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.