A Mother's Hope and a Daughter's Courage Save Them from Disaster
John loved his Mustang. The car was his most valuable possession. He would wash and polish it every weekend. But on this Saturday morning, his car love almost turned into a disaster.
As later shown in the surveillance video footage, his survival was solely due to the quick reaction of his 6-year-old daughter Lily. "Sometimes, I still hear my little girl's scream at night," John recalls, reflecting on this terrible incident.
Slow Motion
It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion at that moment. Lily was in a state of shock, and it was almost a miracle that she could still utter a word.
Although, upon closer inspection, Lily didn't say anything, she screamed instead. She screamed out for her father, John. John heard the alarming cries of his daughter and immediately ran towards her. But it was already too late.
Unable to believe what just happened
Lily watched in horror, tears streaming down her eyes. She couldn't prevent the inevitable, but it wasn't too late for her to help. However, she knew she couldn't do it alone.
She could hardly believe what she had just witnessed. She was shocked to see her dad, whom she had considered the strongest man in the world, now lying unconscious on the ground in front of her.
It was all caught on tape
What Lily didn't know at the time was that the entire ordeal was captured on the surveillance camera of their house. This was a blessing because otherwise, no one would have believed her later on.
But what exactly happened to John? Why was he unconscious in his driveway, next to a half-soaped vintage sports car worth over $100,000? And how would his daughter Lily help him?
A sunny Saturday
On a bright Saturday morning, John decided to take his Mustang for a joyride and wash it later in the day. John was in a particularly good mood that day.
The very first email of the day had been good news about his job. But this good mood wouldn't last long because something terrible was about to happen that day.
Wanting to help
Lily, John's little daughter, ran after her father, begging if she could please come along. John would usually say no because she was still too small to sit in the front seat.
But Lily whined for so long that she had grown and was even proudly holding her child seat in her hands. In his great mood, John just couldn't say no to his daughter, so he took her with him.
Lily loved every second of it
Lily enjoyed every second of their ride together and was sad when they returned home. John told his daughter that she could play in the front yard while he washed his car, and she happily agreed.
Lily peacefully played. John, in his good mood, fetched all the cleaning products from the house. Neither of them could have ever anticipated that their day was about to take a dramatic turn.
Playing Innocently: A Heart-Stopping Moment
When they arrived home, Lily immediately ran to her scooters and rode one of them along the driveway and into the garden. She raced up and down the street on her scooter, laughing with joy.
John smiled at his little girl as he filled his bucket with water and grabbed his soap and sponge. It was a Saturday that couldn't be any better. But John's smile would soon fade away.
Driving Around
John kept an eye on Lily as she rode up and down the street on her scooter, passing by their neighbors and Lily's playmates. He heard her laughter in the background as he washed his car.
But after a while, his attention drifted away, and Lily's laughter slowly faded from his perception. His attention was now focused on the car's paint, and it seemed as if he had forgotten about his daughter.
A Loud Scream
John was almost done washing his Mustang. He hadn't turned around to look at his daughter in a while, as he was fully focused on his car.
Then Lily screamed. Immediately, John was wide awake again. He turned around frantically, wondering what could have happened. He saw his daughter pointing at something on the ground, her face contorted with fear.
She Screams at Her Father
"Daddy, watch out!" she yelled. John's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea what his daughter was pointing at. He looked down but couldn't see anything due to the soapy water.
"Daddy, daddy, behind you!" Lily screamed again. She desperately pointed at the ground. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Where?" a visibly confused John asked, unsure if Lily was in danger or if he was.
Closes His Eyes in Horror
Lily kept screaming at her father to be careful. She closed her eyes, full of fear. She was so frightened, she couldn't bear to witness what she thought was about to happen.
John could hear the terror in his daughter's voice. He knew he had to take her seriously. It was total chaos, and no one was around to help them.
Looks Around
John jumped up and down frantically, trying to figure out what Lily was pointing at. But it was already too late. His foot slipped on the soapy water as he tried to stand up.
John lost his balance and painfully fell onto his back. Lily watched in horror as her father fell backward and hit his head on the sidewalk. Her eyes widened with shock.
Daddy, Get Up!
She screamed and yelled at her father to get up because the danger was still close. But as John lay there, dazed and bleeding, he heard Lily's cries growing weaker and weaker.
Lily cried in fear as she watched her father struggle to stay conscious. She was all alone. Suddenly, she no longer felt like a big girl but like a helpless child.
She had to do something
Lily knew she had to get her father to safety. She quickly ran to him, keeping an eye on the danger. She tugged at his arm, trying to pull him away, but he was too heavy.
If only Lily's mother had been home. But Mom always did the weekly grocery shopping on Saturday mornings. Lily cried for help, hoping one of their neighbors would hear. But it remained silent.
Saving Her Father
All Lily could think about was saving her father. She no longer cared about the dangerous situation. She grabbed his hands and pulled on them once again.
This time, she could see a movement in her father's body. She pulled one last time with all her strength, managing to drag her father from the concrete driveway onto the soft grass.
It's Not Over Yet
Lily was lucky that her father was lying in soapy water, because that's probably the only reason she was able to get him to safety. But the danger was not yet over, even though brave Lily was already exhausted.
Her father's head was bleeding heavily and everything looked very frightening. Lily was shaking with sobs. But she knew that it wouldn't help her father. Lily quickly stood up and ran inside, searching for a phone.
Just in time
Luckily for Lily, her father's phone was ringing just as she walked in. It was her mother calling. She quickly grabbed the phone and immediately started shouting at her mother to come home.
"Hi, there—" her mother began cheerfully. She only wanted to ask if Lily wanted anything from the supermarket. But Lily interrupted her immediately. "Mom, you have to come home right away. Dad is injured!"
A terrible scene
Lily's mother was surprised by her daughter's frantic screams, but she didn't waste a second and drove home immediately. There, she stumbled upon a horrific scene.
Seeing her husband lying next to a small puddle of blood and soapy water on the floor, she knew she had to call an ambulance right away. Weeping, she knelt beside John as she dialed emergency services.
Waiting for the ambulance
While they waited for the ambulance to arrive, both Isabella and Lily stroked the unconscious John. Isabella asked her daughter what had happened. But Lily was too distraught to speak.
Instead, she sat beside her father, holding his hand as he lost consciousness repeatedly. Meanwhile, Lily's mother ran in and out of the house, fetching towels and bandages for John's wound.
Fear for her father's life
Lily never thought this would happen today. The day had started so well. On their joyride, she had listened to great music with her father and laughed a lot. And now, everything had turned into her worst nightmare.
She closed her eyes and wept softly as she heard the sirens getting closer. She feared for her father's life. Just minutes ago, she had regarded her dad as the strongest man in the world.
Taking him to a hospital
When the ambulance arrived, Lily's father had lost consciousness. They quickly got a sense of what had happened and put him on a stretcher. Lily and her mother followed the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Lily's mother did her best to hide her worries, but Lily could sense the tension in the air. She still couldn't tell her mother what had happened.
Feeling helpless
Lily and her mother arrived at the hospital. They asked which room John had been taken to and were horrified to hear that he had been brought straight to the operating room.
Because of the huge wound on his head, the doctors had to perform emergency surgery. The nurse didn't have any more information. Lily and her mother felt helpless. They could only wait.
No explanation
Lily was still completely shaken by what she had seen. Her mother tried to get her to explain and tell what had happened to her husband.
But every time Lily even thought about it, the poor girl could only cry. She tried to speak but quickly turned into stuttering and then loud sobbing.
Hope and Prayer
Hope was all her mother could do, praying that John would successfully come out of the operation and then explain what had happened that morning. How does one manage to get a skull fracture while washing a car?
One thing she knew for certain. If he came out of this alive, he would never go near that Mustang again! She had long seen the car as a rival for John's attention.
The End
When John woke up in the hospital several hours later, he was relieved to hear that Lily was safe and sound. It wasn't until the next day, after a long and restful sleep, that he found out what had happened.
Lily had spotted a venomous snake on the ground and had screamed to warn her father. Her quick thinking had saved them both from a potentially deadly encounter.
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