Contributing Writer
“Life is a dream from which we must wake before we can dream again”- Robert Jordan
Eleven-year-old Tristan Gillig is safe and sound after a near-death experience on Feb. 22, which ultimately lead to him being airlifted to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville. Gillig, along with his 10- year-old sister Cassandra and 13-year-old brother Ryan, were cleaning out the carport for their mom Temre as a surprise. “Talk about a surprise,” said Temre, none too thrilled.
The children decided to push Temre’s non-running mini-van out of the carport, in order to give the area a thorough clean. “When they tried to push it back it got away from them,” said Temre. “My boys were in front of it as it went off the bank,” she said explaining that the van ended up pinning Tristan to a tree to the point that he could no longer breathe.
Tristan fell while trying to get away from the vehicle as it rolled toward the bank, pinning the left side of his chest against the tree sometime shortly after 5:05 p.m. The older brother Ryan, who was also in front of the vehicle tried to push Tristan out of the way, incurring contusions on his left hand as the van tackled his brother to the tree. Cassandra alerted nearby neighbors as she screamed for help and called 9-1-1.
According to Temre, after her neighbors had responded to the chaos, Tristan was already blue. Luckily, what little help Ryan could provide Tristan by pushing him, may have saved his life. “It would probably have taken more time to get him [Tristan] out,” Ryan said, explaining that the van pinned him off center affording his brother a quick release once help arrived.
The mother, who was away running errands at the time, received a call from a hysterical Cassandra. “About the only thing that popped out of her mouth that I could understand was, ‘we think Tristan is dead,’” recalled Temre. “I got home really, really quick. I was stunned.” Temre reckoned a drive that normally would have taken her seven minutes to arrive home lasted only four.
Temre’s shock quickly turned to hysterics as she arrived to her son who was receiving breathing treatment from a concerned neighbor. The only thing Temre could remember was another neighbor restraining her from approaching her son. “Seeing my baby lying there on the ground surrounded by people working on him was a nightmare,” said the mother, who recalled Cassandra being more “clear headed” by that time.
As Tristan arrived at Angel Medical Center (AMC) after being treated on the scene, he was given a CT scan. Tristan received no broken bones, nor was there any brain damage found despite the 5-10 minutes without oxygen. Tristan received three staples in the back of his head, along with many scratches and bruises.
After arriving at AMC for initial treatment, Tristan was then airlifted to Mission Hospital in Asheville where he was hooked up to a ventilator. The hospital gradually lowered his oxygen until he was able to breathe on his own on Wednesday. The family’s relief grew as gradually as Tristan’s ability to breathe grew.
“My son died on Monday,” said Temre. “Five people saved him: His older brother, his sister, and two of our neighbors. The fifth of course, was God,” she said.
Tristan, unable to recall the incident, has no desire to experience such trauma again. Tristan said the lesson he learned was “not to move a vehicle that doesn’t work.”
“Maybe not to move a vehicle at all,” Temre quickly replied.
Shortly after the incident, the local Bi- Lo quickly set out donation jars for the relief of the Gillig family. Lisa Price, who works with Temre at Bi-Lo indicated over $800 was raised to help out Tristan. “Franklin is amazing. It is the most giving town I’ve ever been fortunate enough to work in,” said Price, commenting on the overwhelming response of the community.
Thankful for the community donations, Tamre can now cover medical expenses. The week of work she missed due to her time by Tristan’s side has also hurt her pocket book. The donations she received from Macon residents will alleviate that set back. “While my beliefs in God were shaky from time to time, never again will I ever doubt how great God is,” she said.