Overlake Clinicals

I just completed my clinicals to become a certified nursing assistant. This is the group I was working with. I am next to Kevin, then John (he will be in the nursing program with me) then Heather and Patricia is our instructor. Below me is Viet, Alicia, Christine, Lisa and Tomo.

The class had ups and down, but it really gave me the confidence to know that I will really enjoy the nursing field. I haven't been sure, but now I feel pretty good about it.

Nursing School Orientation

Today I had my first nursing school orientation. I found out what days I will be going to school, what days I will have clinicals, etc. I start doing clinical working starting on the 5th week, and I will be at the VA hospital in Seattle in the Spinal Cord Unit. Sounds interesting.

I had to shell out a bunch of money for a lab coat, stethescope, and some odds and ends. I am really lucky that I have a little bit of financial aid left over from the quarter. Those things are expensive!!! And I haven't even bought the scrubs yet.

I actually know quite a few people in the program from taking classes here on campus. It is interesting to see how I know some who are straight A students who got it, and then others who barely made the grades for the cut-off. The lottery program that they do here is being discontinued though. They found that the number of people who failed has gone up quite a bit since they made minimum requirements and a random drawing. There was a woman in several of my classes fall quarter who I really disliked who wasn't there, so I am happy and hope that she just wasn't absent. I just really didn't want to spend the next 2 years in school with her.

I am doing alright with things on the accident front, I guess. I called Farmers insurance on Friday and was assigned a guy named Travis, and was told that he would call by the end of the day on Monday. Well, monday evening when I still hadn't heard from him, I called and left a message. He called me back today and left a message saying that I needed to call back with a claim number because without it he couldn't help me. I called him back and got a hold of him, and told him that I wasn't given a claim number when I called the other day. He put me on hold and then asked me my name and found my file. He told me what my claim number is and told me that he isn't my adjuster, or whatever they are called. He gave me the name of a guy named Koby, and transfered me. Koby wasn't at his desk so I left a message. Hopefully I will hear back today.

I trying really hard not to get stressed out over the whole situation, but it is almost impossible. This is finals week and the added stress of my body aching, an almost constant headache since the accident, no car, and worry about what is going to happen it hard to deal with. My neck isn't hurting as much as it was over the weekend, but now my back is really bothering me. I am going to call my doctor and try to get a referal for physical therapy or something. Not only is it hurting, but it is pretty still. I am not able to lean over well without being in pain, which has never been an issue for me. I am one of the most flexible people that I know.

I am trying to concentrate on my Chemistry final for tomorrow, but my mind keeps wandering back to the accident and my car, and how I will get to my clinical tomorrow - I work from 2:30 to 10:30, so I might be able to take the bus without too much of a problem. I will go research that right now.

Car Accidents Suck!

In my entire career as a driving person, I have never gotten into a car accident - until this past thursday. I was driving home from Overlake Hospital where I am doing my nursing assistant clinicals. I was going south bound on 405 at about 11 pm. There are 4 lanes there - an HOV lane, fast lane, slow lane, and an exit lane for I-90. Well I was in the slow lane, and all of a sudden out of nowhere, a care swirved from the fast lane right into me. The car hit my front left bumper and sent me spinning. I spun into the exit lane and hit the guard rail. The impact from that made me spin more and I spun back through all the lanes of traffic on 405, and ended up facing south bound in the HOV lane.

When I hit the barrier and was sent back spinning through traffic, all I could think was that I was going to be hit and die. The whole accident has been going through my head over and over again since then.

I called 911, and told them that I had just been hit. They said that reports had already come in about 5 or ten minutes earlier about the accident. I told them that my accident just happened. I was confused, because I knew that I hit my head, but I didn't think I had passed out. Right then on the phone a state trooper came and asked me if I was okay. I said yes - while shaking and crying! I was told to stay in my vehicle.

From what I understand, there was an earlier accident involving a drunk driver. The car that hit me was trying to avoid driving over the debris from the earlier accident, but either didn't look, or didn't see me in his blind spot. They swirved into my lane and clipped me.

My car is totalled, I think. I saw the front bumper next to the barrier. I had to move it off to the side of the road, and it wouldn't start. I did get it to start and a state trooper had to help pull the steering wheel to get it to move, because the power stearing is gone. I got a ride home from the tow truck guy, Dick took a bunch of pictures, and now it is up at eastside towing. The towing guy told me that since I was hit, that I needed to call the insurance company of the guy that hit me, and that they would send an adjuster to come and look at my car. He said that by the looks of it, and because it is a 1996 car, it will be a total loss. The roof is buckled a little, the front is all smooshed, and the who frame is off - the doors on the opposite side kind of stick out a little even though they are shut.

I am feeling really lucky to be alive - although I have felt really out of it since then. I decided to go to the doctor on friday because of the headache that I had since the accident, and my neck and back aching. He said that I looked alright, but that I needed to take care of my neck and back by icing it for a day, and then using ice and heat the next day. He told me to call him back if I was still feeling bad after to weekend. He said that he would help me to arrange some physical therapy to get me back to normal.

It is Saturday night, and I still have the headache, and my neck seems to only feel worse. Now it is actually hurting all the way down my neck, through my arm. I am really ticked about it, because I have never really had any back or neck issues! Not even when I was pregnant. I just had my yearly physical a couple of weeks ago, and everything was great. Now I am in pain, and can't sleep because every time I close my eyes, I see a car swerving into me and see myself spinning through traffic. I have cried a lot too.

Mom was going to lend me her car so that I could go to school on friday, but I was (am?) too afraid to drive. The whole thing just makes me sick to my stomach.

I am most worried about getting back to normal, but not being able to pay for a chiropractor or physical therapy, or massage or whatever will help me feel better. I know that the person who hit me, his insurance should have to pay for it, but I feel like with my luck, something will happen, and they will not take care of me the way they should.

I would appreciate good healing thoughts and prayers sent my way.