So, really this whole past almost 2 years have been incredibly hard for my family and I. We have had so many things come up and push us to our limits. It started with the return of my fiancee's mom and his niece and nephew in May of 2011. We helped them get back to PA from AZ. Then some things happened, and we ended up fostering the kids, the little boy for 7 months and the little girl for a year. Luckily, they were able to go home with their parents. I am still recouping and helping my kids through from that situation. Between my 2 and the 2 foster kids, all 4 kids had delays or disabilities of some type to tend to, and the Children and Youth were anal about the care of the 2 as foster kids, so in turn my kids kind of got shoved out of the way for quite some time during these past almost 2 years. Now that that is finally over, my kids are having a hard time adjusting and understand what the heck happened, why did these kids come live with us for so long, why did they leave. They miss them, even though they are family, they like quite a distance away so we could really only visit on occasion due to finances and limited time, with schedules.
I posted that I was spending some much needed time with my family and was taking a break...then it happened. The accident, on November 7, 2013, at about 10:45 am. There we were, my daughter and I on our way to a speech therapy session, she was so excited because I let her pick a can of Pringles and am orange pop at the gas station because she had been so well behaved all morning. She did all her homework, she colored with me, we did some activities together before speech and she was just being so GOOD! As we went downhill on a bad S turn in a 35 mph speed zone, there he was, a guy in a dark blue van in our lane and he hit us head on. He was doing almost twice the speed limit. I was doing well under the speed limit, as we drive this route 2 times a week and I know that turn is bad.
He pushed my 1998 Chevy Blazer about 15-20 ft backwards uphill, his van sped backwards, downhill, into the guardrail on the driver's side of his van pinning him in. My airbags deployed, smoking up the whole vehicle, I couldn't breath as the wind was knocked out of me. My daughter was screaming for me and I could not speak, I couldn't get the door open, being 26 weeks pregnant I couldn't make it to the passenger's side to try that door. I finally caught my wind, let her know it was going to be ok, I was fighting my way out of the car to get to her, then I got my head on straight and realized all the doors locked on impact, so the doors may not have been smashed shut. A wonderful woman who lived near the site of our accident cam running down trying to help me get her out. My poor girl was crying hysterically. She was so scared and I can't blame her. I was terrified, I checked myself all over to make sure I was not bleeding, I waited to see if I could feel the baby move, and I couldn't I was so terrified. My baby girl was scared, but she doesn't feel pain right, she has a sensory disorder, and sometimes she has no idea she is hurt. She kept yelling mommy my chest hurts. All I could do was cry. The woman who had come from her home to help got us calmed down and asked if my daughter could just go to her house while the police took our statements and info and we awaited EMTs. Dazed and nudged by the fire fighters who had shown up I let her. I was not bleeding, I felt so crampy, I prayed that I was not losing my baby. I walked to the man's vehicle, his airbag did not deploy. He just kept saying he could not breathe.
The van that hit us.
I ran up the hill to check on my girl, she was ok, she was so scared mommy was hurt, and then it hit me, I couldn't move my fingers, I couldn't straighten my arm at the elbow...Ouch. The EMTs came and took my daughter and I to the ambulance. An officer was trying to get my statement and information while the ambulance doors were slammed on him because they needed to get a monitor on the baby to make sure he was ok and I was not going into labor at 26 weeks! I was yelling at them like a crazed mother because they were not understanding my daughter could be severely hurt and not know it. They thought I was nuts...it took me a few miles in the ambulance to get them to look at her. Same with the ER. They weren't concerned with her because she "seemed" fine. After they assured me she was checked out I was sent up to the birthing suite to have the baby monitored. I got a nice little picture of his face, his heart was strong and no contractions, I just had cramping from the impact and the airbag. Then I realized just how bad my hand, wrist and elbow hurt. They finally after a couple hours of observation on the baby took me for some x-rays. To my surprise, NOTHING was broken. The way my hand and wrist were distorted I thought it was shattered! They sent me back for some more observation, my cramping went away, his heart rate went to normal rates and we all got to go home. around 8 pm.
My son was at school and didn't even know until he got out of school and daddy was there to pick him up and his sister was not on the bus that something was wrong. He was so scared when they came back to pick us up. This was probably the worst thing that has ever happened to my family. My daughter had nightmares for days. She wouldn't let my fiancee leave, she didn't want to go to school because she was afraid something would happen to us while she was gone. She is still a bit jumpy while in the car, but getting better.
Then came the bullcrap! The officer that was on our scene was not even in until 4pm the next day (which was a Friday!) for me to get any information for my insurance. After I did speak to the trooper, I was very dumbfounded. The man who hit us was driving for a Children's Center! Luckily he had NO children in the vehicle at the time. I learned he was not able to speak because of broken ribs and a possible punctured lung, this is what I was told by a friend who read it to me out of the paper, I didn't even see it. I hate to see ANYONE lose their job during this bad time in our country, but I honestly hope this man will NOT be driving any longer! -- I needed a rental BAD, we live in the country, our driveway literally goes 1/2 mile into the woods! We are 3 miles away from a gas station or grocery store. I got no information from the other driver because he was pinned in his vehicle and could not talk, and the ambulance took us away. The cop slipped me a small sheet of paper with a few little things on it and that was all I had. We had no car until the following Tuesday! Man that was HARD. We live so far from my family and we really don't know a lot of people around here.
Our 2002 Explorer XLT that replaced our Blazer.
My parent's couldn't even help us out, because the Saturday before I was hit head on, my brother (who is 6 years younger than me), while drunk, hit a parked SUV with his SUV which then went through a house! Luckily, he had some bruises, a sore hand, and only 8 stitches in his forehead, he was just banged up, nothing serious. Also, the people whose house he drove through were not injured at all. His car was totaled and my parents lent him theirs so he could make it to work until things were straightened out for him. I am against drinking and driving, I mean sure I have done it, but I grew up and I would rather stay home and have a few drinks then go out and risk hurting someone or myself. My brother has definitely learned his lesson. He had a 1997 Ford Explorer and hit a 2013 Kia Sportage and totaled that as well. The SUV he hit was pushed into a neighboring porch and my brother's vehicle went through the people's bedroom of the house the Kia belonged to.
My brother's car.
What's left of the Kia Sportage he hit...
I didn't get any pictures of the house he hit or the porch the other car was pushed into. My brother and I sure have our differences and everything, but I was very scared for him, and am definitely glad he is ok and hope he continues to stay off the drinking, especially when he has to drive.
I have not really been able to get on too much because of my wrist and elbow. I can almost fully straighten my elbow out to type, it is still very painful and sore, and I can't take anything but Tylenol because of the pregnancy. I would die for a muscle relaxer right now lol. I had to go to a specialist last Friday (the 22nd) to have a trauma induced ganglion cyst drained, EWE and OUCH!
So, November has been pretty eventful. Not good events, but busy non the less. I am making it my mission to get everything back up and running starting Saturday, the 30th! I miss blogging and interacting with all my wonderful readers! You guys truly are wonderful and I received some of the most wonderful messages and prayers from you. It did my heart some good to see people cared as well and I want to shout out a BIG THANK YOU!
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