Aaron Lambert will never forget the excitement of Christmas 1981.
Lambert, then only 4, was close to his father. And the holiday that year wasn’t going to be the same without his dad.
His father, Dean, had broken his neck after diving into a pool at Creston stone quarry in Wayne County, a mishap chronicled in a 1981 article in The Independent. As a quadriplegic, he had been a patient at a rehabilitation center in Columbus since September of that year.
Because of his father’s condition, he had to be transported lying down.
Aaron Lambert recalls the joy he felt when three firefighters from North Lawrence Volunteer Fire Department brought his dad into his grandparent’s house after making the four-hour round trip journey.
“He was in bad shape, but I’m lucky I got to spend the years I did with him,” Lambert said. “I’ll never forget that Christmas. That was such a key point in my life.”