day ago it wa you who told 111c all about Peggy's condition. You ~aid he had a frac tured skull and hey ~,er keeping her quiet." ry 1 J v.1ould J could not Jiemen1ber! HE OHIO I D P ND BAP I · ~ ' 'Dr. Rouch.' ' I asked. HWhat did I back into?" ' Coralyn' he an wered, "you were not driving. Peggy had changed eat with you after you bought gas in Barnia . Two hour later, near Guanare you were in– volved in a head-on colli ion with a truck. " The accident had happened nine– teen day ago on July 3rd, 1965 but I could recall nothing that happened ince that day. Today wa the fir t I knew that I wa really Coralyn Glea on mi ionary to Venezuela, and that I wa now in the Euclid Glenville Ho pital in leveland Ohio. Week of puzzlement and frustra– tion followed. Friend told me about the accident and of the uncertaint y of my recovery. The police report at Guanare, enezuela had Ii ted me a dead and Peggy as critical. It wa twenty-fot1r hour before our pastor, Rev. Ken John on of Pureto Ordaz wa notified of the accident. He tarted the 600 mile trip ait once. At the ho pital at Guanare, he found that Peggy although r1ou ly hu~t~ would recover. I r n1ained un– coun cious for three da 1 \. y arn1 had been broken in two places, n1y Th olli h d-on. • on w ankle cru hed. Both would require urgery. X-ray revealed no head injurie , but omething wa wrong! At time I would know my friends but oon become irrational, recognizing no one. and remembering nothing. I creamed with pain. I did and aid many trange and ometime hocking thing . Be– cau e of n1y mental condition, urgery had to be delayed and the deci ion was made to end me to the tate for further te t . Temporary cast were put on my che t, arm. and leg to pern1it travel by plane to the ho pital in Cleveland Ohio. My friends, Mr. and Mr . Au tin Peter on who to k me to leveland , told n1e that I introduced them to Dr. Ro11ch on our arri\ al. Dr. Rouch \.\ a p rple ed and di n1ayed f ur day later at n1y l f mem ry. It ""a in1po ible f r n1e to recall an, thing that had happened ince the n1orning I backed ut of the garage at Barnai . enezuela, \\ hen Pegg) and I tarted on that ftiteft1l trip. Dr. Rouch ordered ft1r1hcr te,t,. The e re\cc.1led a e\ere c ncu,~1 11 (Continued on Page 11) PTE 8 , l 68 7