A young man named Destry Horton is in the Integris Baptist Medical Burn Center in Oklahoma City today…fighting for his life. Last week he and a fellow firefighter were trapped in their vehicle when the brush fire they were battling overran them. Destry is in critical condition, with burns over 50% of his body.
And yesterday both of his arms had to be amputated near the elbow. The doctors say the process has left him with no skin to protect his chest and face from infection. They say it will take a “miracle” for him to survive.
Oklahoma is a tinder box right now…the victim of a severe drought. Every day brave men and women fight the devastating fires that threaten us and our homes and our lives…not just in Oklahoma but all across this land. I’m not sure that they always know how ‘much’ they are appreciated. Today would be a good day to take a moment to make sure the firefighters with whom YOU are acquainted know just how much they mean to us all.
How do I know about this one man so far from where we live? The reason is because he is related to a dear friend of ours. That means he became no longer just a ‘name’ in a newspaper article to me. All of us read articles about catastrophic events and say “Oh, what a shame…how sad” and go on to the next page.
But Destry’s become very real to me. I’ve heard all about him…a good Christian man, a family man only 32 years old with a wife and two little girls that adore him. He referees high school basketball. He has a big, loving, extended family that weep with pain for his pain. The hometown folks in Chickasha, Oklahoma where he lives and is employed by the city fire department, wait for news and pray they won’t lose one of their own…one of the ‘good guys’. Last Thursday this special man VOLUNTEERED, on his day off, to fight the fire at Duncan, instead of playing golf as he had planned!
He defines the word hero.
Oh yes, I know Destry very well and SO DO YOU…he’s our son…our father…our uncle…our brother…our husband…our cousin! He’s not just a ‘name’ in the newspaper. Any one of us could be the family member that waits hour, by agonizing hour, beside his bed.
Today I ask that you all join Rick and me in prayer for all the brave souls that stand between us and the dreadful things in this world…but especially for an extraordinary man named Destry Horton and for his heartsick family.
May the Lord bless them all and give them strength…
for updates www.chickashanews.com