Editor:

Last Monday I did a stupid thing; I started a brush fire using gasoline. The fire came back on me, sending me into pain that I did not know existed. Thanks to years of "stop, drop and roll" being drilled into my head, my reaction was immediate, but not fast enough to keep my legs from getting 2nd degree burns.

My son called 911, and the Brownsboro Volunteer Fire Department was there quicker than I thought possible. I was so relieved to see Kyle Bridges, because I knew him and trusted him and it made me feel like everything was going to be okay. It seemed like all kinds of cars and trucks stopped, and everyone was working on me and trying to make me feel better. I was hurting and scared, and here were all these people helping me with real concern in their eyes.

The doctors say I should be better in two or three weeks, and I feel really lucky that my burns are not more severe. But I feel more blessed to live in a community where people care.

So I want to say thank you to Kyle and to everyone at the fire department. Thanks to the guy who said I could squeeze his hand when I wanted to scream. Thanks to the medics in the ambulance who got me to the hospital as fast as they could. Thank you, many times over to my neighbor, Jerry Jeter for coming over and staying with my kids until family could show up. Thanks to Nancy and Jerry Alexander for the box of food, and to all of our friends and family who have made meals and run errands and picked up Destiny and Seth for baseball games, or just called to check on us.

And thanks for the prayers, because that's what I'm really relying on to make me better. I wish there was something I could do for each of you that would express my heartfelt gratitude. But all I can do right now is say thank you for being there for me.

And to anyone who thinks starting a fire with gasoline is a good idea, please don't do it. I wish I hadn't.
Lisa Garrison
Brownsboro