In my normal course of travel for work, I was involved in a single car accident. I was knocked unconsciuos & woke up in a stranger's arms in a car. The pain in my lower back was inconceivable (meaning I had never felt anything like it). I was incredibly scared & mostly confused about what was going on & what had happened to me. After some very hazy minutes I was able to spout out the phone number to my mom's office to a woman nearby. As time passed on, I just remember being in so much pain. I didn't know what had happened, but I didn't feel panicked. Somehow I felt.....safe.
Eventually I was taken to the hospital & assessed for injuries. Have any of you been in the Emergency Room of a hospital? I hope not - This was my first trip too. I was expecting something similar to movies or Grey's Anatomy or SOMETHING, but it was nothing like it. I always had thought there would be hustle & bustle & frantic nurses running over to you & staying by your side. Much to the contrary, I was wheeled in & left alone in the ER - only accompanied during my CAT Scan & MRI. Since I traveled to TX for work & live in NE, there was no one by my side during those first hours & painful tests. Still, I felt eerily calm. I knew I hurt, but I wasn't scared for my life, I wasn't scared of paralyzation, nor did I even consider these things as possibilites.
From the tests they realized I had a burst fracture on a few of the vertabrae of my back. The excellent doctors fused 5 of my lower vertabrae together to keep me stable & relieve the pain. Everything up until the surgery was foggy (complements of the mega pain meds). Before the surgery my mom & dad were able to join me in the hospital. & they brought along my boyfriend. Gosh, I was relieved! Even at 23, something about your parents is just so comforting. At the time, my boyfriend & I had only been dating two months, so I was shocked/amazed/happy that he was there.
After I came to a little, I was able to find out that a man had seen my crash & saw smoke coming from my car. He pulled over & ran across the TX Freeway to pull open the door of my car & pull me out. His girlfriend & her son were also in the car with him. While the son stopped traffic on the freeway, the man carried me across the freeway to the safety of his car. My rental car went up in a poof of flames & smoke minutes later. He had saved my life!
How can you possibly thank someone who had SAVED YOUR LIFE? That is such a powerful thing.
Teddy (my angel) & I after my surgery.
I decided that the best way to thank him would be the live my life to the fullest & appreciate everything I've been given. It sounds SO cliche, but in all those moments in the hospital, I was nothing but thankful. Extremely & incredibly thankful. For my family, my friends, my LIFE.
Karen, Cody, Teddy & I.
Now I could get way more in depth with this post, but I'll leave things short & sweet. I am blessed. I had angels on earth & in heaven that day. I have angels in heaven & earth every single day. What a lucky girl.
Plus, after the accident I got to wear alot of sweet gear. Dont be jealous yo.
In case you're wondering, that would be a sling for my shoulder, boot for my foot, & a very heavy back brace I referred to affectionately as the "turtle shell". This is my fam & I celebrating my 24th birthday, a couple weeks after the accident.
Now instead of bones, my back has a couple titanium rods & 8 screws in there. Think I'll set off the metal detectors at the airport? Put that on the list of questions to ask the Doc.
That's a close up. Ooooooh. Ahhhhhh. I hope that's what you're doing right now.
The end. I hope that wasn't too mushy for you.
XOXO,
KG
This story made me cry all over again!! Love your new philosophy to live life to the fullest!! We all need to remember to do that - thank u for reminding me how precious & short life is!
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