Recently, I was in a car accident with some friends while coming home from a concert. We were in a little Bug and got t-boned by an SUV. Needless to say, we lost that fight. The driver and passenger in the front were ok for the most part, just a broken finger. My best friend who was in the back seat with me broke her femur and had to have a rod placed through it, and I broke my shoulder and my top five ribs. Through all of this, I have learned many things that I really never wanted to.
I learned that, when you are in an accident, do not down play your injuries. If you do, they will basically set you to the side and it will be hours before you get diagnostics done and, most importantly, pain medications on board. Apparently, if you have a near panic attack-you get treated much faster.
I also learned how to do almost everything one handed. I even figured out how to put my hair up by strategically propping my elbows up on a counter and getting down on my knees. I'm sure it's interesting to watch, but anyone who knows me knows that I cannot survive long without my hair up. Things like putting on a bra, buttoning pants, driving, and doing just about anything tends to be more difficult with your arm in a sling. Its also impossible to use a bow or hold a rifle, even if you try very hard.
I also learned to value friendship more. I never realized how much my friends meant to me or how much they would do to help me until I got hurt. I had people who came to the hospital to check on me, people who took care of my dog for nearly a week, I had a friend who was almost 1000 miles away send me beautiful flowers, one who came to take me to town to get shirts I could wear, and tons of messages and calls to make sure I was doing ok. I cannot begin to express how much it meant to feel cared for. I absolutely could not have made it through all of this without such amazing people.
I learned that I absolutely cannot survive anything without my mom. At first, I didn't realize how badly I was injured (partly because I had been drinking most of the night) so I told my mom she didn't need to come up. She saw through that though and was there the next morning. I will never take her for granted ever again. She never complained once about having to take care of me when I could barely move or having to drive me back and forth from her house for appointments. She was my rock through it all and I am so thankful that I have the kind of mother who can drop everything and be by my side when I need her.
Recently, I have learned that when you have a friend who is injured worse than you are, it is exhausting to hang out. Lacie and I went out the other day to do a bit of shopping and see her house and by the end of the day I was worn out from driving and helping with crutches and carrying everything for us both. We look pretty pathetic hanging out together right now I'm sure. We probably look very unlucky and like we should stay away from each other.
I am also learning what to do when people without insurance wreck into you. The person who hit us didn't have coverage and apparently the car we were in was not covered either so this is a fun experience trying to figure out how to get our bills covered. I'm not exactly thrilled about the medical bills that are already coming in. Hopefully, we don't have to learn about lawyers and lawsuits with all of this.
I am hopeful that I never have to have another learning experience like this one. I am not a fan of learning about physical therapy, doctors, insurance, and all that good stuff. However, I am thankful that I didn't have to learn about anything worse. This experience is almost behind me, my doctor gave me a good report this morning and I should be back to normal by Christmas.
