Car Wreck Gratitude

Bye, bye, baby car...

I was in a car wreck a couple of days ago. I had just stopped to get coffee for the ride home. I pulled out of the Starbuck's parking lot and was proceeding down the feeder when a car racing off the freeway slammed into my side. For a few seconds, the world just seemed to stop. Suddenly, everything changed. There was a deafening noise of metal on metal and a burning smell. My body was jolted about in my seat as far as the seat belt would let me go. It was enough for me to hit the back of my head on the side of the car. Dazed, I managed to bring the car to a stop and even pulled the parking brake. Thoughts rushed through my head but nothing seemed to stick. I just sat there letting them rush by. The first thought that stuck was that I needed to notify someone. I called 911 and then texted my guy. Help and affection, in that order. I knew better than to move, since I had hit my head and wrenched my spine. A sweet, off-duty volunteer fire fighter with beautiful blue eyes appeared in my window. Lonnie stayed and talked to me until the ambulance came. He even cut out the side airbags that deployed so that I wouldn't feel trapped. I really do find myself relying on the kindness of strangers.
The EMT's taped me to a backboard and took me to the hospital for x-rays. They wanted to leave me taped to the board, but being claustrophobic, I refused. They caught on pretty quickly that leaving me like that was way more dangerous than letting me up. I must have been in shock, because I couldn't stop crying. I can't remember the last time I felt as alone as I did there in that hospital room, while I waited. The orderly came to take me to x-ray, brought me back, and again, I waited.
When the door opened and my daughter Sarah came in, I felt reborn. Sweet Sarah held me while I cried against her chest like a little child. I was so grateful to have someone I loved there. And that was what was really important. The car being a possible lost cause, the injustice of the ticket the sheriff gave me even though there was no way I could have seen that car coming off of the freeway, the hospital bill for an emergency room visit with no health insurance, none of those things were important anymore. My daughter was here. She grilled the nurse like a pro, gathered up all my belongings, and she and Kerry took me home. For the last two days, she, David (her boyfriend), and Kerry (his mother and my friend) took care of me. I was so happy to have this time with them that I am grateful for the car wreck. My ex-husband even called to check on me and brought the boys over to see that I was ok. For the first time since the separation and divorce, my family was all in one room laughing and joking. If that car hadn't hit me, that wouldn't have happened, at least not so soon. All the grief from the past year just disappeared. I am so lucky, so blessed. A few inches to the right and that car could have turned out my lights for good. But it didn't. It jolted me, but it didn't break me.
Yep, things change.