Posted on Facebook:
Sunday May 13th was the worst day of my life. I was in a car accident with my aunt and cousin. My aunt didn’t make it, and my cousin and I were rushed off to hospital with various injuries.
Ive read some news reports of the accident, which helped to fill in a few holes in my memory, and explain the impacts that i felt while in the car. we apparently drifted over the centre line, but everyone on that stretch of highway was complaining about the strong winds pushing their vehicles around too, so this will hopefully help to ease some of the guilt that my cousin michael is feeling. he mentioned the other day that he was really fighting the wind while driving. we didn’t see anything coming, but felt an impact and the windshield shattered and we began to spin; a couple more impacts and then the pain started. people came running towards us asking if we were all right. michael seemed alert and able to move, and kept saying “no mom, please wake up, come on, wake up mom”. i couldn’t move (and actually had the presence of mind to know that moving might make things worse), and was worried that i might be paralyzed, when in fact my guardian angel had just wrapped me up in a sort of cocoon. my head was resting against the edge of the visor, my legs were stuck in the crumpled front end, and the rubber around the door was holding my (broken) arm in a sling at just the right place.
My recovery time won’t be nearly as long as michael’s, but right now i really can’t do much for myself. my humorus bone was crushed just below my right shoulder, so after waiting 4 days for surgery, i am now sporting a lovely metal plate & screws inside my arm, and have to keep my arm in a sling. luckily there’s no bulky cast or other external junk, just a couple bandages covering the stitches. aside from that my body is just all-around sore and easily tired out. through physio i have just regained the movement in my right hand, and can lift my arm from the elbow. my face has also returned to its normal size & colour (i think my cheek hit the window, because it was super swollen and green for 4 days. very attractive.). i’m going to name my new hardware, right now trigger and nutsy are at the top of the list, although one friend suggested that i give it a stereotypical terrorist name so that i can have some fun in airports when i go through security (ie, “oh yeah, don’t worry about the beeping, that’s just osama”). feel free to weigh in on the issue. i’m on dilaudid and tylenol, alternating so i don’t get totally hooked on the big guns. the worst effects of the drugs are hot & cold flashes, which seem to be unavoidable.
As for cousin michael: from the bottom up, he has a compound fracture in his left leg, so it’s being held together with rods & pins. a second surgery is planned for friday. he also has a bruised heart, which is a big reason behind the postponed surgery. he dislocated his left shoulder, which i think went through the skin because when i saw him the first monday night there was some sort of bloodied damage. when we saw him on monday his colour was much better and he could move a lot easier, and he has been taken off the big drugs and been moved down to tylenol 3.
My mom and brother spent last week in halifax with me, and dragged me back to nb with them for some r&r. the 4.5 hour drive was neither fun nor pain-free, but there’s no way i could stay somewhere by myself right now.
Remembering Momcat 