This wonderful piece of writing is posted here to honor the memory of Lola Deschaine who passed from this world due to a stroke on Tuesday, May 6. Lola was a freshman with a fierce life force who walked her own unique path. She had an exuberance and vitality that would light up a room. She loved writing, music, her pets and her family. Lola was so excited to be joining the newspaper staff next year. Based on her talents, we’re sure much of her writing would have been published on this site. Lola, your voice will be forever missed. Our hearts and prayers are with her family.
The plane crash that changed my life – a true story
By Lola Deschaine
I never would’ve expected the engine to stop and the droning of the propeller to quiet down. I’m pretty sure my heart was beating more than the average person’s, but who’s counting? The day my world turned upside down came sooner than I guessed—January 21, 2008.
The rounds we were making thousands of feet in the air were cut short due to engine failure. The wooded area beneath us loomed with a sickening pride; it knew it would swallow us whole. Our little airplane that we thought was safe was our own personal death trap. I’d never been more scared in my life. None of my night terrors, scary stories, and scary movies could’ve prepared me for this moment.
My stepdad worked quickly to get the engine to restart to no avail. Vulgar words were swirling around as my mom held my head down, praying. My nose touched my knees, and I knew then and there, we were going down. Sometimes I wonder if we went down spinning in circles or if we shot like an arrow to the swamp. I guess I’d never know, because I didn’t look.
The fall felt kind of like a rollercoaster. That moment when you get to the top and the feeling in the pit of your stomach as you fall. It felt as if the air wanted to keep me, and I was nearly floating in the air, but didn’t go far thanks to my seatbelt. I clutched onto the sides of my seat and closed my eyes tight, ready for impact. At the time I was extremely afraid of death. Unfortunately, I was certain these were my final moments.
Finally, we crashed into trees, bending and breaking them as we went along. The impact sent us flying a bit, and I hit my head on the soft seat in front of me. The airplane stopped dragging and moving into utter silence. It was so quiet; (except for my screaming) you could hear a pin drop. My mom, cousins, uncle, and stepdad all got up except for me. I was too busy screaming at such a high pitch only dogs could hear it. I guess you could say I was distracted by myself.
After some time, I decided to unbuckle and stand up, still screaming. My mom, determined to get us to safety, snapped me out of my trance. I stopped screaming, and in one big breath, took in the world around me. I saw the trees, all kinds. I saw the swamp and moss, covering and hiding what lurks beneath the depths. This is where alligators lived. This was similar to the everglades, but not the precise location.
My brain took on a whole new fear. I was no longer afraid of the crash. In that moment in time, I feared the creatures playing hide and seek with us. I stood on the edge of the plane and looked into the sky. Helicopters circled the scene and sirens could be heard. My mom and stepdad cleared away some debris so we would be seen a lot better. Me on the edge of the plane, the plane creaked and tipped to its side a couple of inches. I jumped off; scared it’d tip all the way and submerge me.
Soon after that, firefighters made their way through the brush and trees to pull us out. One firefighter carried me on his back, for I was wearing flip flops. The crash area was extremely wooded. My mom and stepdad walked behind us with a couple of other firefighters. The walk back to the street wasn’t very long, but not short either.
Getting back to civilization, so many people waited and watched. We were in the heated spotlight, as cars and trucks and helicopters stayed put watching and waiting. My mother didn’t think I was ready to be the type of person to get my face on the news, so she hid any indication that I was a nine year old girl, traumatized by the experience.
For the next few hours, we sat in a sheriff’s office, while he got information from my mother and stepdad. I walked around examining the public display of criminal records and pictures, taking in all that happened and my surroundings. I subtly overheard my mom saying that the tail and the wing of our crashed plane were hanging by wires.
We were also only three feet from the oak trees, which if we had landed in them, our airplane with us inside would’ve blown up. I then realized how lucky I was to survive and to get the chance to live in the moment. Most people that don’t want to fall off the face of the earth are so unlucky, their life is cut short by something so simple but something so traumatizing.
But no, out of all people that deserve to live, I made it out without a scratch. I’m lucky to be alive.
