As most of you know by now, I was in a car accident Monday afternoon as I was returning from Tulsa. I’m tired of answering questions and hearing about it already so I’ll post here what happened to kind of kill a few notifications with one stone. I was traveling east on US 412 near Siloam Springs on the Oklahoma side. The roads had been perfect up to that point so I set my cruise control (yes, I know you aren’t supposed to do that in bad weather.). Of course within minutes I hit a sudden icy slush patch. I tried to change lanes and it didn’t work. The movement made me spin out of control and I slid backwards down the embankment. As I did that, it made my car flip over, tearing off my chair topper and sending my wheelchair sailing an estimated 15 feet. I of course learned all of this later! I was taken by ambulance to Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital where I was treated for a head laceration, abrasions and bruises. I am still at home recuperating and trying to figure out my insurance and car situation.
I’ve been battling depression all week and it isn’t getting better. I am of course grateful to be alive but that doesn’t mean that I won’t go through a mourning period for my car and all the changes that I now need to take care of because of this split second incident. I’m struggling with feeling bad about the car because it was given as a gift two years ago and I managed to total it. This will be my third wreck in 12 years and that depresses me. I’m usually such a cautious driver and I don’t speed. Ironically, I’ve never had any other moving violation except for my wrecks. I guess when I screw something up, I do it well, huh?
That said, I must really and truly note that everyone has been wonderfully supportive during this very difficult time. For some weirdo reason I called my work and my friend in Tulsa before realizing calling 911 might be an excellent idea. Someone who saw it came down to where I was on the embankment before I had a chance to talk to 911 dispatch anyways so that was taken care of. I’m glad because I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint where I was on the highway. My work called my parents for me and also thought about my wheelchair. Another friend from work came to the hospital to be with me and that was a lifesaver. I was astounded when friends from Tulsa/Pryor came to see me. Another dear Tulsa friend stayed behind and kept the online support group updated on my progress. They knew I shouldn’t be alone until my parents could come from Wichita/Topeka to be with me. My friends stayed with me in the hospital and then the hotel room until my parents arrived around midnight. My dad had to go back to Topeka the next day but he’ll be back Friday. My mom has been here taking care of me this whole time and it’s been nice. I do have to note that there is absolutely nothing good on television around 3 p.m.!
Well, that’s pretty much what has been happening with me. I have a few more surgery thoughts but I’ll probably wait to post those after I get some more rest.