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March 18, 2008
Did you know...
Chanting "don't die, don't die, don't die" over and over while in the process of having a horrible car accident actually works. I am alive and extremely glad for it. I am sure you want the gory details so here goes.
After limping my half dead van along for exactly a year, I researched and settled on a Nissan Altima 2.5 SL. It was gorgeous. Drove exactly like my ex-husband's Nissan 280 ZX. I have never had a non practical car before so the luxury was overwhelmingly GOOD.
Fast forward 2 1/2 weeks later to Saturday March 15th. I was following Chad back to my house from a basketball awards ceremony near his house. It was slightly raining and windy when we got onto the long back country road I use to get home. I was trying to catch up to Chad which put me going way too fast for the road conditions when I went over a bump that also included a slight turn. It felt like my car lifted off the ground (it didn't). I knew the bump was coming - the kids and I call it the yee haw bump because it makes a sick feeling in your stomach when you go over it. I remembered at the last minute and was trying to slow down when I crested the top. My car went into the left lane a little bit and I tried to correct it. It must have slid a little bit and fish tailed a lot. When it hit the gravel on the right hand side of the road, it jerked the car around back the direction I had come. I hit a stump which tore off either the front of the car or the back spinning the car around and then tore off the other end. The car then slid about a 100 feet on its side coming to a rest in a cow pasture. I still have barbed wire wrapped around the tires. When I bought the car I thought that it felt very unsafe because I was so used to being high up off the ground. You would not believe the airbags in that car! It seemed like they came from everywhere. I did not hit my head at all. I am alive because of that car.
My car had come to a rest pointing at the road but down a four foot or so embankment and seconds after I stopped, I saw Chad's truck lights straight up above me. Poor guy! He saw the accident in his rear view mirror. I can only begin to imagine the terror of leaping that fence to find out if the woman you love is dead, mangled or okay. I immediately took stock of everything and decided I fell into the okay category. My mom instincts kicked in and I started calling to Chad that I am okay, calm down, it is okay.
He has OnStar in his truck so police and ambulance were called within seconds of the accident. One of the cars that pulled over happened to be a life flight helicopter pilot/EMT guy and he helped keep everyone calm. They had to wade through a foot of mud to get me out thanks to the rain. The tow truck guy said that is what kept my car from rolling.
My car does not count as a car anymore and I am not sure what all will happen. They actually had to tie the motor back into it. I spent a day in the hospital under observation due to severe chest pain. I felt like my ribs were broken but I have pretty well decided that I have a couple of separated ribs up near my heart. I cannot even describe how much pain that causes. There is not another scratch on me though. I jammed my thumb and separated a few ribs. I am damn lucky.
Chad immediately stepped in as my caregiver in the truest sense of the word. He bathed me, washed my hair and fed me raviolis like I was a little baby. He cried when I cried with the pain of moving. He has alarms set on his cell phone to tell me when to take medicine because I have too little energy to think straight. I love this man with all my heart. I did not need an accident to help me with that though. I am lucky in love.
You can see my beautiful new car in my photo gallery (click on these words).
Posted by DebC at 4:55 PM | Comments (1)