In The News:

3/24/2006

WALDRON — Carolyn Bogeman is a firm believer that it is “never too late” to make a wish — and have it come true.

Just last week, a wish elevated her to new heights, giving the 67-year-old the opportunity to close another chapter in a traumatic experience that skidded its way into her life two years ago. It was then that she unknowingly took her first helicopter ride.

Under different circumstances, the ride would have been memorable, but Bogeman remembers nothing. She flew in Lifeline helicopter, a flying trauma center, unconscious and injured severely after a car accident.

Challenged with extensive recovery and rehabilitation as a result of her injuries, her wish surfaced in casual conversations with various health workers. One of them asked Bogeman if there was anything she wanted to do in her lifetime.

“Fly in a helicopter” topped the list, according to Bogeman. She wanted to see all that she missed on the ill-fated day when she was airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

With her husband, Tom, at her side Friday, Bogeman took that flight. “It was a nice clear day,” she said. “It was very pretty up there.”

Through the efforts of the Indianapolis-based Never Too Late Foundation and employees at Waldron Health Care Home, Heritage House Convalescent Center in Shelbyville and an anonymous benefactor, the Bogemans stepped into a limousine and headed to the Indianapolis International Airport.

“We spent the day together,” whispered 73-year-old Tom as tears welled up in his eyes. “That was the best part.”

Although married for 36 years, the couple has recently spent little time together. She lives in Waldron’s Health Care Home with her 92-year-old mother, Helen Gullion, and he is a resident at Heritage House Convalescent Home in Shelbyville, recovering from a heart attack. They are determined, however, to be together again someday in Waldron.

“Carolyn first came to Waldron for rehabilitation when she broke her ankle while caring for her mother,” explained Buffy Powers, social service director in the Waldron Health Care facility.

Bogeman returned to her Shelbyville home, but was back in the Waldron facility within a few months to recuperate from the car accident that nearly claimed her life.

Bogeman confirmed her condition was very critical and that she sustained major injuries that included 19 broken bones, one being her neck. “I thought I lost her,” Tom said. “God had a lot to do with that (her survival).”

Unquestionably, Bogeman, too, believes God was watching out for her during the accident and throughout her recovery process. Intrigue about God’s vantage point drove her wish to be in a helicopter, domed with glass, hovering close to the clouds in order to see the world below.

Before the flight, she was “anxious to see what it would be like; what it must seem like to God to look down on people and how they live their lives. He’s happy with some and unhappy with others.”

Strapped in and ready to go, she remembered watching the lines on the runway at the airport. “I started feeling the vibrations, and I thought, ‘here we go!’ It’s just beautiful up there. The houses look so little, and it’s what God would see when looking down on everybody. I didn’t think there were so many rivers, creeks and ponds in that area, but there are.”

Flying above the state capital on St. Patrick’s Day had an added bonus, too. The couple saw the dye, traditionally dumped into the canal, filtering its way through the water, turning it green.

“I could tell by the look on Carolyn’s and Tom’s faces that they were having the time of their lives,” said Bob Haverstick, founder and executive director of the Never Too Late Foundation. “And the beauty of this wish ... the two professional caregivers (Buffy and Tina) got to enjoy the wish as well.” Tina Smith, a co-worker of Powers’, is the health care home’s activity director.

Another key player in making the Bogeman’s wish come true was Nadine Davenport, social service director at Heritage House Convalescent Center. “She commandeered the city-block-long limo for the ride (at no charge) to Indy, and although she didn’t get to fly with the group (only room for four folks plus the pilots), you could tell she was vicariously up in the air with them on their memory-maker journey,” Haverstick added.

Despite having traveled by helicopter numerous times while in the Navy, Tom, too, was touched by how pretty and peaceful the flight was.

The couple, both graduates of Shelby County high schools, she from Waldron and he from Shelbyville, met through membership in a Citizens Band Radio Club established in Shelbyville years ago. “We’ve had some wonderful years together,” Tom said. “We’ve surpassed the national average by being married 36 years. We had a wonderful day.”

Mason is the Outreach Volunteer Coordinator for Shelby Senior Services, and has lived in Shelbyville for 21 years. She is a 1977 graduate of Indiana University and has worked in numerous newspaper reporting positions.

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