The day I had the accident it was heaving down with rain. I was heading to the GP with my youngest lad to see if he needed antibiotics for a painful ear.
Driving uphill on a familiar straight stretch of road, down through winding rainforest, a route i’d taken hundreds of times before, very comfortable with.
That complacency was my downfall
I wasn’t in a hurry, not paying best attention as events will show. I’m a patient driver, no speeding or tailgating, no propensity for road rage like many. Sometimes inadvertently creep above the speed limit, don’t we all?
So there I was, trundling along in the big black Landrover Defender a cumbersome noisy beast with shit heater and no AC, I’d been driving it for a few year’s by then, commuting back and forth to my job in the city, my car by default, a result of zero interest in vehicles, the buying of them, the look of them, no headspace to give them , no enjoyment in their purchase
My big 12yr old lad was sitting in the front seat beside me nursing his sore ear , windscreen wipers swishing at top speed, rain hammering on the roof, shhhhhhh spray of the wheels on the road
Next memory, imprinted on my brain forever, was approaching a big familiar left sweeping bend, road camber tilted down to the right, rain waterfalling from the rock wall on my left streaming horizontally across in front.
I touched the brakes a little as I approached (obviously too late 🤦♀️) thought I was in complete control, next thing the most AWFUL sensation of the back wheels slipping, the car losing it’s rear end, me screaming “oh no!!” and gripping the steering wheel, holding on for dear life
Next memory is banging down hard onto my right side , thud THUD, then silence, hands still rigidly grasping the steering wheel, asking my boy if he was ok, having visions of spilling petrol and exploding cars I told him to climb through the shattered windscreen which he, thank gawd, was able to do.
Then assessing my own body for damage and range of movement while I lay bizarrely on my side, still seatbelted in
This all witnessed by the driver of an oncoming vehicle (a dad from school) who’d watched the car slide and spin around, roll then land conveniently in the roadside ditch
Next I remember he appeared hovering above me holding an umbrella over my head, giving a cheery commentary reassuring me Ben was ok, someone was with him (a nurse❤️) “bloody hell, you’re lucky” and commenting on the blood in my ear “thats not good”
Pain masked by adrenaline and endorphins, later felt like I’d been kicked by a horse
Next the lovely nurse chatting to me, checking me, reassuring that my boy was ok
Then in succession, a local paramedic, more paramedics, fire-fighters and police (I was breathalized, fair enough) all cheerful, reassuring, professional, I was in safe hands
A conversation ensued about how to extract me without moving my neck or spine, a quick decision made to cut the roof off the Defender.
A unique position to be in, my ears were covered, loud drilling, a CRACK, off it came, then finally lifted by so many careful hands onto a stretcher, into the back of the ambulance
Calm lovely paramedic multitasking like a pro , sorting me out, helping me contact the husband who was away for work, having that “now don’t worry but … ” conversation, then contacting a dear friend who would go to the children’s hospital to be with Ben and one who would collect my other son from the school bus
My back ached, my ear buzzed, so uncomfortable, neck rigid, IV cannula inserted “need painrelief?” no thanks (no way!) ask any mum, if her kid is in potential danger, she’ll instinctively think of them before herself, a clear head needed, only a bit of pain, freakin miracle we were both alive
Then, into the emergency department of the hospital where I work , straight to resusc, efficiently assessed top to toe, poked and prodded rolled side to side, pronounced not seriously injured, CT scan recommended, check neck and back. Sure 🤷♀️
CT bizarre, quick, radiologist friendly, chatty. Had the warm sensation in my nether regions from the dye, slight worry I’d be one of the awkward ones who WOULD pee their pants or have an anaphylactic reaction? Thankfully not.
Back to wait for what seemed like an interminable time on the trolley, collar still on in case I was pronounced Christopher Reeve (can you imagine 😭) constantly wiggling all extremities, no pins or needles, felt pretty reassured within myself
During this long wait, still tucked in a corner near the resus bays I could here an ambulance siren, preparations for an seriously injured person being made, wheeled in, loud voices of staff, some of them flustered, an obvious emergency situation. I was moved to another spot, left lying there feeling relieved once more, could’ve been me.
So many thoughts So much to be grateful for So much luck
The time of day The quiet road
My boy and I escaping without serious injury, not like the person i’d just heard Could have crashed down the side of the mountain Could be dead
No one else involved, SHUDDER to think what might have been if i’d ploughed into another car 😖
How random life is, terrible things happen to some, others get off scot – free
Personnel i clearly remember, the social worker my age, kind face, gentle voice, contacting everyone (my phone was as dead as the Defender) the childrens hospital, the husband, friends. She was perfectly suited to the job, imagine the traumatised people she deals with everyday?
The wardie who wheeled me to and fro, so friendly and chatty.
The Consultant who gently removed the collar, told me of the dislocated collarbone, fractured rib, probably concussion, just a small cut on my ear, (wasn’t cerebrospinal fluid or brain tissue leaking out 😆) told me to sit up slowly, i’d be dizzy. I was.
My brain reminded me for months of the bashing it took inside ma skull, momentary dizziness every morning on getting up. I ached and groaned and moaned for a couple of weeks, broken rib and impingements no fun , dislocated freaky collar bone the cause of much merriment, became the family freak show.
Ben escaped with a black eye and not much else, no emotional trauma from being thrown around in an out of control Land Rover in the rain with his mother, quite happy to get in the car with me again 😬 The social worker and one of the paramedics told me to focus with him on everything that had gone right , big strong car, mum was fine, all the helpful people, the funny doctor at the hospital. It obviously worked
The friend who’d collected my older lad came that evening to take me home❤️ The other one who’d driven through rush hour ❤️ to get to Ben was still with him, husband almost there I think? I gingerly walked out in bare feet (shoes turned up later) sling on arm, glad to hear news of husband staying overnight at the hospital with my boy
I’ve such respect for my paramedic colleagues, my family have called on them sooo many times, a broken arm, an unexpected faint at the shops, mum visiting from Scotland with fever and rigors, my Dad having a heart attack! Oh and another time with my poor wee mum midst a family holiday in middle – of – no – where Scotland, ambos came in the night and we made the two-hour journey through snow to get to the nearest hospital
A few days after the accident had the chance to chat to one of the jokey, ultra professional fire – fighters on that day, thanked him and his crew for their expertise with the old Jaws Of Life, gotta love firies, not just for the good looks 😉 but the logistical expertise, the bravery and the physicality. Comedic value an extra coping strategy I think. Who’d actually want to do their job?
Later I had to visit the local police station, explain in detail again what I remembered about the accident, was told they wouldn’t charge me with dangerous driving (gulp)
I put a thank-you post on our local FB community notice board, debate ensued, many commiserating, commenting on the traumatising site of driving past my hapless Landrover lying on it’s side in a ditch (school pick up time) complaining of the danger of that particular stretch of road (lots of accidents there over the years) others commenting on the thousands who traverse it over and over with no issue, a drive to conditions lecture was given. I absorbed it all
Terrible things happen to good people, life can change horribly and heartbreakingly in an instant. I know how lucky we were having an accident like that and being ok. Stops you in your tracks, gives you perspective, confirms again (I already know, work in a building full of them) how many good people there are in the world
Drive safe, and be extra careful in the rain, don’t think it won’t happen to you
Lindsey Crossan Registered Nurse and Midwife