The Fall

Several years ago we started renovating eight turn-of-the-century townhouses. Our vision is to use the homes to provide housing for missionaries who will commit to serving Brownsville. It’s been a slow road and quite a lesson in running a small business, property ownership, the justice system, perseverance and grace. There is much more to tell about the vision and mission and many stores to relay about this adventure. This is just one of those stories.

I was working from home and was just finishing a conference call when a great commotion broke out upstairs. Out of the commotion, I heard a voice in panic, “Someone fell from the roof”.

We had just engaged with a contractor to renovate three of the townhouses; over the past week, they had been replacing the old slate roof. I ran up the steps reacting to the commotion and panic, not fully grasping the words I just heard. I could see from the window the figure of a body on the ground and someone standing over him.

I ran to the scene expecting to see a dead man and grieving friends. Miraculously, the man was moving and even alert. He was obviously in great pain and you could immediately see his arm, legs and hip were not aligned. In fact, his arm bones appeared to be separated from his hand. The man just fell 24 feet from the scaffolding and it wasn’t until his friend said “Steve, stay with me” that I even recognized the man as the owner of the construction business.

911 had already been called. The work crews were busy cleaning up and making a path for the ambulance. One guy was waiting at the front street for the ambulance and the neighbors started to gather to see what was going. Steve’s friend stayed with him.

It seemed like an eternity for the ambulance to arrive. By the time they did, the Life Flight was also on their way. After the medical crew arrived and began to evaluate Steve, we began to search for his cell phone to call his wife. It was a difficult call…

“… no, this is Mark. Steve is doing the job for me over in Brownsville. Jane, Steve is hurt pretty bad. He’s moving and alert but he fell from the scaffolding...”

I was able to relay to her that Steve would be flown to Pittsburgh as a precaution to internal injuries. He was answering the paramedic’s questions and was coherent even through the excruciating pain.

We learned the next day that there were no brain, neck or spinal injuries. But it really wasn’t for days until the extent of his injuries were known. He suffered through shattered bones, countless surgeries and a nasty infection that split his leg open.

This all started October 5th. As I began to write this on November 2nd, I received a call from his wife that he would be coming home. It was nearly a month in the hospital. He will walk again but the long road to recovery is just beginning. Pray for Steve and his family.