10 Yard Fight

My wife gave birth to our second child April 30, 2009. There were some complications that forced my child to stay in hospital until Mother's Day. Therefore, I'm back and mixing value to the hospital at any time of day or night. Ironically May 6 at approximately 5:30 p.m. my four years and I walked to my truck, when an unexpected situation occurred.

As we approached my car, I heard someone in the distance. I looked up and a fat man jogging towards us. As it is running, he looks over his shoulder, shouting "go away, leave me alone." The problem was not one, nothing was there! That was with my little girl I really had my guard and the adrenaline started pumping. The "fight or flight reflex had definitely been triggered in me.

This guy is about 50 meters, but jogging toward me and continued to scream that someone or something that was not there. I put my daughter in the truck and shut the doors. At about 25 meters, I shouted "Can I help you?". There was no response and he continued. At about 10 meters, I shouted: "Stop, do not come" very close . Still no answer. At about 5 feet, I take my pepper spray, aim and shoot.

It stopped almost immediately and began to cry, then went down to his knees. He was incapacitated, so I called the police to come get him. It turns out that this guy escaped from a mental health unit who was also on the premises of the hospital. Without going into too much detail, it was a very sick and mentally disturbed individual. I had not stopped, it may have run right by me or he can ask me to help or that he tried to attack me or my daughter.

If I did not have pepper spray available and it happened, someone would probably have been seriously injured or worse. Remember, my little girl is the truck and I would have fought to the death to protect it. The spray prevented this from happening. In less than one second the "threat" has been neutralized, which gave me ample time to call for help. At the same time no one was injured seriously or permanently. Enforcement has been able to carry this man without resistance.

I wanted to share this with you because it's real world stuff. Firstly, we were in a hospital parking lot. It is a place that should be and I guess was safe. Then it did not happen at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. Instead, the sun was shining and it was a time when many people come and go to visit. If my pepper spray was packed somewhere and are not readily available, it could be wrong.

That is why I insist on raising awareness and preparedness in all aspects of your life, especially your safety. I'm no hero, what I am and was ready to handle such a situation because I practiced for it in my mind again and again. The second part is equally important is the awareness piece. If I had been involved in a conversation on a cell phone, iPod or my game, or simply not paying much attention, I might be in difficulty. I was prepared but not aware, and therefore very vulnerable to attacks.

I encourage you to obtain and use a form of self defense non lethal for family members and yourself. It can literally make the difference between a good and bad results. In this situation, I wore Fox labs spray in my pocket. If you are interested you can visit us at Guardian Self Defense & Security