Dawn's Notes
We Will Carry You- July 2023
by Dawn Phelps, RN/LMSW
After the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February of 2018, a 24-year-old high school teacher in Ohio knew it was time to talk to her high school class about what to do if there was ever an active shooter in their school. Marissa posted her story for others to read.
The teacher, Marissa Schimmoeller, was wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy from birth. She had been honest with her students about her disability from the first day of school. But she had never talked to them about how her disability could affect them if there was a shooter in their school. After the Florida shooting, Marissa said she felt like she had to “share my limitations in terms of protecting them.” She said that when a student asked her what they should do in case of an attack, she “felt a bolt of fear and sadness run through me.”
Even though she did not have all the answers, she wanted her students to feel safe in her classroom. So she asked her class, “What will we do if a shooter comes in our room?”
She told her students, “I want you to know that I care deeply about each and every one of you and that I will do everything I can to protect you. But being in a wheelchair, I will not be able to protect you the way an able-bodied teacher will. And if there is a chance for you to escape, I want you to go! Do not worry about me. Your safety is my number one priority.”
Marissa said that as her words sunk in to the students, a girl raised her hand and said, “Mrs. Schimmoeller, we already talked about it. If anything happens, we are going to carry you.” After the student’s comment, Marissa said, “So often, when there is a tragedy, it is easy to feel angry and hurt. When I was in front of those amazing kids, . . . it occurred to me that every child, every one of my students, is so full of light and goodness. . . .”
She summed it up by saying, “I knew that people needed reminding of the good in this world just as much as I did.”
From their responses, it is obvious that the students in Mrs. Schimmoeller’s class have potential to join the list of heroes who have “carried” someone else—physically or emotionally—when there was a need. Hundreds of firefighters, policemen, and emergency workers have carried people from dangerous situations. For instance, Colin Powell carried all of his comrades to safety from a downed, burning helicopter in Viet Nam. To free one of his buddies, he ripped away burning metal with his bare hands!
Desmond Doss, an Army medic, refused to carry a gun during World War II, but he proved his true strength during the Battle of Hacksaw Ridge in the Pacific. During the battle, Doss climbed a large cliff to a field above where bullets were flying and many of his fellow soldiers were injured. One by one, Doss crawled to injured soldiers. He would drag a solder to the edge of the cliff and let him down the cliff by rope to medics below. Each time, Doss said he prayed, “God, just one more!” Doss rescued 75 wounded soldiers!
On the 4th of July we celebrate our freedom as a nation and remember those who made our country free. But we do not need to be a police, soldier, or firefighter to be a “hero” to a person in need. According to Mother Theresa, we all can “do small things with great love.”
Just as the children in Mrs. Schimmoeller’s class, in a sense, we can let others in need know that “We will carry you.”
Call about the next "Living Life after Loss" Group at:
Meadowlark Hospice
709 Liberty, Clay Center, Kansas
(785) 632-2225
Dawn Phelps, RN/LMSW, Group Facilitator