'Angels In the Drive-Thru' Help In Medical Emergency

Alison Elias says she mentally rehearses what she needs to do if she’s faced with an emergency with her children.

“Moms always have a mental plan,” Elias said in a letter she wrote to the corporate offices at Wendy’s. But even the most mentally prepared folks can use a helping hand or two.

That’s exactly what Elias received on the evening of April 7.

The Silverton resident had stopped at Wendy’s on Route 37 for dinner and a cup of coffee. In the car were her 2-year-old son, Andrew, and her 14-year-old daughter, Hannah. Hannah, Elias said, is on the autism spectrum and is nonverbal.

The cup of coffee, she says, changed the entire course of how the evening might have gone.

“As I paid for my order, I was asked to please pull into a parking spot while my coffee brewed. I did so, as I was telling my children “The nuggies are coming! Mommy is waiting for coffee!”

It was just moments later when she realized that Hannah was having a seizure -- something that had never happened in the car before.

As Elias swiftly responded, jumping to the passenger side of the car to administer medication, Wendy’s employee Delia Lavolpe approached with a smile and her order. Instead of recoiling at the situation, Lavolpe offered aid, calling for another employee to call 9-1-1 and relaying information via her drive-thru headset.

Lavolpe’s Wendy’s co-worker, Joe Zellerkraut, jumped in to help, and the two took turns, Elias said, helping her get Hannah back into the car so Elias could administer her medication, and updating her on the status of emergency services.

Read Alison Elias’ letter to Wendy’s on behalf of the employees who helped her daughter

”(Lavolpe) began to immediately assist me by giving my son his food and helping me keep my daughter, Hannah, from crashing onto the pavement head-first,” Elias said in her letter. ”(Zellerkraut) helped me hoist Hannah up and back into the car. ... I noticed both Delia and Joe almost ’tag-teamed’ me, essentially running back and forth into the store, but always one of them was with me. I recall Delia saying several times she didn’t want to leave me until it was all over ... And she didn’t.”’

Elias said that once the crisis had passed and she ”stood outside with that hot cup of coffee, a baby who was happily eating nuggets, and Hannah, now asleep, in the front seat, I stood there thinking about if Delia had given me a stale cup of coffee how this would have happened on Route 37 in traffic.

“I wouldn’t have had those two employees offering help, outstanding help, to a stranger. She asked me to pull into a spot. This didn’t happen in the drive-thru. This happened because God orchestrated the events so that Hannah would be safe, and provided me two of the most wonderful Angels With Skin.”

She closed by saying, “Thank you for that freshly brewed hot cup of coffee. It was delicious.”

Elias posted her letter on Facebook and it was circulated in a number of forums, where it was seen by the wife of the director of operations for Wendy’s. Elias said he called her personally to offer his thoughts, and expressed his gratitude to the staff for their actions.

Wendy’s corporate offices shared the story in letter form with the rest of their locations. They gave praise to Lavople and Zellerkraut for their quick thinking and altruism, staff at the Wendy’s said.

In light of Autism Awareness Month, Elias asks that people take her story as a lesson.

“While all of this was happening, I saw seven or eight cars drive by. No one stopped to ask if I needed help,“ she said. “Don’t be afraid to help when you see anyone who needs it, especially when a child is involved.

“It’s ok to be 5 minutes late to wherever you’re going to help when someone needs it.” Elias said.

For more information and resources for ASD, visit the advocacy group Autism Speaks.