Teri Conroy is a saint on Earth

Teri Conroy is a very good friend of mine, we met as bloggers on the old Times Union blog portal.  She operates Wunsapana Farm, a “peaceable kingdom” farm with over a dozen llamas and other agrarian creatures, and the fiber sheared from those llamas exists as high-quality fabric sold around the world.  She’s always let me visit Wunsapana Farm to photograph the llamas if I needed a llama for a Competition Season photo – heck, she once gifted me a Rolleiflex Automat MX twin-lens-reflex camera that was in her possession, so there’s that.

The other day, Teri showed all of us a side of her that we hope that, if the day ever comes, we are able to rise to that level of compassion and dedication.

Let me explain.

Teri lives on a rural section of Albany County, and the road to reach her farm has an enticing allure to teenagers – especially those who discover that excessive speed will allow the car to bounce up from hills and ruts in the road and go airborne.  Apparently the other night … some teenagers tried that stunt.  It went horribly, horribly wrong.

There was a car crash, close enough that Teri could hear the impact of steel upon wood from her farmhouse.  Teri and her daughter, along with some neighbors, ran to the scene of the accident.  Teri held one of the teenagers in her arms, while Teri’s daughter and the neighbors attended to the other two injured parties and called 911.  Teri talked and whispered to the severely injured girl, hoping to provide comfort and calmness in the aftermath of a horrible situation.

Paramedics and first responders arrived shortly thereafter.  The girl was airlifted to Albany Medical Center.

Sadly, the girl did not survive her injuries.  Thoughts and prayers and deepest condolences to her family and friends, and additional thoughts and prayers of hope for the other two teenagers who were in the crash, in hopes for a speedy recovery.

Teri later spoke with WTEN ABC-10 about that dreadful night. I could hear the pain in her voice, I could sense the emotions surging through her words.

What happened on that tragic night cold have happened to anyone’s daughter, anyone’s sister, anyone’s friend.  And in that heartbreaking moment, Teri Conroy did the only thing she could possibly do.

She did the one thing that Teri Conroy has always done.  She provided comfort and peace.  Whatever words she said to that poor girl, whatever offerings of white light and positive thought, I know that it provided precious moments of peace and calmness for a scared child.

The next moment you get, talk to your kids.  Give them a hug.  Let them know that you love them and that they mean the world to you.

Because tomorrow is never promised.

And if you are ever in that kind of a situation in your lifetime…

I certainly hope that someone like Teri Conroy is there to aid you until the paramedics arrive.

Reflection