Car Wrecks: A Worst Case
By Brittany, age 19, Kentucky
Editor's Note: You may recall Kate's recent article The Truth about Car Accidents concerning what can happen in a car wreck. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. It does not always turn out that way.In 2003, the number of car wrecks was estimated at 6,328,000. I'm sure that number has skyrocketed since then. Some people don't know how serious a simple car wreck can be. Some people are very lucky and walk away without a scratch while others aren't so lucky.
In 2005, my brother was having knee surgery. My father was supposed to come and sit with my mother and I while we waited for him to get through surgery. He never showed up. We figured he got caught up at work (which was nothing new). My oldest brother came home and said that my dad left around 9:00 AM and we had not seen him at all that day. We arrived home after my brother's surgery about 3 o'clock. My dad was not home, and there were no signs of him being there.
When my mom went to get my brother's medicine I got this call about some ambulance company that needed to speak to us, so I called them back, like, 50 times and never got an answer. I called my mom back right away and let her know what was going on, so she freaked out and took off to try and find him. I called my boyfriend and asked him where the ambulance company was because his family was part of the fire department in our town. He called back and said his uncle was going to find out for me.
My boyfriend and his mom, sister, and brother came to tell us where my father was. He had been in a very serious car accident and was flown to the hospital. We had, like, 20 cars in our yard that day, and about 10 people at once on phones trying to find out where he was and how to get there. My mom, two brothers, and uncle got in his truck and left. My boyfriend, his father, and I got into my boyfriend's truck and headed out to find my dad. Halfway to one hospital my brother called and said he wasn't at that hospital but another, so we changed course and arrived, like, 2 or 3 hours later because we had no idea where we were going.
I had to write down my father's name to see if he was there. They had him listed under "John Doe". The lady said I could go see him, but I wanted to wait for my mom and brothers. About 10 minutes later they arrived. We were all scared at what he would look like when we walked in the room. His nurse said only two people were allowed in at a time, so I waited to go in with my boyfriend. All I remember is my mom coming out crying her eyes out with my uncle hugging her. I went in and saw him laying in the bed. He had bandages wrapped around his head, his arm was gone, and his legs were so swollen they looked like balloons. I couldn't bear to look at him for more than five minutes.
I couldn't believe that this had happened to my father. He was the most amazing person in the world. How could this happen to him? It was like the life of him was just taken away for no reason at all. And all I could think is Why? Why him? Why my family?
The doctors told my uncle they weren't giving him a good chance to live. They thought in the next 24-48 hours he would pass away. My dad proved the doctors wrong. He had massive head trauma and the loss of his arm. But after 8 weeks he was home with us. I'm not very religious, but I prayed every single day. The doctors' reports said that he was basically dead when he arrived at the hospital. When the helicopter picked him up he had no heartbeat.
My father is nowhere near the person he was before he got into the wreck. He is disabled now. He can no longer do things for himself that he used to. But I'm just glad I still have him in my life. I'm so grateful that God didn't take him from my family.
If you have been in a car accident or know someone who has and walked away without a scratch, you or they are very lucky. For those who knew someone in a car accident who didn't make it, my heart goes out to you. Please be safe when you're out driving because you never know what can happen.
