Imagine you're a firefighter called to the scene of an accident and you discover it's your own family you've been called to rescue. That's the nightmare scenario Texas firefighter Aaron Van Riper handled when he arrived on the scene of a head-on collision.
Van Riper's wife Amber had been ejected from the car and son Jonathan (who goes by "Bear") was pinned inside when they collided with a pickup truck.
"It's my family. My wife was laying there on the ground," Van Riper told ABC13. "[By] the look of the car, I don't know how either one of them lived. There was nothing left of that car."
Thankfully both Amber and Bear survived the accident, but they suffered multiple fractures. It took nine hours of surgery to repair Amber's pelvis alone, which was broken in five place.
Can you imagine how terrifying? How does anyone remain calm in a situation like that? I'm sure as a firefighter Van Riper has had plenty of practice at keeping his cool through intense emergencies. "Once i saw my son I kind of went into panic mode," he admits. Nothing can prepare you for seeing your own family injured in an accident.
Amber and Bear are both recovering, but now they face a new battle. Even though she works full time as a graphic designer, Amber does not have health insurance. So friends and family have created a GoFundMe to help pay for Amber and Bear's medical expenses.
Do you think you could handle seeing your family in an accident if you were a firefighter?
Image via GoFundMe.com