A Calgary couple is searching for a nurse they say played a critical role in saving the husband’s life four months ago.
On Nov. 19, 2018, at around 7 a.m., Ben Freudenthaler was driving to work from Calgary to Edmonton with two of his colleagues when he was involved in a rollover crash.
“The vehicle in front of us had hit a deer and landed in our lane, so I swerved to get away from that,” Ben said.
“I re-corrected because some vehicle was in the shoulder.”
Ben said he had to swerve right to avoid the deer and then swerve left to avoid another vehicle in the other lane. His work truck rolled at least three times across all lanes of traffic. His two colleagues suffered severe concussions, bruises and scratches.
“I remember realizing that I was still alive but that I was in serious pain.
“Adrenaline takes over and I had this intense feeling I needed to get out so I unbuckled and crawled out and thankfully, she was there to get me to stop moving,” he said.
He was able to free himself from the vehicle when a woman, who identified herself as a nurse, came to his aid.
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“She identified herself right away and said: ‘Don’t move. Lie on your back,’ and held me in a spinal recovery position.”
Ben ended up fracturing his C7 vertebrae. His broken neck meant several weeks in and out of the hospital. He wore a neck brace for four months.
Ben’s wife Christina said she often thinks about the nurse and how she kept her husband calm and safe before paramedics arrived.
“I didn’t know what to expect… I didn’t know what his road to recovery was,” Christina said.
Through tears, Christina expressed her immense gratitude for the woman and said she hoped their guardian angel would see the story and reach out.
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The couple was coming off a tough few months, having suffered a big loss at the end of the summer.
“We had lost a baby in August and my thought was losing that and losing a part of Ben… and getting close to losing my husband was a big deal,” she said.
“To me, she is an angel. Ben can’t remember what she looks like. Other colleagues can’t remember what she looks like. She’s just this phantom.
“She saved my husband’s life and there’s no amount of gratitude or words that really express how happy I am that she was there,” Christina said.
“In my soul, it would feel good to acknowledge her and what she did,” Ben added.
EMS confirmed there was a person who was tending to the patient after the collision. There was no information on the woman’s identity.
Ben and Christina are asking the nurse to reach out to them so they can thank her properly and in person. By request of the couple, the nurse’s contact information is asked to be sent through email to christa.dao@globalnews.ca.