Friday, October 16, 2009

How NOT to Celebrate Sammy Hagar's Birthday!

I was in a major car accident Tuesday night on my way home from work.
It is a HUGE blessing that I walked out of it alive with only a bruised lung and bruised sternum, plus a few other bruises and soreness. Not a cut on me though, despite the windshield and passenger side windows imploding.
After hitting the slick spot, I turned into the swerve like you are supposed to, keeping my cool. But I started hydroplaning, did two 360's and flipped my car after I hit a slick patch and hit the concrete median head on, went airborn and the car landed flat on the passenger side. Didn't think I had hit my head, but both airbags deployed and smoke filled the car. I kind of wish I had lost conciousness as it was super scary spinning like that, seeing that concrete wall coming at me, thinking I was a goner. After I hit the concrete median, I went straight up in the air, was looking at the sky thinking that was my preview of heaven, then landing flat on the passenger side. Scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life!
When I came to a stop, I realized my chest hurt but other than that, I seemed okay. Again, suprising no one more than me, I remained calm but realized I needed to get out of there - with all the smoke, I was afraid the car might catch fire. I tried to release my seat belt but couldn't find the release (not realizing it was behind me because I was hanging from it). So, I was having a hard time breathing because of all the smoke (which turned out to be carbon fibers from the airbags) so I turned my attention to hoping the power window would open so I could breathe again. I thought for a second that the electrical probably was shot and it wouldn't open, but said a little prayer that it would and it did! I opened the window above me and it worked so I could breathe again, then figured out how to unfasten my belt climbed out, realizing since I was hanging from it that the release was behind me, not to my right as it normally would be. (My large console saved me from falling all the way down tot the ground...I'll never curse it again if they don't total my car!)
Two men helped me but you should have seen the faces of the cars passing by - their jaws just dropped seeing me climbing out of there of mostly my own volition. The second man said he'd stay with me until the ambulance got there. We talked. I looked at my car and in a defeated voice, told the man that now I didn't know what I was going to do - I was on my way to pay my electric bill so they wouldnt' shut it off (money is VERY tight since hubby and I got back together trying to catch up.) and now I didn't have a car either. After the EMTs arrived, the man came up to me and handed me a $100 bill and told me to go pay my electric bill and disappeared despite my insistance that I couldn't accept it. I didn't even get his name or anything. What an angel!
The EMTs checked me out and said I looked okay - that I could go to the ER if I thought I needed to, but when asked if I was their mom or sister, would they think I was okay to go home and just go if I felt something was wrong. They said they felt I had a bruised chest and lung, that other than that, I seemed fine and that I'd be extremely sore for a few days but that I should be okay. They told me if I felt like something was not right, to go to ER.
So, The first two days were the worst soreness. Not quite 72 hrs later, I'm still very sore today...okay, make that VERY sore today, and new bruises keep turning up in places I didn't even realize had taken any impact, but I'm alive!. Scariest thing I've ever been thru in my life. It is a true miracle that I am alive.
Boy, after my "almost divorce" and reconciliation, and now this, I've had one heckuva year, haven't I?
Take it from a Sammy Hagar Fanatic, this was NOT the way to celebrate Sammy's birthday!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you're ok, you were very lucky.

Ariel said...

Wow. I'm glad to hear that you're all right! Sounds like a very scary accident. I'll be praying that you get to feeling better soon.

The Martial Arts Store said...

Martial arts mom-- First off, get better. I'm sorry to hear what happened, and I'm you walked away from it. Secondly, visit my blog-- http://martialartiststore.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-be-good-teacher.html. A reply to your post requesting teaching techniques made me angry and prompted me to write this entry on our store blog. Just wanted you to see it, and hope that you haven't become discouraged by that negative blog comment "anonymous" posted.

cheryl from thatgirlisfunny said...

Wow! I'm really glad you're ok. That wasn't what I expected to read on your page. I'm visiting you from COCA. I just joined and I'm going thru the list saying hello to all the gals first. Now I need to go see what The Martial Arts Store is talking about haha! You got a wake-up call! Glad to still have you on the planet.

Slop -n- Goulash: Dinner of Champions! said...

Like my former boss told me...he said "I'm glad to have you above dirt" (he has such a way with words lol) But it's true - puts things in a WHOLE new perspective!