The Scariest Day of My Life

Monday was the scariest day of my life. On the way home from work I hit some ice and my car flipped over while driving on the highway. 

I was on an on-ramp going maybe 40 miles per hour merging from one highway to another when I hit an icey/slushy/snow patch and lost control of the car. I remember braking, holding onto the wheel very tight and making some sort of noise in fear. I could feel the car start to go over and then as it spun I had no idea where I was or how long it took. I kept my eyes open the entire time and could hear the glass shatter around me. There was no life flash before your eyes moment... I just remember thinking, "this is how I am going to die" and waiting for it to happen. 

The car flipped completely over and landed back on it's wheels. All the airbags on the side windows deployed and the windshield had huge spider cracks throughout it. I sat there, hands still tightly gripping the wheel waiting. I waited for a second collision. I figured I was still on the highway and was waiting for another car to hit me. 

Thankfully there was not a second collision. The man who was driving behind me put his flashers on and came to check on me. He peaked his head around one of the airbags and asked if I was ok. I remember saying I think so. This was my first time looking around the car. The floor mats from the back seat somehow ended up in the front seat. The contents of my purse were everywhere and I couldn't see out the windows because of the airbags. My phone was still connected to the charger so I was able to find it and call 911. The phone call was kind of a blur. I remember noticing that front of the car was smoking. The kind man who was with me instructed me to turn the car off and helped me out. It was snowing out when I got out of the car I was able to see the patch of ice and snow that I slipped on. It was from a snow bank on the side of the road that must of spilled over into the street.

If It wasn't me, it would of been someone else. 

I wish I remembered the name of the man that helped me. I would like to thank him for keeping me calm and safe when I barely knew what was going on. He was a godsend.

After maybe 5 minutes, the police showed up and I sat in the back of the cruiser waiting for the ambulance. I had gotten my purse and work laptop out of the car because those things were the most valuable and I had no clue when or if I would see the car again. When the ambulance showed up, the police escorted me over to them and the EMS people took over. They checked my heart rate and spine to make sure everything was ok. Honestly, besides feeling super energetic, I felt fine. It was all of the adrenaline pumping through my body. I called my fiance, Ryan a couple times and he wasn't answering the phone so I called my dad. He wasn't too far from where I was so he said he would come meet me. I was also able to finally get a hold of Ryan and he too was also not very far and was able to come meet us. 

Due to the adrenaline, I felt completely fine so I didn't go with them to hospital. When I stepped out of the ambulance, my car had been towed away and Ryan was sitting on the side of the road in his car waiting for me. I had held it together through all of that but the second I got in Ryan's car and he took one look at me, I completely had a meltdown. Hysterical, inconsolable crying. Poor Ryan probably didn't know what to do with me. 

He got a bunch of information from the police about where my car was and then we drove home. When we got home, I changed my clothes and that is when the pain started kicking in. I got really nauseous, my head, back and neck started to hurt. I told Ryan we needed to go to the ER. 

Ryan, Ryan's dad and my dad went to the hospital with me. I had to wear a neck brace for 5 hours and got diagnoses with acute traumatic headache and a serious case of whip lash. Even though I don't remember hitting my head, they said they couldn't rule a concussion. 

So here I sit, days later. This is the first day I don't have a headache and I am dealing with some serious back and neck pain. I was torn about sharing this on here because it was such an intimate and scary moment and I barely have been telling even extended family... but after thinking about it longer I decided the message was more important. 

If I wasn't wearing my seat belt, I don't think I would be typing this right now. 

The seat belt saved my life.

I found this quote online by Haruki Murakami and it has been helping me get through this week. Though the pain will hopefully be gone in the next week or so... I am still a little traumatized by the entire thing. I haven't been sleeping well and I keep having flashbacks. This, I know, will take longer to get over. 

 

 So there you have it, the scariest day of my life.