caerula's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- crash I think I'm calm and collected enough to write about it now. We'll see. Apparently the weird rash/swelling on my legs I mentioned the other day is some sort of immuno-deficiency reaction to something or other. I was home early yesterday as I had to take off from work and get a chest x-ray and some bloodwork done for this very reason, and after that was tired and didn't feel like stopping to get my prescription filled. Which I now wish I had done, as you will shortly see. So when I got home I went to bed for a short nap (I'm supposed to be staying off my feet as much as possible so the swelling doesn't spread more) and sent the boys out for the stuff I was supposed to have gotten on my way home � toilet paper, milk, etc. They were more than happy to take off for Target; YMB generally has collected enough change from foraging around the house to pick up a comic book or pack of whatever collectors cards he's collecting this week. And Blue of course feels the same way about Target as I do, so there you go. I couldn't really sleep, since my legs were aching, and instead read more Julia Quinn. Talked to Mom; YMB's mom called and I told her they were out but would be home about 7ish, and YMB would call her back. Then about 6:15 the phone rang again. I almost didn't answer it, as I was in the bedroom and the phone in there is the one without caller ID. But I did. "Hello?" I was unable to say anything but "ok." I started shaking a little bit, but remembered to put Sophie up and grab my purse and my cell phone, and lock the door and everything - even stuck my book in my purse, for the ER. I turned out of our neighborhood and not even a mile up the road, there's a train. I could feel my breathing start to get short, and I had to do something to keep from having a panic attack while I was driving, so I called Mom. I didn't know how long the train was, and I knew Dad could get there pretty fast from his work, so I called and told her where Blue had told me he was. Turns out, he was so shaken himself that he had been totally wrong, and we sent Dad in entirely the wrong direction, but it turned out ok. The train finally, after like three days, ended, and I finally got to the expressway. The backup started maybe a mile from where we get on to go towards Target, and I realized they were a lot closer than Blue had said. Called mom back and she called Dad so that he could turn around. Still didn't know how long it would take me to get through traffic. Finally got up through traffic and pulled off on the side, where there was a police SUV and an ambulance. The car had been towed already, thank goodness, because I don't know if I could have stayed calm if I'd seen it before I saw Blue and YMB. As it was, when they got out of the police car and came toward me, I had to run over and hug both of them; I'm sure we were quite a site for the gawkers. Both were scratched and cut, and YMB has a horrid seat-belt rash down the side of his neck and across his chest. When we got the car the ambulance took off, and Blue said the EMT told him he thought they were fine, but suggested they go to the hospital. Blue just wanted to go home, but since I was driving, I took them to the hospital anyway. Got the story of what happened out of Blue on the way there. The short version is that apparently some idiot was playing highway games and got annoyed that Blue passed him twice, so he pulled out of the fast lane to the middle line to cut Blue off. Clipped the edge of Blue's bumper, and Blue hit the brakes instinctively, which was enough to lock the brakes and send the car spinning across the far lane. Hit the median on the driver's side, flipped, skidded on the roof, rolled again to the passenger side, and then fell back on to the roof. Thank God for guardian angels, or providence, or luck, or whatever. And for Saturns. They walked away from an accident that could have killed them. By the time he'd finished telling me, we were almost there, and good thing, as my hands were starting to shake. I was beginning to realize that when Blue said the car "wasn't drivable," he meant "ever again." The driver who caused the accident didn't stop, and Blue couldn't find the cell phone in the mess, but fortunately some other incredibly nice people did, and stayed with them until the ambulance and police got there � vouched for Blue's story, let him use their phone, etc. Thank God. So, anyway, after that is was just waiting at the ER, picking glass out of teeny cuts and checking that there weren't any liver or spleen injuries, seeing my dad rush in and reassuring him that they're ok, I'm fine, wer're all ok, bandaging Blue's airbag abrasion and cleaning YMB's cuts and seatbelt rash, and distracting him while we waited and waited and waited for the doctor. We even called the Dementors and YMB's mom, which I was dreading, and they seemed to be reasonably calm. Of course, this is YMB's weekend with them coming up, so who knows if they will try to convince him the whole thing was his dad's fault, but at least they will take care of him and coddle him, and he still needs that, I'm sure, at least for a few days. By Monday the whole thing will be probably be terribly exciting and he won't be able to wait to show off his major injuries at school. We didn't get home until after midnight, and since YMB was still freaked and couldn't take his mind off it, we stayed up and watched Scooby-Doo on the Cart00n Network until at least 1 am. YMB was able to sleep, thanks to Children's Advil and Benadryl, and Blue was so exhausted that he was able to drop off too. I slept a little, woke up, slept, woke up, and woke up for good at 4:30 am, my stomach in knots. I read the rest of my book and started a new one, trying to keep my mind off what could have happened. Nearly impossible to do, of course. So, came into work for a little while, haven't been able to focus much, and now I'm on my way to Target to get those prescriptions filled, with a couple of additional ones now, and then home to my boys. It was definitely one of those nights that I wouldn't relive for anything, but that reminded me, once again, how lucky I am. 4:28 p.m. - September 05, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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