My Car Accident
Like any other Saturday, I was hanging out with my best friend, Lindsey. We had just left the Project Graduation car show, and were headed out Buckeye Road trying to get her home on time. We were playing loud music, laughing, swaying and talking about our boyfriend issues like normal. I hated to see the night end, so we sat in my car in her driveway hashing out our plans for next weekend. We hugged and she made me promise I would buckle up and be safe. Of course, I agreed to both, I put the car in reverse and backed out. As I was driving down twisting country roads thinking about our plans for next weekend, the thought of being in a car accident never crossed my mind. And then it happened.
A bright red car came barreling at me head on. I panicked, and jerked my steering wheel. My car wheels dropped off the low shoulder. Suddenly, the car careened out of control, and everything went dark. I couldn’t see, but I could hear the screaming of brakes, smell of burning rubber, feel my body being jolted forward in a lifeless motion. I heard sounds of metal crunching, felt like I was soaring through the sky, and everything ended in a sudden hard stop and complete silence.
The next thing I remember is someone cradling me, and talking to me and the sounds of sirens in the distance. I fade in and out of consciousness, but I can still feel the pain shooting through my body, and tears of fear flowing down my cheeks. I woke up with something obscuring my vision and hindering my breathing. I couldn’t remember where I was or how I had gotten there. It was extremely quiet. Until it wasn’t anymore.
The silence was shattered. All around me could hear the screeches and squeals of ungreased metal being shifted around. I heard a door open and close, rushing footsteps coming towards me, and panicked talk about having to call for the medevac for transport. The sound of the propellers were deafening and the wind coming from them sent shivers throughout my body. I heard a soft unfamiliar voice say ready for takeoff. I opened my eyes to see and that’s when the dismay became reality. I was lying in a room with tubes and wires attaching me to all these different machines, which sounded a repetitive drip, beep, and sputter that rang throughout the room. People dressed in white and blue and green danced around the corners of my eyes. They kept talking calmly to one another, although I could feel the urgency in their movements. I could see one holding what looked like a folder and writing something, while another one was shouting out, “BP 102 over 78, temp 98.5, heart rate and O2 stats are normal, IV needs to be reconnected, push of fluids, blood work, and send portable x-ray in for scan.” That’s when I began crying out for my mother. A nurse grabbed my hand and told me she had sent someone to get her. My mother arrived at my bedside moments later to hold my hand and telling me to stay calm, that I was going to be ok. Now I know she was only by my side a few moments, but those moments felt like an eternity to me. I began to ask her questions about my condition and if I would be able to go home soon. She spoke with a calming voice, telling me that my left jaw was dislocated and broken in two places and would require surgery. She said the PCL in my right knee was torn, and she was still waiting for the doctor to deliver the results from my x-rays to confirm if my back and/or neck had been broken, too. I could hear the fear in her voice even though she talked very calmly. I knew she was breaking on the inside, but couldn’t let it reflect on the outside to me. My mother asked, “Do you feel up to having a few visitors come in and visit with you?” I replied, “That would be great.” She open the door and stepped just on the other side of it I heard her speak, but the door muffled her words. I started to ask who she was speaking with, but the door flew open and in stepped my father, sisters, brother, and best friend Lindsey. At that moment, their smiling faces helped weaken all the fears I had just recently felt. The small talk of the accident and injuries must have exhausted me, because I don’t remember them leaving the room. But, when I woke from what seemed like a lengthy nap they were gone. My mother was slumped over in a chair with her head rested on the side rail of the bed, and her hand interlocked in mine. My movements awoke her from this resting state. The doctor finally entered the room to speak with my mother and myself. He was a tall slender man with shimmers of gray hair peeking out through the black. He spoke with a deep, but soft tone. He began with, “do you know the reason you’re here today?” I answered shakily with what I remembered of the accident. He told me and my mother that I was an extremely lucky girl to still be living after the accident I was just in. He continued on with the results of my x-rays that my mother had been patiently waiting for; the x-rays showed no breaks in either the back or neck. However, I did have quite a bit of internal bruising and I would be extremely sore for some time. I saw the panic leave my mother’s eyes as he spoke those last few words. He proceeded to inform us that he felt no need to keep me for overnight observation, and I would be discharged once he made the proper notes in my chart and placed his follow up orders. My mother and I thanked him and he exited the room. I’m not sure who was more excited to hear I was going to be released - - me or my mother. Finally, the nurse came back in the room with discharge orders. She explained that the doctor had scheduled my surgical consults with an orthopedic specialist and ear, nose, and throat specialist. I was to only eat soft foods like jello, pudding, etc. until I had that specialist. He gave me prescriptions for pain medication, infection, and inflammation. I then realized that going home was just the start to a long road of other appointments, surgeries, and recovery for me. And that it was. I had to have the PCL in my right knee replaced, which consisted of six weeks on crutches followed by six weeks of physical therapy. I also had a surgery to set my jaw back into the socket. My mouth had to be wired shut for seven weeks, and when the wires were removed, I couldn’t open my mouth correctly without physical therapy. Overall, I am very thankful that I had the support of my mother, friends, and family to get me through all the struggles I endured through my journey to recovery. I know that I had I someone or something watching over me that night and I thank them, too.