Life changing...
Well, its been a while. I dont usually write unless I am so freaking bored I cant stand it, or unless something very profound happens that is noteworthy in my life.
This weekend, something happened.
To go back a little, my children arrived safely from Georgia last week on the 15th of June. I was so happy to see them. They have grown so much. I missed my babies. That same weekend, I went to the Tim McGraw concert with my best friend, which was an experience that I wont soon forget, being upgraded to the 8th row from the stage and all 15 minutes prior to the concert starting. More about that at a later date. My mind is on other things at this time.
This past weekend, we (Hubby John, my 3 kids, my nephew and stepdaughter) took a jaunt to Coeur d'Alene for the weekend. We went camping at a KOA and spent all day saturday at Triple Play, an indoor water park. We all had such a good time. On Sunday we dropped Tasha off with her gramma in Spokane for her summer visit with her daddy. Then, we were headed home after a very fun, tiring weekend.
John was pretty tired from not sleeping well on the ground while we were camping, so I told him to pull over and I would drive the rest of the way. So, at the top of 4th of July Pass, I started driving. All the kids were sleeping, including John. All except Richard (my wonderful nephew). He was talking to me but I couldnt hear what he was saying to me, so I asked him to speak up. As he was talking to me, I looked ahead of me and I saw a blue chevy blazer, and he appeared to be slowing down right in front of me. I tapped on my breaks slightly and looked in my side mirror to look for cars to see if I could get over. There was a car there so I couldnt get over. I looked up and BAM! I hit the blazer going 60 MPH.
At that moment, I looked behind me to see the kids. I first saw my son with blood pouring down his face and a gash in his head, which later was measured at 9 cm. He was screaming, not knowing what happened. My daughter had blood coming off of her forehead and upper lip and was crying. My stepdaughter was holding her nose and had blood coming down into her mouth. Richard had a small gash right above his nose, also pouring blood. At that point, all I could say was "Oh my God, Oh my God"... over and over. John got out of the van and I jumped out next. I grabbed my phone and quickky dialed 911. Someone had called before me so the dispatcher told me someone was already on their way. I ran around the van to help Micheal, as he was the worst. I grabbed a wool blanket from behind the seat and pressed it against his head as hard as I could, all the while assuring him it was going to be OK. At the same time, I was assuring ALL the kids it was going to be OK and help was on its way. Immediately, several people stopped to offer assistance. I was in a complete panic. I was hysterical, not being able to grasp what I had just done to my own children. I felt like the most horrible person at that moment.
John called my parents and left them a message that we had just been in a bad accident and they needed to come get us because the van was totalled. I dont recall all the events after that. I do remember the ambulances arriving and I remember walking around making sure all the children were being treated. I dont know how much time had passed before we were all enroute to the hospital in Kellogg. I rode in the ambulance with Micheal. John rode with Allena and Richard, and Kayla rode with a very nice, very helpful EMT that held her hand the whole way. All the kids were on backboards and had neckbraces on.
We arrived at the hospital and I stayed with Micheal most of the time. John was with all the others, as their injuries were not as bad. I needed to keep Micheal from falling asleep. At the same time, I needed to try to keep myself from falling apart. After 45 minutes, it was determined that Micheal needed to have a CT scan on his head, and that hospital was not equipped to do it, so he needed to be transported back to CdA hospital. I went to the other rooms and hugged all my kids and told them I loved them and I needed to go with Micheal. John stayed behind with them, waiting for my parents to arrive from Missoula, which would take about 3 hours.
The ride was long back to CdA in the ambulance. Micheal was so tired, but I needed to keep him awake. He could NOT fall asleep. I talked to him about everything I could think of.. school, cars, video games, church, his dog back home, anything. We made it to CdA without falling asleep. I was so happy.
I stayed with him the entire time. I went to his CT with him. I held his hand while he got 28 stitches in his head. While all this was going on, I would find out later that Richard took 9 stitches to the forehead and John took 23 to his elbow. John also suffered 2 cracked ribs, a cracked sternum and a pulled groin. Kayla was treated for a galf ball sized abrasion on her forehead. Allena's teeth went through her top lip and her nose swelled up bigger than a ping pong ball.
My parents finally arrived and all were reunited once again. I was so relieved to have my family with me again. It had been a very hard day and I was just happy to hug everyone again.
We decided to stay in CdA overnight, because the doctor did not want Micheal to be away from the hospital after getting 28 stitches. So we stayed a short skip from the hospital. We all were exhausted and needed rest.
The next day, we headed toward home, but needed to stop by the towyard to see what we could salvage from the van. I did not know what I was going feel when I saw the van. But, when I saw it, I felt nothing but sick. I immediately broke down in my moms arms and I could not stop crying. I was a half heartbeat away from throwing up. It was so hard to look at the damage, knowing full well we could have NOT made it out of there.
We recovered everything from the van that we had taken with us on our trip. Nothing was lost, except for my piece of mind and my confidence in my ability to make sure nothing happens to my children.
After we arrived home, the adrenaline finally started to wear off after 2 days. It wasnt until that time that I actually realized that I had not been seen by a doctor in Idaho! I had been so wrapped up in my children and making sure my family was OK that I completely forgot about myself. The pain started to set in. I was one hurting unit.
Yesterday I went to the doctor to get checked out. I had to get 8 X-rays on my shoulders, back and neck. The doctor says I pulled several muscles and I may have done something to my rotator cuff on my left shoulder. So I was sent home with Lortab, Valium and Flexoril.
We are all adjusting the best we can to our experience and our injuries. I am still in shock and I am still quite emotional over the whole thing, being that I was the driver. I will have to look at the scars on my son, my nephew and my husband and always be reminded of that happened that day. It is a hard thing to deal with. I have been trying to keep myself busy doing small stuff around the house but I get winded easy and I get sore easy so I dont do much.
And now, the reality of it all sets in. The insurance adjusters are calling and visiting. The hospitals are calling. The towyard is calling. The whole issue of money is now coming into play and that is starting to wear on me already, not knowing how we are going to recover from this horrible time.
I am VERY glad we are all alive, and I still wonder why we arent dead, after the damage that was done to the van.
I just want everyone to pray for a speedy recovery for all involved, including the occupants of the other vehicles. Thats all I ask.
See for yourself and then be amazed we all made it.
This weekend, something happened.
To go back a little, my children arrived safely from Georgia last week on the 15th of June. I was so happy to see them. They have grown so much. I missed my babies. That same weekend, I went to the Tim McGraw concert with my best friend, which was an experience that I wont soon forget, being upgraded to the 8th row from the stage and all 15 minutes prior to the concert starting. More about that at a later date. My mind is on other things at this time.
This past weekend, we (Hubby John, my 3 kids, my nephew and stepdaughter) took a jaunt to Coeur d'Alene for the weekend. We went camping at a KOA and spent all day saturday at Triple Play, an indoor water park. We all had such a good time. On Sunday we dropped Tasha off with her gramma in Spokane for her summer visit with her daddy. Then, we were headed home after a very fun, tiring weekend.
John was pretty tired from not sleeping well on the ground while we were camping, so I told him to pull over and I would drive the rest of the way. So, at the top of 4th of July Pass, I started driving. All the kids were sleeping, including John. All except Richard (my wonderful nephew). He was talking to me but I couldnt hear what he was saying to me, so I asked him to speak up. As he was talking to me, I looked ahead of me and I saw a blue chevy blazer, and he appeared to be slowing down right in front of me. I tapped on my breaks slightly and looked in my side mirror to look for cars to see if I could get over. There was a car there so I couldnt get over. I looked up and BAM! I hit the blazer going 60 MPH.
At that moment, I looked behind me to see the kids. I first saw my son with blood pouring down his face and a gash in his head, which later was measured at 9 cm. He was screaming, not knowing what happened. My daughter had blood coming off of her forehead and upper lip and was crying. My stepdaughter was holding her nose and had blood coming down into her mouth. Richard had a small gash right above his nose, also pouring blood. At that point, all I could say was "Oh my God, Oh my God"... over and over. John got out of the van and I jumped out next. I grabbed my phone and quickky dialed 911. Someone had called before me so the dispatcher told me someone was already on their way. I ran around the van to help Micheal, as he was the worst. I grabbed a wool blanket from behind the seat and pressed it against his head as hard as I could, all the while assuring him it was going to be OK. At the same time, I was assuring ALL the kids it was going to be OK and help was on its way. Immediately, several people stopped to offer assistance. I was in a complete panic. I was hysterical, not being able to grasp what I had just done to my own children. I felt like the most horrible person at that moment.
John called my parents and left them a message that we had just been in a bad accident and they needed to come get us because the van was totalled. I dont recall all the events after that. I do remember the ambulances arriving and I remember walking around making sure all the children were being treated. I dont know how much time had passed before we were all enroute to the hospital in Kellogg. I rode in the ambulance with Micheal. John rode with Allena and Richard, and Kayla rode with a very nice, very helpful EMT that held her hand the whole way. All the kids were on backboards and had neckbraces on.
We arrived at the hospital and I stayed with Micheal most of the time. John was with all the others, as their injuries were not as bad. I needed to keep Micheal from falling asleep. At the same time, I needed to try to keep myself from falling apart. After 45 minutes, it was determined that Micheal needed to have a CT scan on his head, and that hospital was not equipped to do it, so he needed to be transported back to CdA hospital. I went to the other rooms and hugged all my kids and told them I loved them and I needed to go with Micheal. John stayed behind with them, waiting for my parents to arrive from Missoula, which would take about 3 hours.
The ride was long back to CdA in the ambulance. Micheal was so tired, but I needed to keep him awake. He could NOT fall asleep. I talked to him about everything I could think of.. school, cars, video games, church, his dog back home, anything. We made it to CdA without falling asleep. I was so happy.
I stayed with him the entire time. I went to his CT with him. I held his hand while he got 28 stitches in his head. While all this was going on, I would find out later that Richard took 9 stitches to the forehead and John took 23 to his elbow. John also suffered 2 cracked ribs, a cracked sternum and a pulled groin. Kayla was treated for a galf ball sized abrasion on her forehead. Allena's teeth went through her top lip and her nose swelled up bigger than a ping pong ball.
My parents finally arrived and all were reunited once again. I was so relieved to have my family with me again. It had been a very hard day and I was just happy to hug everyone again.
We decided to stay in CdA overnight, because the doctor did not want Micheal to be away from the hospital after getting 28 stitches. So we stayed a short skip from the hospital. We all were exhausted and needed rest.
The next day, we headed toward home, but needed to stop by the towyard to see what we could salvage from the van. I did not know what I was going feel when I saw the van. But, when I saw it, I felt nothing but sick. I immediately broke down in my moms arms and I could not stop crying. I was a half heartbeat away from throwing up. It was so hard to look at the damage, knowing full well we could have NOT made it out of there.
We recovered everything from the van that we had taken with us on our trip. Nothing was lost, except for my piece of mind and my confidence in my ability to make sure nothing happens to my children.
After we arrived home, the adrenaline finally started to wear off after 2 days. It wasnt until that time that I actually realized that I had not been seen by a doctor in Idaho! I had been so wrapped up in my children and making sure my family was OK that I completely forgot about myself. The pain started to set in. I was one hurting unit.
Yesterday I went to the doctor to get checked out. I had to get 8 X-rays on my shoulders, back and neck. The doctor says I pulled several muscles and I may have done something to my rotator cuff on my left shoulder. So I was sent home with Lortab, Valium and Flexoril.
We are all adjusting the best we can to our experience and our injuries. I am still in shock and I am still quite emotional over the whole thing, being that I was the driver. I will have to look at the scars on my son, my nephew and my husband and always be reminded of that happened that day. It is a hard thing to deal with. I have been trying to keep myself busy doing small stuff around the house but I get winded easy and I get sore easy so I dont do much.
And now, the reality of it all sets in. The insurance adjusters are calling and visiting. The hospitals are calling. The towyard is calling. The whole issue of money is now coming into play and that is starting to wear on me already, not knowing how we are going to recover from this horrible time.
I am VERY glad we are all alive, and I still wonder why we arent dead, after the damage that was done to the van.
I just want everyone to pray for a speedy recovery for all involved, including the occupants of the other vehicles. Thats all I ask.
See for yourself and then be amazed we all made it.