With lines from “West Virginia Doctors Work To Bridge Healthcare Gap in Rural Areas” by William Brangham, Caleb Hellerman, Janet Tobias, and Courtney Norris, a Pulitzer center reporting project.

I remember it like it was yesterday

My dad was working his car

A light drizzle had soaked the ground

And then it happened

I was sitting on my bed when it happened

My mother rushed into my room

“Come downstairs and help me” she asked me

I ran downstairs and there I saw what had happened

My father had cut his hand open with his tools

My father sat there with his hand cut wide open

My mom panicking saying he needs an ambulance

But he wouldn’t call 911 because it would cost too much

With his car broken he would’ve had to take my moms car

He said it was “too far away” and the car couldn’t be gone that long

He was right, he couldn’t be gone that long

He patched himself up and put a bandage on his hand

And like that he went on with his life

Deeming it too much of a struggle for transportation to the hospital