Have You Experienced a Full Circle Event?

Have you experienced a full circle event that's brought you back to realize and appreciate what you've been doing and what you've been working on? On a recent vacation that I took with my family, that exact thing happened to me.?

Zion National Park

We were driving and trying to take early advantage to go hiking in Zion National Park.? We were on a two-way road doing 60 to 80 miles per hour depending on the speed limit, and just before the city to enter Zion, unfortunately, the person that was coming the opposite direction from us fell asleep at the wheel and started veering into our lane. My husband with great maneuvering skills was smart enough to think ahead and know that if he was going to wake up, he would swerve back into his own lane, so my husband decided to swerve into the shoulder. We did exactly that, but the people behind us did not have that forward thinking and tried to avoid him by swerving into his lane and they collided.

We pulled off to the side and I got out, running backwards calling 911 to the crash site to help out where I could.? I did everything and anything that the EMT that was present told me to do, but when I looked around I saw the vehicles that had collided, all the airbags that had deployed, the engine was all the way up to the firewall right before entering the passenger compartment, it got me thinking and appreciating all of the work that I've done over the past decade in passive safety electronics.?

The team I worked on helped develop next generation airbag control modules that would determine exactly when to deploy.??

Saving Lives

I tried to help these people, I reassured them, kept them conscious and not moving, until help came.? While we were waiting for the ambulances and the helicopter, I told them that they did the right thing by wearing their seatbelt.? I told them that I am an engineer and I work on things like this and I was so happy that we were talking right then because it meant that they were alive!

This is exactly why I am proud to say that I've worked on these products, because I saw exactly what they're intended to do when a crash is imminent.? It saves lives.? I'm happy to say that at least when I left the crash site, everybody was conscious and talking and was transported to the hospital for the care that they needed, and I hope they have a full recovery.?

But this brings me to question, have you ever gotten to experience something like that?? Have you experienced a life altering moment that made you think “Wow, I can't believe that I support, or I have done something like this before.” What was your reaction?? I'd love to find out.