To the editor,

Monday evening, I got the phone call no child wants to receive. I picked up the call from my dad to hear sirens in the background. 

“Your mom has been in a bad car accident” … “She got slammed” … “The truck flipped, and she’s pinned in there.”

My heart dropped. 

I started asking questions about who was there, what agencies responded and what I could do to help. I was told Covington Police Department, Covington Fire Department and Piedmont EMS were on scene and I immediately felt a sigh of relief. 

In my previous role with the newspaper, I got to know a lot of men and women who wear the badge in Newton County, and I knew my mom was in good hands with these heroes. Thanks to the hard work of these men and women who put their lives on the line every day, my mom is going to be OK.

My mom was transported to Piedmont Walton Hospital and it was like a well-oiled machine how these doctors and nurses worked together to make sure she was OK in a timely manner. I am still amazed by the whole process. 

At a loss for what to do to show my gratitude, I wanted to shine a light on these heroes in their community. 

Thank you, CFD C Shift for working to extract my mom with care and precision. 

Thank you, CPD Officer Michael Canty, Officer Keith Waddell, Officer Christian Jimenez, Officer Alan Yi and Sgt. Starr Smith for getting there first and calming my mom down in what was one of the scariest moments of her life. 

Thank you, Piedmont Walton Emergency staff, including Dr. Steven Durocher, Nurse Sunshine Lane, Nurse Nicki Harris and ED Tech Kasey Clemente, for not only acting in a precise and timely manner but doing so with the most kindness and efficiency I’ve ever seen. 

Our community is blessed to have men and women like these working to protect us every day. 

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Sincerely,

Jackie Gutknecht

Monticello