On Friday I went to the Manti Pageant with the youth in my ward. I love being a Beehive advisor because I get to do these fun activities with the young women and young men. We have some great youth in our ward.
On the way down to Manti, my vehicle and Sis. L's were about ten minutes behind the other ones, because we had to get gas. I was riding with Sis. B and she asked me to be her navigator since I used to live in Ephraim (next to Manti). I had decided to go the Nephi way instead of the Spanish Fork way because I am more familiar with it. Just a few miles before the Spanish Fork exit, Sis. L (who had been following us) called and said she had called the cars in front of us and they were going the Spanish Fork way to meet at a park for dinner. The timing was perfect, because we just barely had enough time to exit and catch up with the rest of the group. Sis. L shared with us that she strongly felt that the reason everything worked out so well on the trip was because we had prayed before leaving. We could tell that Heavenly Father was watching out for us.
We got back from the pageant around 2:30 am, and about 4 hours later Dustin and I were waking up again so we could hit the road early for Demolition Derby Day. Dustin and his brother Josh bought some derby trucks that have already been run in derbies before, so they didn't have much work to do on them. We got to Dustin's uncle's house near Price, UT around 10 am and immediately started getting the trucks ready to run.
It was HOT. We all got sunburned as we worked. Luckily Josh and Appols brought up a trailer so we could stop and rest and drink water every so often. The kids had fun gettling dirty and pretending to drive the trucks. I painted Dustin's truck. Around 4 we headed over to the fairgrounds for the show.
Usually when Dustin drives in a derby, I am a little nervous but more excited for him. I've seen him run in several derbies, and I have even seen him rolled before, but I have always been able to keep cool about it. I get butterflies in my stomach but I always know that he will be fine and I can just enjoy myself.
This time was different. We quickly realized that Dustin's truck was set higher than the other 7 trucks in the heat, and thus would be the easiest to roll. Dustin's uncle was the one that got the trucks for Dustin and Josh, and he did it partly so they could take on the guys who win the Price derby every year. Dustin's uncle was doing a lot of trash talking before the derby, so we knew there were at least two guys who were going to be intentionally coming after Dustin and Josh in the heat.
As we sat and waited for the heat to start, Josh's wife Appols and I were getting more and more nervous. I just had a really bad feeling about the heat, and she felt the same way. Call it a premonition if you want, but somehow I knew Dustin was going to get rolled. I just knew it. I was feeling so anxious about it that I brought Lia and Eleanor over to sit on my lap before the truck heat and the three of us said a prayer together right there in the stands, asking Heavenly Father to please keep Dustin and Josh safe. I felt a little better but I still couldn't shake the terrible feeling I had.
Finally the heat started, and I started recording it like I always do. Josh's truck died before the heat even started so he was stuck, but Dustin was one of the first moving as soon as the flags went up. He immediately made an awesome full-arena hit on a truck, then turned around and headed toward Josh to see if he could nudge him and get him going. As he got near Josh's truck, he was broadsided. Amazingly, he didn't tip over, but his truck died. As he was trying to get it started two more trucks came up and slammed into his passenger side door, pushing his truck over onto its side.
I didn't start panicking right away, because the hit didn't look too bad and he hadn't gone completely over onto his roof. The seconds started ticking by and people started surrounding his truck and he didn't climb out of it. Then I saw one of the men signal to bring an ambulance over and that's when I lost it. I threw the camera down, yelled at my sister-in-law Teaira to watch the girls, and started sprinting down to the arena. I was literally shoving people out of my way and yelling "MOVE!" as I was running. I banged my knee up pretty good as I climbed over the fence into the arena, but I was stopped at the cement barricades by someone from the sheriff's department. I frantically told them that was my husband but they wouldn't let me go over to his truck. They told me he was fine, and he was talking to them, but I looked over and between their legs I could see his helmet jammed between the ground and the cab of the truck. I was bawling. Appols had come down with me and was holding on to me. The paramedics came and asked me if Dustin was taking any medication, had any medical problems, etc. They kept telling me he was fine but he still wasn't out of the truck so I didn't entirely believe them.
Finally I saw him standing up walking over to the ambulance and they let me run over and get into the ambulance with him. He lay down in the back with another paramedic and finally I could hear him answering questions and talking to the paramedic. I was in the front and turned around and watched him as we drove out of the arena and parked in the pit area. They wanted to take him to the hospital because he had been knocked unconscious and was unresponsive for a "really long time" (probably only a minute or less), but Dustin refused transport. I got to sit in the back with him after we parked and held his hand. The paramedic said he probably had a slight concussion but since his vitals were all great and he didn't have tingling or numbness in his limbs, he didn't have to go to the hospital although they strongly recommended it. They told me to keep an eye on him and watch for things like nausea and tiredness, and then we were able to get out of the ambulance. Other than having a headache and a little dizzy, Dustin said he was fine, so he went back into the arena after the heat ended to get his truck, and then joined the rest of us in the stands for the last couple heats.
Later that night Dustin told me he and Josh had also prayed before they got in their trucks that they wouldn't get hurt. I am so grateful Heavenly Father answered our prayers. It was pretty scary when Dustin rolled and he did end up with a slight concussion, but he wasn't seriously injured and Josh wasn't hurt at all, since his truck didn't start. I am so so so thankful for prayer and for a Father in Heaven who watches out for us. I'm also thankful for family, because they were so helpful and concerned when Dustin rolled. Not only did we survive the derby, we also survived the long drive home when we were already tired. I don't know how we stayed awake but we did, and got to bed around 2:30 for the second night in a row.
We actually did have fun yesterday. It is always nice to be able to spend time with family. Even though the derby was a bust we still enjoyed ourselves. (It wasn't just Dustin rolling that ruined it, either. It was just a really lame show. Most of the drivers were more interested in making it into the main event to try for some money than in making good hits, so it was boring. Some of the drivers actually got booed, which I haven't seen in a derby before. However, there was a heat that ended with two female drivers going at each other for ten minutes, and it was awesome. Easily the best part of the show.)
I don't know if we'll continue doing derbies. Dustin and I are both a little hesitant for him to keep competing. The problem with derby is, it's really fun and exciting and usually very safe. However, there is always a chance of being injured and yesterday was a reminder of how scary it can be. I'm just glad I know that as long as we continue to pray, Heavenly Father will always guide us and keep us safe.
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| "Before" picture of Dustin's truck. |
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| Josh's truck. |
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| Matching shirts |
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| "After" the rollover |
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| The girls love supporting Daddy at his derbies! |
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