Hero

I returned home from work on Saturday afternoon, greeted the dogs, opened up the computer & turned on the TV which happened to be tuned to CNN. I saw & heard the first announcement, interrupting the regular news, of what had just happened in Tucson. I sensed that this was one of those events that was going to change the country somehow. I have not been able to shake the news & continue to watch as the story continues.



This is my favorite song about HEROES. Today is the birthday of Crash Test Dummies' lead singer/ songwriter Brad Roberts. What a voice.


Daniel Hernandez says he's no hero, but that Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is.


Hernandez's quick thinking is credited with helping to stop Giffords' bleeding after she was shot in the head during an outdoor rally in Tucson on Saturday. Hernandez, who is openly gay & had been Giffords' intern for just 5 days when the shooting occurred. Chaos erupted with people running & screaming. Daniel Hernández heard gunshots. Most people ran away from the crowd, but he ran towards them. His courageous decision probably saved Gabrielle Giffords life. Hernandez, who is just 20 years old, had only been an intern for the congresswoman for 5 days when a man opened fire outside the "Congress on Your Corner" event. He moved from person to person checking pulses,& then he saw Giffords on the sidewalk. She was bleeding.Finding congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot, he immediately applied pressure to the entry wound on her forehead while he waited for EMT's to arrive. He pulled her into his lap, holding her upright against him so she wouldn't choke on her own blood. She was conscious, but quiet.
He never let go of his boss.


Hours later Hernández met with Giffords friends & family. His own family arrived & he told them about the people he knew who had died.




I was up very early this morning, & turned on the TV to hear this on CNN. Hernandez:“I was about 40 feet away from the congresswoman & the place she was meeting with constituents & I was kind of behind a corner so I couldn't see directly where the congresswoman was from my position. I heard the gunshots & I knew that people had been injured most likely. So I ran towards where the congresswoman was. When I got there I saw that there were people who had been injured. I then tried to see who had a pulse still, see if people were still breathing. I was only able to check two or three people before I noticed that Congresswoman Giffords had been injured severely. So then she became my first priority. Not just because of her position but also because of the severity of her wounds.”“I tried to make sure that I picked her up so that she wasn't in a position where she could asphyxiate on her own blood because of the position she originally was in. I then started applying pressure to her wound to try & stem the blood loss. I don't think that I did save her, I think it was emergency services. People have been referring to me as a hero. I don't think that that's something I am. I think the people that are heroes are people like Gabby, who are public servants & who have dedicated their lives to public service.”


Gabrielle Giffords is a strong supporter of gay rights. Hernandez is a hero to me.