Highways Scare Me

Big time. No really. I started my holidays on Tuesday of this week. It was my first day off. I decided to spend that first day taking care of myself. I had an appointment with my Naturopath, and one with my hairdresser. I thought it would be nice to pick my daughter up early from daycare and take her with me. If nothing else, she would spend time with me, and keep me company. She loved the idea. I even got her haircut.

On the way home from downtown, I was taking the side streets, because the highway was packed. As soon as I heard that things cleared up on the highway, I ventured onto the 401 West. Big mistake.

I was driving in the left lane of the express, so yeah, the fast lane. There were 2 cars driving in front of me. I was going about 110, close enough to the speed limit. I don't think the cars in front of me saw the fully stopped vehicle in our lane. I think his lights were off or something. His blinkers were definitely not on. So here we go...going 110, car 1 in front of us smashes into the disabled car. Car 2 directly in front of me smashes into car 1. Car 3 (me) veers onto the shoulder, and gets side smashed by car 1 which was out of control after being hit by car 2. Car 4 (behind me) smashes into me, as it gets hit by car 5 behind him. I hit the guardrail, my tire pops, and my car skids across the highway. It was totally freaky. 6 cars smashed up, all because of the idiot fully stalled in the fast lane in the express. What a mess.

As soon as I realize what happened, I call my daughter's name. No reply. I call again. No reply. I freak and scream her name, and she responds. Apparently I woke her up. You heard correct. The kid slept through the 3 smashes on our car. How crazy is that? She says she's fine. I call 911, and get put ON HOLD for a minute and a half because their call centre has more than the usual amount of calls. No kidding. On hold. From 911. If I was having a heart attack, I would have died. I explain the crash to them, and tell them there are 5 other vehicles, all smashed up. They send the OPP and an Ambu-Bus, which, I never knew even existed. I can feel my knees are bruised from hitting the dashboard. I can't move my neck, my lower back is in pain, and I feel pain down my leg. Bad. I get out of the car and limp around to see what happened. Front passenger side smashed, front tires popped, back bumper definitely hit. I get back in the car and wait. Next I phone Mich and tell her to get my son. She agrees. Next I phone my ex, and get his voice mail. I hang up. I try again. No answer. I hang up. I send him a text and tell him to pick up his phone. He replies back and says 'I don't want to talk to you. Send me an email'. I respond back. 'This is urgent, please call me'. No call. Jerk.

When the police arrive, I give my statement. I watch as everyone gets put onto stretchers into the ambu-bus. I take my daughter and we walk onto the ambulance/bus. We get to the Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga and they try to turn the bus away. Go to another hospital, we're too busy they say. Our paramedic explains that there was a 5/6 car crash and that we have people in stretchers. Let us in. They reluctantly agree. We get out. I'm put in a wheelchair even though I insist I can walk. Yes, but it will be awhile I'm told. God Bless our Health Care System.

When we get inside, I hear the nurse say the wait will be around 5-7 hours. The paramedic complains, what for? She replies that this is a routine check. What's so routine about people in stretchers with neck and spine injuries? He asks, she says that nobody's paralyzed, so wait in line. Wow, I think to myself. I cannot sit here for 7 hours with my 5 year old daughter. She is fine, and it's now 9pm and she hasn't had dinner. I call my ex and leave a voice mail explaining what happened. I wait 10 minutes. No return call. I text him saying something along the lines of 'dammit, there is a basic human element here. Call me back asap'. He finally calls. I ask if he got my message. Yes, he responds. 'you had an accident, you're in the hospital, and now you want me to babysit our daughter'. He sounds annoyed. I tell him he's an asshole and hang up the phone. I call Mich. She agrees to take my daughter. She offers to feed and bathe both kids and put them to bed. Honestly, friends are the family you chose.

Anyhow, I tell the nurse that I'm not paralyzed, nothing is broken, but I definitely need something for the pain and inflammation. I have a bad back to begin with so I know what I'm saying. And I really don't want to sit here for 7 hours. She smiles and wheels me to a different section. "You'll be seen within an hour here" she says. She was right. The doctor gives me a prescription for an anti-inflammatory and for Percocet. Yes, percocet, the infamous drug that has a street value of $25 bucks a pill cuz it makes you really high. I've never been high, but I do have to say, it felt pretty darn good. No pain, and I felt like I was literally flying. WOW.

The next morning, I get a text message from my ex, asking if the kids are ok, hurt, or in the hospital. I'm in disbelief. I respond saying "go to hell". He responds back saying he has the right to know as a legal parent. Holy crap. You didn't care when I called from the hospital, why the hell would you care now? I decide not to respond. Really- it's not like he gives a damn.

Anyhow, Wed, I went to the chiro and I'm told my back is totally messed up. I just spent the last 7 years fixing it and so this sucks. My daughter will only need 3 treatments and then she should be fine. Thank God.

I am still glad to know that we are OK. A bad back is the minimal impact you would expect from a crash. It could have been much worse. I'm glad someone was looking out for me.

In the meantime, I'm trying to deal with the back pain and not being able to stay in one position for any length of time. I'm sure that will pass in time. In the meantime, at least I'm off work until the 8th. It will at least give me time to heal before I go back into the office.

Other than that, it's life as usual. I have a ticket to New York for this weekend. I'm not sure if I can go. I called Air Canada, and they told me that I can decide as late as Friday night. That gives me some time to see if I'm ok to travel. I called my chiropractor and she told me to just go ahead. At the end of the day, I'll just have to do the same thing there that I do here- change positions whenever my back gets sore, keep taking the meds, and get a good night's sleep. I'll decide tomorrow. :)