Don Washabaugh, RT(R), Radiographer

Wuesthoff Health System

Rockledge

Society’s fascination with heroes and acts of heroism is evident in its most popular activities.  Summer blockbusters are synonymous with genetically mutated men in tights and damsels in distress.  Children’s lunchboxes and bed sheets around the globe continue to feature the latest caped-crusader.  However, it is the unspoken hero, the ordinary person doing something extraordinary for no benefit of his/her own, that deserves a ticker-tape parade.

Don Washabaugh is one of those heroes.  After a few months, many of his co-workers will forget what he has done and, after a few years, even his family will become desensitized to the fact that a hero walks among them.  But to a select few, Washabaugh’s actions will never be forgotten.  To them, Washabaugh has left an indelible signature in their lives.

Without a call to action flashing in the sky, or a phone call from a shiny red telephone, Don Washabaugh answered a cry for help.  On May 16, 2007, a crossover crash on Interstate 95 unfolded before morning commuters on their way to work, including Washabaugh.  With traffic stopped, Washabaugh approached the accident.  “It was mangled cars everywhere – it was fully engulfed and burning up,” Washabaugh said.  “I saw what looked like some people, but no one was screaming or calling for help.  They must’ve been killed instantly – and that’s kind of peace of mind.” At the site he noticed a woman who had run off the road into several trees trying to avoid the vehicles around her.  The woman was trapped inside her smoking minivan.  “All she said was she couldn’t feel her legs,” Washabaugh recalled.  Fearing a fire would erupt, Washabaugh immediately yelled for help and alerted an officer approaching the scene that a fire extinguisher was needed.  As Washabaugh ran past a pair of entangled vehicles engulfed in flames, a second explosion knocked Don to the ground resulting in a minor concussion.

Washabaugh has since made a full recovery, but his concerns still extend to the woman he met that day.  Although the terrible events of that morning resulted in two fatalities, the woman Washabaugh helped left the scene with only a few broken bones.  As word broke of Washabaugh’s heroism, Washabaugh remained faithful to his “damsel in distress” by encouraging his fellow associates to make a donation to the fund established as an aid for the woman while she was working on her rehabilitation.  Shortly after, Washabaugh’s peers collected money so he could buy a new set of scrubs since his were burnt in the accident.  He did not use a dime for himself; instead, he gave the money to the woman from the accident.

There won’t be a comic strip featuring Don, The Super Radiographer, any time soon, nor will there be action figures wearing fireproof scrubs.  There will only be a memory of a man who saved a woman’s life on his way to work.  This memory will then become an inspiration to do more than what is expected.  It is then that the world will feel the effects of Washabaugh’s actions, for it is this kind of inspiration that leads to great acts of kindness.  It’s actions like these that create a bigger picture, a picture of a world where people care for each other without hesitation or limit.  This is the picture painted by true heroes, like Don Washabaugh, our Hospital Hero.

Silvia Garcia, Public Relations Specialist

Wuesthoff Health System