street, the front door burst open, and a neighbor, Mary Parker, ran out of the house screaming. She was carrying the lifeless body of her two year-old baby girl Starla, in her arms. My mom and dad rushed to her side, hoping there was something they could do to help her. Mary handed the still baby over to my father. "The child was stiff as a board,” he recalls. “Her eyes were set and her skin had already begun to turn blue." As my mother began to pray, my dad quickly began to administer CPR. A career CIPS employee, he was well trained in life saving procedures. He began the fundamentals of the life-saving process he had been taught. The next few moments changed the lives of everyone involved. "I didn't know what was wrong, but I began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” he recalls. “I couldn't open her mouth or bend her neck back like I had been instructed in training, so I gave her a couple of quick heart massages and began breathing my breath
into her nostrils. After 12-15 breaths, I heard a soft moan. Finally, her eyes began to shift and her body moved. I knew she was alive." They rushed the child to UMWA Hospital where she was treated overnight and released the next morning. She had suffered convulsions due to a high fever (106 degrees) although miraculously, she seemed to suffer no permanent effects.
Ray Maragni and Starla Filhart today.
(Photo by Sherri Maragni)
Of course, Starla's parents, Fred and Mary Parker, were very grateful to both of my parents for helping to save the life of their child, but as it often happens, the neighbors lost touch
over the years as the Parkers moved to another state. One late afternoon a couple of months ago, my parents were enjoying a leisurely evening watching one of their favorite television programs when the phone rang. My mother answered the phone and the soft voice on the other end asked if she could speak with my father. Before she introduced herself, she told him that that although he may not remember her, her mother had instructed her to call him if she ever came back to West Frankfort. Starla Filhart had moved back to her hometown and wanted to personally thank him for saving her life nearly 38 years ago. Although Starla doesn't remember the incident, she shared how her mother had reminded her of the miracle throughout the years to encourage her to persevere when times got tough because God obviously had a plan for her life. My father of course remembered the incident, but the phone call helped him relive many of the details of the miraculous ending to what could have become a tragic memory for all involved. "The past is gone, but not forgotten, and can resurface at anytime. It was a great reminder to me that my past is still important in the present", he added. The Maragnis and Starla and her boys, recently attended church together at Whittington Church and have shared hugs and stories as they are both reminded of the power of a good neighbor and the importance of being at the right place at the right time. My dad says that God places us where we can be of use to others. Both he and the Parkers are grateful that he was a part of God's plan that day.
Pg. 20
Spring • 2010