Entry #8. An Eye Opening Experience.

This crazy world we live in is filled with so many different dangers and obstacles. At one point or another, we all experience challenges that give us a reality check and ultimately a new perspective on things. These challenges could be a death of a loved one, tragic accident, illness/disease, or just a traumatic situation that we are faced with. It is important to stay strong while overcoming your problems and try to find a lesson to learn from it in the end.

Recently, I went through a pretty eye opening experience. The Saturday night before Thanksgiving this year I was in a car accident and totaled my vehicle. Before this night, my driving record was clean (besides a little speeding ticket), I have never been in a car accident before. This was the first Saturday I was not scheduled at work and I had spent the entire day being lazy, sleeping and doing some homework. I decided to be spontaneous around 8:30/9pm and drive to Las Vegas to pick up my little brother and mom for the holiday. My idea was to just drive out there, sleep and drive back Sunday morning- super quick trip. I drove by myself and thought the 4 hour trip would be a breeze since it was later at night. Boy, was I wrong. 

I was driving on the 93, the highway that is basically a straight shot from Phoenix to Las Vegas. The speed limit was pretty much 65mph the whole way there, however, at one point in time it reduced to 50mph. I guess I just didn't see that and took a bend way turn too fast. My car got too close to the guard rail and I slammed into it completely losing control of the vehicle. I blacked out from the impact and my car spun about 7 or 8 times, hitting the other guard rail and landing in a ditch. I woke up to an awful smell and was unable to get my car door opened. My hazards would not turn on because my battery literally flew 100 ft away from my vehicle. On top of all of this, about 30 minutes prior to my accident my cell phone fell in between my passenger seat and the middle console. I had just accepted it and popped a CD in for music; however, once the accident happened I could not get my phone out from where it was stuck! I was in a full anxiety attack, uncontrollably shaking and crying.

I managed to push open my car door and get out. It was pitch black outside, now 11pm and probably about 55 degrees outside. I was so cold and so scared, I literally had no idea what to do. My phone could not get a signal so i was unable to contact the police for a solid 10 minutes. Finally when I got ahold of someone, they told me they were sending a highway patrol officer out to me right away. I turned the flashlight on my phone and tried to flag down every single car that drove by me. A semi truck caught sight of me and pulled over, he let me sit in his truck and checked the conditions of my car and myself. He also called the police and his son, who happened to be a firefighter- I am extremely thankful for that man. From the time of my accident it took 45 minutes until a police officer and fire department crew found me. I was about an hour and 30 minutes away from Kingman, literally in the middle of nowhere. I was claiming I was in no pain and I literally did't have a single scratch on me. The fire rescue team performed a bunch of tests on me and hooked me up to the EKG machine to check for problems with the electrical activity of my heart. 

The firefighters and police officer both told me I was not forced to go to the hospital, but they all thought it would be a very wise decision considering I blacked out during the impact. They told me I could be in complete shock and my adrenaline could be preventing me from feeling the pain I was really experiencing. So I decided to go on the ambulance. 74 miles later we arrived at the Kingman hospital and the doctor ended up not even running tests on me. Since my adrenaline had worn off in the ambulance ride, I was much more calm when I got to the hospital and still did not complain of any pain. The doctor told me he wasn't going to do anything with me and that I basically was just staying at the hospital so that I could wait somewhere safe for my ride. 

Coincidentally, a friend of mine was in Las Vegas for his construction job and he drove to come pick me up from the hospital. I paid him to take me to my mom's place in Henderson and stayed with her and my brother until my grandma was able to drive from Phoenix and get me. It was all such a nightmare. All because I decided to make an impulsive decision and make a late night quick trip to Vegas. 

I missed some school and work from this accident, have been experiencing neck/back pain and re-occuring headaches. It seems like I am overwhelmed with the stress of finding rides to where I need to go, investing in a new car and payments, drowning in school work and trying to finish up everything for finals week. Life has been pretty rough for me because of this night but I have taken a lot from it. The biggest lesson I learned is that materialistic things do not matter and can be replaced, we only have one life. I could have easily lost mine that night and I am so beyond gracious I didn't. I had an angel watching over me, that is for sure. Another lesson I am learning is to not stress about school and work. It will all end up getting done eventually and I should not let myself get overwhelmed. Even in the worst scenarios, you can find a lesson to be learned out of it. I encourage you to try to find a positive light to every situation, I know it can be hard when you are being tested. Can you think of a time you were put through a challenge that was life changing and gave you a new perspective?