Mitchell emergency workers deliver holiday cheer to local family

When a fire truck rolled up to Rick and Valerie Johnson's house on Monday, Valerie had one question.

"I hollered to the kids, 'Did someone call 911?' " she said with a laugh. "Then I realized Santa was in the fire truck."

There was no fire, and none of her children accidentally dialed 911. Instead, Santa Claus ditched his sleigh Monday for a fire truck when Mitchell Fire/EMS and Avera Queen of Peace Emergency Department employees helped Santa make an early Christmas stop. They delivered cash, gift cards and other goodies to the Johnsons and their six children, who range in age from 9 to 19.

"It took us very much by surprise. We had no clue," Valerie said.

Her husband, Rick, had a long day of medical appointments before the Johnsons got home in the afternoon. When they got home, Valerie said her husband was settling in for a nap.

"He was sitting in the recliner, we saw a fire truck come up," she said.

Rick suffered a massive stroke last year around this time. Valerie said prior to the stroke, he was the manager of the JC Penney store, and a member of the Mitchell Board of Education. He couldn't attend meetings after his stroke, and resigned his position on the board in August.

"It was a pretty massive stroke, and it's been a pretty long year, I guess you could say," Valerie said. "He's doing really well. He's getting better all the time."

Knowing what the Johnsons have been through this year, employees with Mitchell Fire/EMS and the Avera Queen of Peace Emergency Department took up a collection of free-will donations from employees and a few local businesses to offer the Johnsons a little holiday help.

Rob Parker, a firefighter/paramedic with the Mitchell Fire Division who helped coordinate the effort this year, said the tradition was borne from a holiday exchange between fire department and emergency department staff. The two groups would buy food and exchange it around the holidays. Then, they decided to start giving it away.

"We just decided ... all this food could be going somewhere else, because the public takes good care of us," Parker said.

It's a fun and rewarding way to help out people in the community, he said -- and always entertaining to see people's reactions when the fire truck rolls up, sirens blaring.

"Initially they're shocked," Parker said with a chuckle.

It's the second year the two groups of emergency responders have worked together to find a local family in need of help.

"We just pick a family that we feel needs some Christmas cheer and some help throughout the holiday season," said Susan Ebert, trauma clinical coordinator in the Avera Queen of Peace Emergency Department. "The real reason of Christmas is to help other people out, and we feel if there's someone in need in the community, we want to be able to do what we can to help."

Ebert said some of the items delivered included cash, gift cards, gifts for the children and donations from Comfort Inn, Pepsi-Cola and Kmart in Mitchell.

"It was awesome. It was great to see the expressions on their faces of how surprised, thankful and touched they were," Ebert said. "It was kind of emotional for everybody, I think, just to know how a few people can help out another family."

Valerie Johnson said it's a continuation of the support she and her family have received since Rick's stroke. From emergency personnel to friends and neighbors, Valerie said the way people have encouraged and helped her family in the last year is something she won't forget.

"Mitchell is the best place to live in," she said. "Everyone has just been really wonderful, and understanding."

And the best news, she said, is that Rick's health keeps improving steadily. Monday was day 14 of not needing his cane to walk -- a huge landmark for a man who was only expected to regain partial feeling on the left side of his body, she said. His speech is improving, and little by little, Valerie said her husband is getting back to his old self.

"Rick is getting better all the time," she said. "He is doing really well."

With Santa's early visit, Valerie said the Johnsons have a little extra boost for the holidays -- and enough Gatorade to make it through show choir season. Every little bit counts when every penny matters, Valerie said.

"Thank you sounds like such a trite, overused word. I don't know what else to say," she said. "We are so incredibly, incredibly thankful to them, and for the whole community. It means an awful, awful lot."

And, Santa's early visit settled an important discussion between her 9-year-old daughter, Olivia, and 11-year-old son, Joe.

"Olivia told Joe, 'See, there is a Santa Claus,' " Valerie said with a laugh.