I have a well thought-out plan for this blog to feature so much of the material I think of in my head. However this week I completely fumbled, and for good reason.
This week I was in a car accident. I was headed to the interstate from work, and one of the roads was shut down from construction. Instead of back tracking and taking a more congested route, since it was rush hour on a Friday, I opted for GoogleMaps to guide me to the least populated route. It took me far to the westside of the city, which isn't the nicest area (understatement). I didn't look at my phone, pick it up, or anything. I just let it sit in my lap and tell me where to go. Because I wasn't quite familiar with the area, I missed the on-ramp to the interstate and was forced ahead to the next stop light. It was raining outside, and my confidence was a bit too high, for no apparent reason. The light was green and all I saw were cars (from the oncoming traffic side) waiting to make lefthand turns, so I courageously made a U-turn. Welp, that's where it all ended... or where the crash began- however you care to define it.
Of course, it seemed out of nowhere, that a Prius came gliding toward me in slow-motion. I felt like I was on some virtual roller-coaster/theme park ride where I see this crazy thing happen and for a second, it just feels like a movie. I get t-boned on the right hand side of my vehicle and go sliding into the middle of the street, airbags deploying and all. I looked up and couldn't see anything because the airbags covered every side of the car, but I heard crying and smelled smoke. I'm guessing the airbags were what smelled of smoke. The lady in the Prius was crying, and I believe it was because she was so scared something happened to me since no one could see me inside (what I gathered from bits and pieces of what she had been saying). People walked up to the car to see if I was alright, and then told me to stay inside. I quickly grabbed my phone to dial the police. I couldn't hear anything from my phone. I swore it wasn't working, but I talked into it anyway. I told them where we were, described the vehicles and named the street signs. I told the lady on the phone that I couldn't see the Prius to remember the color, and she asked me to step out side of the car. Once I did, I finished the call and walked over to the Prius. The lady was so shaken, I reached my hand inside to grab hers and hold it and told her we were okay, and that we'd be alright...
About an hour and a half later, I was cited for an "improper u-turn" and had my insurance towing the car. My husband and brother both drove separately to meet me, and my mom was blowing up my phone with the mission of getting me checked by a doctor.
Aside from intermittent headaches and what felt like strong, contracting neck muscles, I felt okay. Justin took me to the urgent care clinic and after some x-rays, I was in the clear. I was told by everyone and their mother that I'd be in much more pain the next day, so to just rest, ice, and medicate to be prepared for the morning. They were right, and that next day (Saturday) I slept for 20 hours.
But in this process, I realized a few things:
1. What I'm truly grateful for, is that the woman in the other car was not harmed at all.
2. I was very fortunate to have a great insurance policy (but Lord, I don't what to know what my premium may cost after this!).
3. I was so fortunate to have my loved ones driving through rush hour traffic, into the city, to be by my side when I could have very well remained all alone.
I could list a million reasons why that day turned into a great day, but those are my top three. I could tear up, just realizing how blessed I am. When I get bogged down in having better things, or even worrying about what people think of me, and why some friendships seem to dissipate when I least expect them to, it's all a moo-point. At that moment, that wasn't even a blip on my radar.
And trust me, it'll be a long time before I forget what an idiot I was for taking that risk and making such a poor judgement as a driver. I'm not sure if I can reach out to the lady who was also involved, but my goal over this week is to find her and some how give a gift to show my remorse. I caused her to have a horrible day, I'm sure. I'll never forget that.
What's one thing that happened in your life that had you feeling blessed in the middle of an emergency, accident, trauma, etc?
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