A Shocking Experience
An Experience of Stephan Seable Told by His Grandson Anthony
When my grandfather, Stephan Seable was a young man, he work with local construction companies in Portland. On many occasions he was assigned to oil the machinery.
One day he oiling the joints and parts of a large crane at a particular construction site. He was climbing around the base of the crane as a man started to use it. The crane was placed below live wires that were hanging from telephone poles. The crane’s operator was very careful not to hit them. As Stephan finished his oiling job, the operator began to lift and move telephone poles that were on the ground. As he lifted them the crane struggles to raise them, so the operator exelirated the machine. The crane then jerked up and contacted the wires. Stephan was still standing on the steel platform of the crane! Thousands of volts rushed through his body. He shook uncontrollably as the shock moved throughout his body. The crane operator was safe inside the rubber sealed cockpit, as he watched in horror. The operator move as quickly as he could to move the cumbersome crane off of the wire. The arm of the crane bounced off of the wire for a second, and Stephan was released from the surge. Stephan dropped to the floor of the crane platform. Then the crane came in contact with the wire for a second time! This time Stephan was thrown by the surge a number of feet away from the crane. He lay there, his skin smoking, grimacing in pain. He felt the soothing drops of cold rain and the cool spring breeze sweep over his burnt limbs. He was in great pain when his associates ran over to him.
While he struggled through his pain, he asked his friend to pray for him. His friend, Ray, hadn’t been to church in a while and had grown distant from God, but he prayed mightily as the other construction workers bowed their heads. The prayed not only help Stephan, but also helped Ray. Ray saw how much of a strong reliance Stephan had on God. When he was on the verge of death, and when he was in great pain, Stephan knew that from the faith of others and the power of God, he would survive. That was the first thing that he thought of. Ray was touched by this and became a devout Christian from that time on.
The ambulance arrived in what seemed like a lifetime, but Stephan was eventually taken to the hospital. While there he was told that he would never walk again, that he would never have children, and that he would be limited in other ways as well. Stephan confidently went into a skin graph surgury. Skin was stripped off of his back and placed on his severely burnt legs. The outcome of the operation was uncertain, but Stephan was determined to emerge from his injury. A few weeks after being admitted, Stephan Seable walked out of the hospital on his own feet. Later in life he became a loving father of 8 children, and an excellent Grandpa of over 40 grand children. Thanks to his faith and determination, Stephan Seable lives and praises God. All in all, it was a shocking experience.
