In this Sept. 29, 2021 photo, Mindy Altman, in wheelchair, smiles during a visit from family and friends at University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City after being hit by a car. From left, with Altman, are Michelle Lanham, Emery Orris, Olivia Orris, Hudson Orris and Michelle Lanham.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — Lying on a gravel road severely injured and left for dead after being struck by a vehicle, Mindy Altman prayed to God to not let her die. “If you save me, I will do whatever you ask of me,” the now All Saints Catholic School principal said recalling the rural Jackson County 2021 incident.
After saying that, the vehicle that hit her returned and a passenger from that vehicle rendered aid to her. She was taken to UnityPoint Health — St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. She needed even higher care than that hospital could offer and was finally transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
“Right before surgery, I asked the doctor if they could save my leg. The doctor made no promises. I cried being wheeled back for surgery,” recalled Altman.
When she woke up, she still had her leg. But she was alone. Her three children were back home in Maquoketa. With COVID-19 restrictions at the hospital, they were unable to visit. Her parents were in Texas. A friend was able to come out to be with her for a while, but visits were limited.
Altman said she cried nonstop. The nurses told her she would be okay. They moved her to a private room. Then a priest walked into her room and asked her if he could pray over her. “I nodded, as I was still crying.”
After reciting a long prayer, she said she stopped crying. “He blessed me. I felt that I would be okay. I was not alone. God was with me,” said the convert to the Catholic faith.
Growing up in Burlington and the Quad Cities, Altman was baptized and confirmed in the United Methodist Church, her mother’s spiritual home.
“We didn’t go to church,” said Altman. “I did go to youth group to meet others, attend retreats and have fun. My dad and I prayed to God. We just didn’t go to church. My dad was a very strong believer of God and had a strong faith. He just wasn’t tied to a specific denomination of religion.”
After college she met her future husband and got married in a pasture on a farm. “It was not a great marriage,” she reflected.
Principal Mindy Altman sits at her desk in the hallway at All Saints Catholic School in Davenport.
A Road to Peace
Altman worked in various roles in the Maquoketa Community School District. While teaching, she said she could tell which students went to Sacred Heart Catholic School and Parish in Maquoketa. They were very service oriented and other aspects stood out to her. When her oldest daughter was ready to enter school, she sent her to Sacred Heart. “I wanted to join the Church.”
She and her husband at the time enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults through Sacred Heart Parish. She hoped that maybe this would help the couple’s marriage. “It didn’t have the impact I had hoped would happen,” she said,
But the parish priest was very supportive and the family entered the Church. After a pastor change, she started to miss Mass.
Then the 2021 accident changed her life. As a result, Altman eventually felt called by God to her current role as All Saints principal.
After a long hospital stay and then rehabilitation at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, Altman wanted to go home. “I had to learn to take care of myself to be released. I went through therapy and got some help.”
When Altman learned her son was going to serve Mass at the Maquoketa church, she wanted to be there. “I needed to show up. That was the first time I was in public in Maquoketa since the accident,” she said.
She was proud to see her son serve. But she felt some looked at her differently.
“I was involved in the school and community. But I was also a great pretender hiding how bad my life had been at home,” she said.
Nonetheless, the Maquoketa community stood by her raising funds to pay bills while she was unable to work and to support her family. “God provided for us. Once it all came out, I knew I was going to be okay.” As she walked into Sacred Heart Church that weekend, Altman blessed herself with holy water. She dipped her finger in again and made a sign of the cross on her injured leg. “I continue to do this today,” Altman said. “I truly believed that this helped with my healing,” she said. Watching her walk down a hallway, no one would know she almost lost her leg just a few years before.
Over the past four years, Altman said God has been with her.
Terrified to confront her husband in court proceedings, the Biblical phrase “Be still, and know that I am God” from Psalms 46:10 was recited to her several times that day by others. She felt calm. Then during a non-denominational Bible study she attended, the group opened the Bible, which landed on that same line. Altman has that verse tattooed on her wrist.
“God was speaking. He said he’s got this. I felt peace at that point, like when I was in the hospital with the priest.”
Through participation in Al-Anon, a fellowship for people who have been affected by the alcohol abuse of a loved one, her healing process moved ever more forward. “It was very spiritual. You need to have faith, trust and believe in God. I did.” Trust was one part she had to work hard on. “But God flooded me with love. He healed me.”
Following Plans
As Altman began to rebuild her life, she attended a Christian Experience Weekend in Sugar Creek. Her divorce was finalized that day and her friend told her to pack her bag. During the weekend she listened to speakers and felt God’s presence.
A few months later, a former boss told her there was a school “that needs you. And you need it.” That school was All Saints in Davenport. Although she had her administrator’s license, Altman had no plans to become a principal. “I was an instructional coach. I was good,” she explained.
She drove to Sacred Heart Church after learning about the position. Sitting in her car in the parking lot, Altman prayed a lot. She asked God for a sign if this was what he wanted of her. She went to school the next day. A veteran teacher’s apology to Altman was her sign to apply for the job.
Although it was a rough start that first year as principal, Altman said her position has made her a better person and enriched her faith more than ever.
Last year, on her birthday, she started typing Scripture verses that stood out to her into her phone. Jeremiah 29:11 — “For I know the plans I have for you” — has repeatedly come up. “I know God is saying, ‘I got it!’”
“I feel lucky. I am a much better person now. I am grateful I got ran over. My soul was crying. My life was a mess. I am so much better now because God and my faith are my foundation.”
