Scientology Volunteer Ministers

GUARDIAN ANGEL GETS ANGEL OF HER OWN

On October 30, a month to the day after she saved a woman’s life in a car accident on a Highway 212 at Mud Butte, Lorrie Lee Olson of Mound City received a small package in the mail. Inside was a letter from the woman’s family and a Black Hills gold guardian angel pin.

The family of the woman wrote: “Nothing can repay you for all that you [did] for our sister on September 30th. You, in fact, were Shelly’s guardian angel that day. We are so grateful to you. May God bless you.”

The Shelly in the letter—Michelle Laurenz, 39, of Eagle Butte—is known as a guardian angel in her own right. A registered nurse at the Manor nursing home in Gettysburg, she often works 36-hour shifts caring for the elderly. She has been known to sit all night with a dying patient and their family to help them through the end of a life. Just two weeks earlier, Laurenz had said goodbye to her own mother after nursing her through her final days.

On the afternoon of September 30, Shelly Laurenz was driving from her sister Tammy’s home in Gettysburg to her sister Jan’s home in Rapid City. On a lonesome stretch of Highway 212 her car and a semitrailer collided, the car spun into a ditch and despite seat belts and activated airbags, Laurenz’ body was slammed against the steering wheel and knocked unconscious.

That same afternoon, Lorrie Lee Olson, 47, was on her way to Black Hawk on Highway 212, making mental notes of needed preparations for the upcoming busy hunting season at her Calico’s Steakhouse and Lodge on Highway 83 in Mound City. As she crested the hill at Mud Butte, Olson slammed on her brakes when she saw the semitrailer straddling both lanes at a diagonal in front of the only building in sight, the post office. At first she thought the truck was stalled; then she noticed the cab was smashed on the passenger side.

As she pulled into the post office, a man and a woman ran out of the building, crossed the highway and disappeared into the ditch. It was only then that Olson realized that the truck had collided with a car and that the car was in that ditch. Olson and her dog, Daisy, hurried to the scene. The driver of the truck was in shock, muttering into a cell phone. The woman from the post office was agitated and nearly hysterical—"I don’t dare move her. I’m afraid to touch her. Her face ... What should I do? I called the ambulance and they are coming, but I don’t know from where or when. What should I do? Are you trained?”

Olson answered quietly but firmly, “I can help” and approached the car. The driver’s door and front of the car were smashed inward. The passenger door was wide open and the horn was blowing. There were no passengers, only the driver hunched over the center console, her face covered with blood and moaning slightly with each labored breath.

The woman from the post office started to speak, but Olson turned and put her finger to her lips to silence her. Olson had learned in her training as a Scientology Volunteer Minister, a program started 25 years ago by Dianetics and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, that silence around an injured or unconscious person is vital. The unconscious, or “reactive mind,” records every sound, smell and other perception, and the words said around an unconscious person can increase the trauma and lengthen time of recovery.

So while the woman from the post office went off to tend to the truck driver and direct traffic, Olson went to work immediately to help the unconscious accident victim. She first turned the rearview mirror aside so the woman, should she awake, would not see the deep gash and her own blood-covered face. It was later found that she also had suffered broken ribs, a broken collarbone and a collapsed left lung.

Olson gently put her hand on the woman’s back just below her neck to provide support in case she awoke and threw back her head. Because of the labored breathing and other serious injuries, Olson knew she could not move the victim’s body, so she once again relied on her Volunteer Minister training to assist the injured person to reposition her own body.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers specialize in providing “assists,” simple and powerful procedures that draw on the strength of the spiritual being—the person himself or herself as distinct from the body—to heal the body, in combination with medical treatment, when it is ill or injured. Olson used one of 130 different assists, this one the “unconscious person assist.” She told Laurenz to “sit that body in that seat,” repeating it many times and acknowledging the unconscious woman each time. In a short while, Laurenz began to respond. Olson continued, and after a few minutes Laurenz sat up and positioned herself in Olson’s arms for support.

Olson continued the assist. The facial wound stopped bleeding and Olson was relieved to see that it was only on the left side of the face and below the eye. No other external bleeding was visible. The victim opened her right eye. Olson smiled at her and assured her that she was doing very well in keeping herself going.

Laurenz’ breathing was still extremely labored and irregular. Olson encouraged her, telling her repeatedly to keep her body breathing. At one point Laurenz pointed to her check and her chest, letting Olson know where her injuries were and that she could not move her jaw to speak.

Olson repeatedly assured her that an ambulance was coming and that she was doing well—very well—and that she should just keep the body breathing. Laurenz laid her head back on Olson’s arm. Although her breathing was still very labored, it was now steady.

For nearly 45 minutes, Olson and Laurenz worked together to keep Laurenz breathing. “Even though she was unconscious much of the time, I sensed incredible determination and intention from this woman to keep herself alive,” said Olson. “Together we accomplished that. I provided reassurance and directions and she did the rest. There is no limit to what the human spirit can achieve.”

The Highway Patrol arrived and sent Olson’s report on Laurenz’ condition to the ambulance that was on the way from Newell 35 miles away.

A registered nurse from North Dakota offered help. She reached through the window of the car to take the pulse of the injured woman and then followed Olson’s lead in simply remaining calm and quiet and reassuring.

As the minutes ticked on, others stopped to offer help. Olson quietly told each passerby that they were doing fine and all they needed was the ambulance.

From time to time, Laurenz awoke from her unconscious state, confused and frightened. Olson smiled, touched her uninjured cheek to reassure her that she was not alone, and reminded her to just keep the body breathing.

The ground ambulance arrived, followed shortly by an air ambulance. Laurenz was carefully removed from Olson’s arms and airlifted 80 miles to the hospital in Rapid City where she arrived in stable condition despite her serious injuries.

Olson then went to check on the woman from the post office, who pointed out to Olson that she was covered with blood and washed it off for her. She also gave water to a thirsty Daisy, the dog who had stood by quietly while her owner gave the life-saving assist to Laurenz.

Both the nurse and the woman from the post office, an emergency medical technician, wanted to know how Olson knew exactly what to do. “I told them I was a Volunteer Minister and that I was trained to keep people calm and alive after accidents and disasters,” said Olson.

Both women praised Olson for her rapid and skilled action. “You were so calm, you made us calm. You are very well-trained,” the RN told her.

For Olson, her work was not over. She went to see the driver of the truck and found he was severely shaken by the accident. She gave him a “locational,” another assist learned in Scientology Volunteer Minister training. By repeatedly directing his attention to various objects—a tree, his truck, the dog—one at a time, Olson reoriented the man to his immediate environment and brought him out of the trauma and shock of the accident. The trucker’s mother, witnessing the results of the assists given to Laurenz and her son, called Olson “one of God’s angels.”

Olson completed her journey to Black Hawk that day and then returned to life in Mound City, where she lives with her husband, George Seibel, a retired rancher, and operates Calico’s. She has kept up with Shelly Laurenz’ recovery through Laurenz’ sisters, Jan and Tammy. An RN in the hospital where Shelly remained in intensive care for 23 days, Jan told Olson that Shelly kept angrily pulling out the breathing tube as if to say she did not need it. Perhaps Shelly was making it known that she had already proved at the scene of the accident that she could breathe on her own.

Finally, Jan suggested to the doctors that they take her sister off the respirator. When it was removed October 21, Shelly’s recovery took a sharp upswing. She was moved from intensive care to rehab and will soon be released to her sister’s home in Rapid City. After several weeks of recuperation she will go home to Gettysburg. Laurenz is expected to recover fully and may be able to return to work in two to three months.

Olson has not talked much about her part in the story until now. “When I received the guardian angel pin from Shelly’s family, I decided I wanted to tell people that there is so much every one of us can do for others, in small and large ways. I had Scientology Volunteer Minister training so I knew exactly what to do. Because of that I was fortunate to have the opportunity to assist someone who has helped so many others. I encourage everyone to learn these procedures. The ability to save a life is priceless.”

On November 3, Olson received a phone call from Shelly Laurentz, their first contact since the accident. In a small whisper, which is all she can muster currently, Laurentz said, “I heard you saved my life. Thanks.” Lorrie Lee Olson cried tears of joy.

“Shelly’s sisters say they are bringing Shelly to see me when she is up and about,” says Olson. “They won’t tell me when—they say it will be a surprise.”

Lorrie Lee Olson can be reached at calicos@valleytel.net or (605) 955-3535. Information on how to learn assists such as those given by Olson is available at volunteerminister.org or by calling 1-800-HELP-4YU.

Please help Volunteer Ministers

From: Scientology Volunteer Ministers:

Thousands of Volunteers Are Needed NOW
You Can Help!


With hundreds of thousands in the Gulf Coast states of the U.S. homeless or without electricity from hurricane Katrina, Scientology Volunteer Ministers are being dispatched to the area to help with the emergency relief effort. If you are a trained Volunteer Minister, your help is urgently needed to contribute to the cleanup.

People are needed to provide assists, and a friendly hand. Come now and bring others with you, trained or not, Scientologists or not.

If you are not a trained Volunteer Minister contact us and we will train you in hours and get you involved with our relief efforts.

Experienced Volunteer Ministers from the Churches of Scientology of New York, Tampa and other cities around the United States have been organizing teams of volunteers to assist in the relief operation and they will train any persons willing to help.

Contact the Scientology Volunteer Minister Coordinator at 1-800 HELP 4-YU (1-800-435-7498) or e-mail us at vm@volunteerministers.org

Or contact the Scientology Disaster Response Team directly in Baton Rouge:

Church of Scientology Mission of Baton Rouge
9432 Common Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809
Tel: 225-928-7804
E-mail: batonrouge@scientology.net