The Joseph family was injured in a car fire on Monday, April 13, 2020, in Jacksonville, Florida; the car fire started because of a design flaw in the car’s fuel system. A leak in the fuel system led to the design flaw to start the car fire. Joseph’s family was quickly taken to the hospital. They suffered second-degree burns where it arrives at the second layer of their skin and includes blistering and leaving them in progressively extreme pain; they expect to make a full recovery. The news of their horrible experience caught the media’s attention in the news and on the internet.
Norman Addison, a car fire expert, said, ‘’about one out of seven fires includes a car. One of ten-point five fire deaths is car fires. An estimated three hundred civilians and one thousand two hundred fifty are hurt every year from car fires. Eighty-three – percent of car fires happened in passenger cars. Sixty-two percent of car fires and lethal car fires began in the motor, running gear, design flaw, or the wheel area of the vehicle.’’
Dr. Ralph Sinclair, a medical expert and did not treat the Joseph family, said ‘’that families such as the Joseph family who have second-degree burns are to survive. They get a skin graft to treat their injuries. A skin graft is a surgical procedure that includes moving the skin from one area of the body to a different body area. To cover and protect the body while it heals and may have a scar.’’
The fire story goes like this. Although the car is a total loss, the Joseph family is thankful and blessed to be alive. They can always get another car but not another Samuel Joseph Sr., Vanessa Joseph, and Samuel Joseph Jr. The experience made the family look at life from another point of view. To see what is essential, that is God, life, and each other. The family is so very grateful for the two good Samaritans who came by, pulled them out of the car, and saved their lives.
If it was not for those two good Samaritans, they could have died in the car fire. The family is looking to God to get them through this challenging time in their lives. The Joseph family went through some physical, financial, and psychological effects from the car fire. Such as the physical effects -Vanessa Joseph, who is the wife to Samuel Joseph Sr. and the mother to Samuel Joseph Jr. anytime she gets up to go to the kitchen, bathroom, living room, or anywhere in the house.
The pain from the accident makes it difficult for her to walk and lie down. Sometimes she had to get her umbrella to help her walk. The pain made it difficult for Sam Sr. to do his daily activities also. The pain was like someone took a sharp needle sticking it all over their bodies. This pain puts the limit on the time they can spend together. Samuel Joseph Sr., who is the husband to Vanessa and the father to Sam Jr., works outside of the home as an electrician and the provider of the home.
He felt the financial pressures on him because he took time off from work to heal from the accident, and the medical and home bills kept on stacking like books on a nightstand. The economic effect of the car fire had caused him to get money from his and Vanessa’s bank accounts and Sam Jr.’s college fund to pay the bills. The Joseph family also went through some psychological effects, such as Samuel Joseph Jr., who is the son of Samuel Sr. and Vanessa, he was in his room and in a depressed state where he did not want to play with his toys or watch tv he looked at the wall and the ceiling.
Vanessa had amaxophobia, where she was afraid of getting in a car because she thinks she would be on fire again. And Sam Sr. felt guilty because he believes he could have stopped the accident. Now, they are in a happy place. They have a brand-new car Sam Sr. is back to work, Vanessa is no more afraid of being in the car, and Sam Jr. is playing again with his toys and watching tv. The pain is still lingering around, but it is not as bad. They believe this adversity has come to make them stronger.
Robin's writing 