34 years ago this minute, my then-good friend Pat Somers and I were broadsided at 60mph on the corner of 7th Ave & Butler. Pried out with the Jaws of Life of his brand new shiny red 1980 Toyota Corolla Liftback that had shrunken to 2/3 its size upon impact by the Chrysler Newport, I will never forget the sound and impact plus seeing the car hitting us. Only about a second earlier, I told Pat who was in the midst of telling me a joke of which punchline had to wait months for our recoveries (mine longer than his), that I was hot and for some reason, rolled down the passenger window sparing my face from being shredded passing through it. We were spun two complete 360s and moved over 75 feet from point of impact in the intersection - we landed in the middle of the street of both lanes on 7th and were taken separately by ambulance. Pats leg was swollen the size of basketball and his drivers door was literally wrapped around his left leg - you could see the imprint. I was achy and stiff in some pain. I saw my first wireless phone used to dial 911 from a Good samaritan neighbor whose lawn had parts of our vehicle that afternoon. News crews showed as well as helicopters - it was crazy - I thought Pat was dead at first and began praying pleading with God to spare him. But later found out he actually had all superficial wounds, faring the best of all involved, including the dazed family in the Newport. Me, not so much - after 4 hours in waiting room to check on his condition, I leaned back against the wall and everything went white. Under my hair, on the back of my head was bump the size of my fist and another the size of a lemon on the left side of my head. Reconstructing things, apparently, my head and half my body (thanks to shoulder strap) was projected through the open window and rattled back and forth in the near-fatal (hit a few inches further back and the car would have been a fireball) collision and spins. My head hit the top and back of the door/window frame, my left knee jammed into the gear shift and is loose to this day. We should have both died. The accident was so high-profile that a light now exists on that corner due to us being the straw that broke the camels back. Pat and I are no longer friends, sadly. After my Carbon Monoxide poisoning accident four and a half years later, he dumped e, yet I was praying and concerned for him to the detriment of my own self. That is HOW this girl has always rolled. I had already had several concussions as a kid and sustained two from this very accident that reinsured twice. I had/have PTSD and PCS - Post Concussion Syndrome which also contributes to my headaches an ADD/ADHD. To this day, I still that soft spot on the very top of my head - if I bump it hard enough, I get woozy, ill, blurred vision and headaches for weeks, so no football for this girl. Plus, my spine was twisted a bit, giving me scoliosis I have since found out. Honestly, it was a Christmas Eve miracle - and at the time I didnt know why God spared me, but GOD did. Now, I mostly know why - and now, you, my friends do as well. Life is precious. Never take it or those around you for granted. Things can change in an instant. Merry Christmas.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 22:48:25 +0000
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