Accidents

On Tuesday night just after 7pm, my daughter called me, upset. She and her 4 friends were traveling on a local road when the driver went off the road and hit an electrical pole, snapping it. The pole fell onto the truck they were traveling in, but the connected wires arrested its fall.

I asked my daughter if she had called 911, while rushing my son to the SUV. She said they had and began to cry. I urged her to listen to me, that I would be right there. The crash site was about 2 miles away.

I was halfway there when the medic called to say Liz was on a long board and did I consent to transport? I asked if he could await my arrival, that I was only moments away.

2 miles has never been so long.

John saw the lights. "There it is Mommy."

I had him stay in the car and went to find my daughter. I could see the fallen pole straining on the cables, but could not see the pickup. For this I am grateful.

Three of the teenagers were sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance, and a police officer was standing with one of the medics. I interrupted their conversation to ask for Liz, telling them she was not one of the girls sitting at the back of the ambulance.

They advised me she was inside the squad, and as they opened the door, I caught sight of my baby strapped to a long board and wearing a C-collar, blood caked in her hair. Her friend stood at her head, in her line of vision, his nose bleeding.

Liz was awake, and I asked her to do everything the medics told her to, and that I would meet her at the hospital.

Her friend came down off the ambulance and hugged me as he broke down.

"I am so sorry," he told me.

I hugged him tight and told him he needn't apologize- they were all alive and that was all that mattered.

I dropped John with a friend and another drove me to the emergency room, stopping on the way to pick up my daughter's good friend- I knew in the instant information age she would think the worst if she couldn't see Liz.

It was a long night in the ER. Head and neck X-rays, a CT- it was hard to explain to these teenagers that not being the first one treated in an ER was a good thing, that it meant they were stable and could wait.

The five of them were in pain. None had been wearing a seatbelt. One boy had some abrasions running down his arm, both he and Liz were missing shoes...

It was after midnight when we were discharged. Liz had dizziness from the concussion, neck pain that was likely whiplash, a lump on her head, and small cuts at her hairline.

It could have been much worse.

But I feel old.