On Dec 23 at about 10:40 PM in Hawaii time, I was hit by a drunk driver. Head-on collision. She was in a SUV, I was in a Kia Rio…
I am writing this post from the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific.
Since then…
Well…
My big toe was dislocated, my ankle broken, my hip broken and dislocated as well, and my sternum broken. I was in surgery for 6 hours, in ICU for a couple days, in the hospital for about two weeks, and I’ve been in this rehab hospital for 4 days now. My spirits are low, I cry almost every day now…I want to go home. I know not many here know me or anything, but…this is what happened to me and where I’ve been the last few weeks. The pain is okay, I’m just frustrated and want to get out of here.
We’re seeking legal action against the woman who did this to me.
I was driving my friend home. She had lacerations on her liver and needed 4 feet of her small intestine removed. The drunk driver was unscathed. Isn’t that how it always is?
Anyway dopers, just popping in, saying hi. I hope everything is well with people here.
Here’s to speedy recovery to both of you. I was where you are once(minus the drunk driver, just a careless one).
You seem to be making good progress to be at the rehab hospital already. Are you allowed to be weight bearing? Do you have a prognosis yet?
You’ll be home soon, just hang in there and focus on the rehab work they give you.
Are you thinking about the accident? You might want ask if the hospital has any counselors you could talk to.
Having lost 3 family members (including a 6 year old) in car accidents between August 2007 and June 2008, I can empathize with the horror of what you’re dealing with up to a point. Thank Og you and your friend survived. I wish you both speedy and full recoveries.
Don’t forget to get some counseling, too. Your body’s not the only thing that needs to heal.
Here’s to successfully getting that woman’s license revoked and tons of compensation for your pain and suffering!
Oh man, sorry to hear you had so many injuries. Thank goodness you’re alive! I’ve not been in a car accident that bad, but I’ve had to overcome other health problems that required a lot of time and effort for healing. I remember yelling at an occupational therapist once, because what she was doing was hurting me. I didn’t mean to yell at her, and I knew she was helping, but damn, sometimes it’s really hard and frustrating, you know? She just calmly kept going, and I regained my composure, having gotten it off my chest.
Still, all of the work they do with you will get you somewhere. So keep the faith as best you can and keep at it. Not fair that this happened to you, but there is much you can do, in addition to time and rest, to help yourself heal. Things will get better.
Sending warm, healing thoughts your way.
When I shattered my heel, I was told two things that I found to be true.
Physical therapy is a bitch, but the more it hurts in Physical therapy, the sooner you are better.
Pain is a sign of weakness leaving your body.
I got hit by a car too (it wasn’t nearly as bad) this Monday as a pedestrian, but because the car was turning right, its rear side grazed me in the left upper chest. If I had been a fraction of a second earlier, it would have hit me head on. I don’t know if the driver was drunk, though, because it was hit-and-run.
I was knocked out on the street and came to a few minutes later, surrounded by EMTs and cops. (A couple walking their dog had seen the whole thing, and called 911.) They checked me out and asked things like “What year is this?” I answer all their questions easily, but they said they wanted to take me to the hospital. I said no, and went home.
It hurt a lot, but I before going to bed I noticed a pretty nasty bruise. In the morning it had spread, and covered most of my left top front torso. So I went to the hospital and they sent me to the ER for trauma and did all kinds of tests and scans and x-rays looking for internal bleeding and fractures. They first said that it seemed like it was nothing serious, but then they discovered low hemoglobin count and hospitalized me. Meanwhile, the bruise had spread to cover the whole top of my left and front torso. Every doctor came by to see the “largest bruise” they’d ever seen. It still looks like that and feels like hell.