We had been married less than two months. I remember thinking that as I sat shaking fighting back tears and the fear of uncertainty.
It all started when the snowcat track came partway off. We had only had the track come off one other time. We called the snowcat repair guy and asked if he could come to help us. He said we were in luck and he was already headed that way. He’d get there in about 10 minutes. He advised us to get out the car jack and put it on the back of the snowcat to lift the weight off the track. Since the snowcat had no parking brake I sat in the driver’s seat holding both brake handles toward my chest and my feet on the metal dash.
My husband Leland jumped out and started jacking the snowcat up. I felt the shaking of each ratcheted push of the car jack, lifting the snowcat a few inches at a time. Then suddenly the whole snowcat thudded to the ground. I could no longer see my husband in the rearview mirror. Instead, I saw the top of his helmet rolling away down the hill. I knew if I moved and he was alive the snowcat would roll over him and kill him. So, I sat and waited, I sat knowing that all I could see was his helmet. I sat thinking his head may be inside that helmet. I sat shaking, my stomach churning at the thought that I may have just become a widow.
The snowcat repair guy showed up a minute later, as he ran closer I yelled out the window “Is he alive?” He just said “Stay in the cat. Keep the brakes on.” I wasn’t sure if he just didn’t want me to see the carnage or if there was hope. So, I continued to just sit there holding those brakes hoping that his life still depended on it. The cat repair guy put the snowcat on blocks and said I could get out. I just about dropped to my knees from shock, trying to get down from the driver’s seat. Thankfully to my eternal happiness, Leland stood up, having been knocked out and having his jaw displaced. He decided he better get it back in place immediately before any adrenaline wore off. So, he made a fist and proceeded to bang on the side of is face hitting his jaw until it popped back into place.
I thought he should see a doctor, he refused. He couldn’t open his mouth for a while. I had to make soup, smoothies, and puddings for a few days in order to feed him. After that he was fine.