At approximately 1:00 AM, I fell asleep. I was on a deserted stretch of highway so there were no other vehicles around me. I woke up as I hit the runner on the side of the highway, I woke up just in time to see a wall of rocks coming right towards me. I swerved to avoid them, but I hit hard. The next thing I remember, I was laying in the car, trying to find my dog. I reached up to turn on my dome light but realized I had to reach down instead. I struggled to get lose. I was barely conscious enough to remember that I had a seatbelt on. I will never forget the feeling of being trapped and clawing like a wild animal to free myself. I finally was able to get free and crawled around in the car searching for my dog. I finally crawled out of the window, and tried walking around the car. I thought that since I'd crawled out to the left, I was in the drivers side. I couldn't comprehend that my car was upside down so it was the passangers side I got out of. I had to get to the passangers side, I felt. Finally, I just screamed. I've never been one to scream but I did. I screamed and felt like I was in a nightmare. I couldn't believe this had happened. Finally, I settled down enough to know that I had to get help. If you've ever been on the highway at night, and just stuck there, you know that most people really don't care enough to stop to help you. Or else they are too afraid of what they might find. I was concealed in shadows so I'd like to think that the four vehicles which passed right by me, didn't see me. They had to have seen my car, but not me. I stood at the edge of the road and flagged someone down. I was lucky to get such good people to stop.
The womans name was Jerry and I don't even know her boyfriends name, they stopped and I ran to them. Jerry helped me so much. She just held me as I sobbed. I was hysterical and in shock. I just kept saying I had to call my mom, I had to find my dog. Had it not been for her, I would have probably been run over by the passing vehicles. Jerry stroked my hair and held me as I cried. She was so worried by the blood in my hair, but I insisted I was fine. I touched my head to prove it wasn't bleeding and only then caught sight of the blood. I've never been one for blood. I became hysterical once more. Her boyfriend and another motorist that had stopped searched my car for D.J., my dog. They didn't find him. I can never thank the three for all they did. Especially Jerry and her boyfriend who if one wasn't able to hold me, the other did. I wish I knew how to thank them, but I can just hope they know how thankful I am.
The EMT's arrived. They told me I needed to go to the hospital. I didn't want to go. Them and Jerry and the police convinced me to go. I got in the ambulance and called my parents. My mom handled it so well, I was surprised how calm she remained. She said it helped that she had talked to me first. The EMT's were named Ray and Kevin. They were both very young and extremely funny. They made me laugh. They harrassed me about my "perfume". My gas tank had ruptured and I smelled of gasoline. I gave them pure hell.*LOL* They kept me from thinking about what had happened and Ray listened to me as I blabbed endlessly. I was in shock. My pulse was 65.. That was pretty low considering what had just happened. My bp was 110. I've always had low blood pressure but still. I tormented them about how the ambulance should have rode much smoother. They agreed. Ray smashed my three good fingers on my hand.*L* It was accidental and it didn't hurt but he felt bad. Sssshh.. I told him I wouldn't tell.*S* They also made me promise not to swing. I wouldn't have.*LOL* I'm not the violent type is what I told them. They were afraid they'd pull my hair while putting the neckbrace on. I griped and complained about how they'd shut me up. After they delivered me to the emergency room, and I had gotten settled, they came back to tell me goodbye.*S* They told me that they'd like to see me again but not that way, and the next time, I wanted their company to just drop them an email.*LOL* I agreed. I'm proud to say that although I gave them pure hell, they told me they wished more of their patients were like me.*S* I can't thank them enough for all they did too. They made me smile which soothed me immensily.
The people at the emergency room of Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center were so nice. They were busy and I thought some of the rules were dumb, I mean, why couldn't I get up to drink some water, I'd already walked all that way before the ambulance. How stupid, but so it goes. And *growl* makes me extremely mad that I had no privacy what-so-ever. They took x-rays. Like 13 I believe. Nothing broken, nothing sprained, just very sore. All I got out of the accident was a cut up hand. And primarily my one finger. It is still swollen and red but it will live. And I've been told continuously how lucky I was. The nurses and staff took care of me until my parents arrived at about 4:30. They fed, clothed and took care of me. Oh, and they gave me that joyous tetanus shot.. Blah. I hurt more from that than from the wreck! Since my clothes smelled like gasoline, they gave me this glamourous jogging suit.*LOL* I told the nurse, if I was going to go to a beauty pagent on the way home, I'd have to win it with my personality.*S*
The aftermath... on the way home, we had to stop and pick up D.J. He had run across the interstate and gotten hit by a car. My parents say that that was what killed him and not the accident. I still feel like it's my fault. I feel like I was irresponsible by driving while I knew I must have been tired. I cried so hard. We stopped to pick up a few things out of my car. I knew it was totalled before hand but seeing it confirmed it. The whole front was caved in, the front windshield was shattered but still intact. It was a safety glass so it just shattered and looked like it had been melted. The front drivers and passangers windows as well as the back drivers was busted out. The roof was caved in so far that it touched the top of my front seats. The floorboard on the drivers side was caved up in. I took pictures which I plan to add soon. As for me, although it scares me half to death to ride with my dad, I'm fine. Just don't drive on the runners! Seriously.. I was very lucky and I do realize that. I got out with nothing more that a cut up finger, a sore ankle, neck arm, wrist, a bump on my head and bruises on my knee, hip and chest from the seatbelt. I'll live though.*S* BUT I bet I'll use a crane next time I decide to rearrange the rocks.
MY HARD LESSON LEARNED... I learned something this weekend. A few things really. I learned that there is such a thing as being too stubborn. You have to know your limits and respect those. And I learned that I don't have to prove anything to anyone. INCLUDING myself. Just because I couldn't drive the whole 8 hours home, didn't make me weak, it made me human. Live and learn.. the hard way.