Um...Oopsies?

The summer before my junior year of high school, I got into a bad car accident.

I was making a left hand turn out of our neighborhood on a rainy day. I guess since it hadn't rained in awhile the oil from the road was on the surface, and then add the rain into the equation and I started to hydroplane as I was turning. If I was just on a regular road, I probably would've turned the car around a few times and it wouldn't have been that big a deal. However, there was a median there and my back left tire hit it. Which, being in a top-heavy 1994 Ford Explorer, made my car roll. I ended up doing a complete 360, the car landing back on it's tires (Thank God, I didn't have to crawl out) and actually facing the oncoming traffic.  I remember my first thought being "OH SHIT, my parent's are going to KILL me." And then I worried about calling my friend Reema, who I was on the way to retrieve before the accident. A nice lady went around collecting the things that had been thrown out of the car, my purse, my CDs, everything that wasn't secured down pretty much. A nice man, who reminded me of my grandpa, stood next to the window and talked to me until the paramedics arrived.

So while we're waiting, I look down and see blood everywhere. And I'm just like "Where the hell is that coming from?" I felt no pain, whatsoever. I checked my head, nothing. Checked the places where my internal organs are...nothing. I then looked down and saw something (for the lack of a better word) fatty looking. It kind of looked like raw chicken, but more white. I then looked for the source of that and realized that the blood and chicken were coming from my elbow. At this point the paramedics arrived and are asking me all kinds of questions. What's today's date? What's your name, etc. And then they get the back board and open the door and start talking about how they're going to get me onto said back board when the passenger's side is completely crushed in. I, having an irrational fear of being picked up, FREAKED out. I was completely calm until the moment the paramedics suggested they were going to pick me up. At that time I started with the "I'm fine. I can walk. See, look at me move my legs!!" To which the paramedics FREAKED out at my wiggling legs and were like "STOP MOVING! YOU COULD HAVE A BACK INJURY."

They finally figured out how to get me on the back board with one person coming in from the driver's side door and the other by the driver's side passenger's door. The whole time I'm insisting that I'm fine, moving different body parts and their yelling @ me telling me to stop moving. When they finally get me on the back board, they completely secured me down so I couldn't move a thing (how rude) and carried me to the ambulance.

As I'm laying the ambulance, they're thinking I have a head injury cause of something going on with my eyes. I think it was just the fact that I was FREAKED from them picking me up and that I was just in a car accident. But they're getting ready to transport me when a police officer walks onto the ambulance. He cites me for not being able "to maintain control of my vehicle" asks me to sign said ticket and says "See you in court!" I was shocked, and so was the paramedic. Who began to chew the police officer out for wanting me to sign it @ the time, under the circumstances and especially because I was a minor.

I got to the hospital, got all the obligatory tests, and nothing was wrong...other than my elbow. The most pain I have ever felt in my life was when the nurse stuck the needle IN my elbow to numb it before she started stitching me up. I will admit I'm an emotional crier, TV, books, a lot makes me cry. But I'm not a crier when I'm in pain...I usually laugh @ myself and "walk it off." This is one of the only times I can remember tears streaming down my face and begging the lady to stop stabbing my insides with a needle. After she sews me up she goes "OK, let's go get an X-ray and make sure we got all the glass out." Uh...shouldn't we have done that BEFORE you stitched me up? Low and behold, there's glass in my elbow to which she says "That will work it's way out eventually..." Gee, thanks Lady.

I wish I had a better picture from the front of the car. Because I am sure glad I didn't have a passenger, I'm not sure what would've happened to them. The passenger side was the turning radius and was completely smushed throughout the accident. I know I'm definitely lucky, it could've ended way differently than me just having a messed up elbow (which I can tell when it's going to rain, and I can't lean on it cause I no longer have a "fat pad"). Sometimes I still have dreams about it. I don't know if I'd classify it as a nightmare. I just kind of get in the car accident and everything goes really slow again (which it did @ the time too) and I'm just like "Here I go again..." as my car rolls.

All in all, definitely turned out better than it could have. But I definitely think I'm done with the car rolling stunts...I'll leave that to the pros.

I believe my mother is mocking me...