Marilyn Comer doesn’t remember much about that day in June 2024.
She remembers planning a trip to West Liberty with her family, where they would enjoy the annual Independence Day festivities, ending with fireworks that Saturday night.
She remembers that pivotal moment when she turned and tripped walking out to the car. The moment when everything changed, not just for that day but for months to come.
And she remembers the pain and the waiting, lying on the pavement for over half an hour while her husband, Larry, held an umbrella over her head because it hurt too much to go back into the garage.
“I think not knowing what you did to yourself means you don’t think the worst, but I knew it was bad,” Marilyn admitted. “Thirty-five minutes seemed like a lifetime of feeling pain. I couldn’t move.”
The morning had started out on a high note, that last weekend in June. The Comer’s 10-year-old granddaughter Kiera—known as KK—was spending the summer with them. They planned to meet their son Ryan, who lives in Mechanicsburg, at West Liberty to enjoy the day together.
Marilyn, age 73, had her hands full as she and KK walked through the garage to get in the car, which was parked on the driveway. As they exited, she reminded KK to grab her backpack.
For Marilyn, it became “one of those times you wish you could take that moment back. I fell over her foot right there, near the car, and it started pouring rain.”
Unable to move because of the pain, Marilyn waited while Larry protected her with an umbrella and called 911. She later learned she’d broken her hip and femur in that fall.
Larry, who’s lived in the same DeGraff house his whole life, was on the village’s emergency squad and fire department for many years. He also served as Riverside school board president from 1995 to 2003, so he knows his community.
After 35 minutes had gone by, Larry called again. He was told no one had responded so they were going to see if Indian Lake could help. When Larry asked if there were any volunteers in DeGraff he learned there were five, but all of them had the day off.
Indian Lake EMS Chief Josh Strayer was the first to arrive. He told Marilyn he needed to move her out of the rain, but she begged him not to, fearing the pain it would cause.
“I said, ‘the rain feels so good,’ but he had to move me to put a bag with sand around me,” Marilyn remembered.
She believes she was given some kind of pain reliever around that time because her memories grow spotty after that. She barely recalls when the emergency squad arrived, then nothing until she came to in the emergency room.
Receiving immediate treatment was just the beginning. Marilyn spent three days in the hospital as they tried to control the pain. She initially fought against physical and occupational therapy, claiming it hurt too much to move.
Recovery required months of therapy. At first, Marilyn couldn’t put any pressure on the leg. As a result, she had to learn to use a walker to get to the door and back, which ended up being more of a hop than a walk.
And Marilyn, always ready to lighten the moment, told her therapist, “I’ve never seen a bunny hop backward before.”
From the hospital, she spent four weeks at Logan Acres followed by another three to four weeks at Mary Rutan. And she stayed there as long as she could.
Now, 10 months later, Marilyn is still recovering. Her stamina and energy aren’t the same.
“They say it takes over a year to feel normal, though I don’t know if I’ll ever feel normal again,” Marilyn confessed. “It was a very bad experience.”
With all of that in mind, she and Larry wholeheartedly support passing the levy that will be on the May 6 ballot for Miami and Pleasant townships. Those township’s trustees anticipate the 4-mill levy will generate about $328,000, which will fund EMS service contracts through other area EMS agencies.
If passed, the proposal aims to provide long-term, stable EMS coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The current volunteer emergency squad—Riverside EMS—will cease operations at the end of this year, leaving residents in DeGraff and Quincy without dedicated EMS coverage.
“We want there to be a squad here,” Marilyn concluded. “They did what they could but it seemed to take so long.
“When you’re waiting, fifteen minutes can seem like a lifetime.”
Marilyn Comer and her husband, Larry, enjoy a sunset together. Larry came to his wife’s aid the day of her accident in June 2024. (COMER FAMILY PHOTO)