2: The call and the chaos that pursued

I was standing in a stark white room. I don’t how or why I was there. I love the color white, it makes me happy. I lifted my arms and twirled around as if I was basking in the brightness of white. My eyes were shut and I was smiling bigger than I ever thought possible. I twirled until the dizziness told me to stop. I lowered my hands to the side of my waist. I opened my eyes. I was still dizzy from spinning around. The room was blurry but I was starting to get my focus back. As my sight came back I started to notice that the room was no longer stark white.

My focus came back as I was looking down at the floor. It was ocean water. I panicked, fearful that I would sink into the water. But I wasn’t, the surface was hard. I looked up and the terror really set in. The ceiling and walls were blue and covered with sharks. The killer kind that had teeth bigger than my fingers. I hate sharks and it was evident by each panicking breath I took. I began scanning the room for an exit. All I could do was scan with my focused eyes. My scared trembling legs would not let me move. They were plastered to the ground. I prayed hoping a door would open for me. The blue on the walls started to swirl around and the sharks started to move. Suddenly my toes felt wet. I didn’t want to look down but my head and neck wouldn’t obey my thoughts. I was no longer standing on top of the water. I was ever so slightly sinking. I don’t know what happened next. There was no ending. As scary as they are that is what I love about nightmares. You eventually wake up and realize that it is not real and that you are safe.

Many people have referred to the day of the accident as a nightmare. It wasn’t a nightmare. We were not going to wake up in the safety of our beds. Reality was not going to instantly refresh our comfort. What happened was a tragedy that would require the healing power of time, love, faith and prayer.

My story starts on August 30th, 2002. My mom just returned home from eating lunch with my dad. It was a little past noon and she had errands to run so that we would have everything we needed for our family reunion. However, Josh was out with the car so she decided to take a afternoon nap. She awoke a few hours later and noticed that I had not returned home from school. She was worried. I was always home by 1:30. She went outside to see if I was playing with neighborhood friends. Nobody was outside playing. She went back into the house to call my friends parents to see if I was at any of their houses. Before she could pick up the phone she got a call from Lolly saying that there was an accident and told my mom to get to the scene of the crash as soon as possible. My older brother Josh was out with the car so my mom ran barefoot to a nearby neighbors house. My mom asked the neighbor if she could take her to the accident scene. Without hesitation she said, “yes.” My mom ran back home to put shoes on. When she was coming back out of the house my brother Josh pulled into the drive way. She frantically told Josh that I had been in a car accident.

In disbelief Josh said, “Mom I just saw a ton of ambulance and fire trucks coming off the 95.”

“That’s our girl, lets go to her,” Mom replied.

My mom jumped in the car and proceeded to the accident site. When they arrived at the scene flight for life was landing and my mom knew that was not a good sign. There were hundreds of people standing outside. The look on their faces was pure terror. The look of awful dread was a sign to my mom of what news was to come. The scene was barricaded by yellow tape. Again, a bad sign that no parent wants to see. Our parents tried to go through the tape but they were stopped by a police officer. He told them that they were putting the last kid on the helicopter and that all the other kids were already at the hospital and they needed to go there as soon as possible. A family friend of ours came to the aid of all the moms; Janelle, Lolly, and Lisa. She thought it would be best if they didn’t drive. She offered to take them to UMC hospital.

While in the car the friend pulled over and said, “No matter what we are about to face, we are going to need the Lords help to face it. Lets say a prayer.” After the prayer they all called their husbands. The car was quiet after all the calls were made. Nobody wanted to admit how scared they were.

When they arrived at the hospital there was already hundreds of people there. The parents were overwhelmed by the support shown to the families. As concerned parents they only wanted to know one thing. How were their little ones doing and could they see them. Sadly, a doctor came out holding three pieces of jewelry. A piece of Jewelry was taken off each girl. The jewelry was for identification purposes. I was wearing a cute silver charm bracelet around my wrist. Charm bracelets were the “in” thing. I remember when my mom bought it for me. I had butterflies in my stomach because I was so excited to get it. I never imagined that it would be used  as an identification tool.

It was not until later that my parents finally saw me. I was being transferred from the E.R. to the I.C.U. and before they put me in the elevator to go up my parents were able to speak to doctors and see me. I was on a gurney completely covered with the exception of my face. The doctors informed my parents of my injuries and what was going to happen next. They told her that I had a brain bleed, shattered femur and fractured C2 vertebrae. Everything else was stitched up minor cosmetic injuries. They lifted the sheet for my parents to see my left side. My leg looked like cottage cheese, skin with no substance inside. My mom pleaded for them to take care of me. They reassured her that they would do everything that they could for me.

They pushed my gurney into the elevator. It was battle time when we arrived on the I.C.U. floor. The strength of my spirit was overwhelmingly tough and ready for war against the robbers of life. Teamed up with the knowledge of surgeons everyone had faith that we would reign victorious in the battle that was about to take place.