The driver plead guilty that caused the horrific motor vehicle crash that I was involved in which changed my life forever. Sometime in January, I received a call from the police officer that came to the site of my motor vehicle crash. I would soon learn that this particular officer worked specifically in “fatal crash scenes ”. He spent his days out on the road at fatal crash sites and I can’t imagine how difficult that must be for him. The day of my crash I was told that there was a “minor crash” at the intersection where my crash happened and that two vehicles were pulled over to exchange information. The impact from my crash was so great that these vehicles became further damaged. To this day, I do not remember seeing those vehicles on the side of the road.
Although no one was killed at the crash site, I was taken away by ambulance in critical condition. The police officer was calling to alert me that the driver had been charged with careless driving and will be appearing in court to defend herself within the week. He was also calling to ask me if I would be able to attend and after some discussion, I decided that I just wasn’t mobile enough to attend. It took all my strength just to deal with follow up appointments at the trauma hospital let alone to sit in a court room so my personal injury lawyer attended that day on my behalf.
The police officer promised to call me at the end of that day to inform me of the outcome. I do remember the officer calling me back to alert me that the driver plead guilty and the charge was lowered, however he also mentioned that she felt remorse and understood how injured I was. I don’t remember exactly what the lesser charge was but I was relieved that the driver had plead guilty.
Two Months of Daily Nursing
The nurse that had been seeing me everyday for the last two months has informed me that her last visit would be tomorrow. I couldn’t be more thrilled! Every day that the nurse came to pack my seatbelt wound, I didn’t have the courage to look at it and would turn my head the other way. You see, the wound measured about 14 inches in length, 2 inches wide and about 2 inches deep. When she came the next day and told me it was closed, I finally looked at the scar that was left behind and was so grateful that it never had the chance to get infected. Although my seatbelt caused a horrific injury and I am left with a constant reminder and a permanent scar, it was that seatbelt that saved my life. If I was not wearing a seat belt, I would not be here today.
I find myself once again completely overwhelmed as I am faced with follow up appointments with the doctors at the trauma hospital. The first time I went to a follow up appointment at the trauma hospital, everything was a complete blur to me as I vaguely remember being a patient there. When I had my follow up visit with the trauma doctor, after a lengthy conversation, she advised me that due to the multiple injuries that I sustained, it would take at least a year to recover. I was shocked and devastated to hear this news. A year off work? What if I lose my job? How will I support myself financially? What am I going to do?
Fear of Not Remembering
At the end of our conversation, I asked her if she was the trauma doctor that looked after me when I arrived at the hospital and she replied “yes”. I didn’t remember her at all. It was like I was having a conversation with a complete stranger. I remember feeling frightened, confused and vulnerable at the exact moment that I could not remember her. I replied “I am sorry because I don’t remember you” and she told me that was okay and I thanked her.
After surviving a crash, there are so many medical professionals that you will need to see and each appointment is crucial to your recovery. One thing I need to remind other survivors is that if a treating doctor mentions any type of time frame for recovery, please ask them to put it in writing especially if its your trauma doctor. You don’t want the task of trying to track down that information after your appointment as it could be very beneficial to your employer and to your personal injury lawyer if you have a claim.
S. Dawne McKay is a survivor of a horrific crash that changed her life forever. Dawne shares her personal journey as a Crash Survivor Blogger and also collaborates with crash survivors as Guest Bloggers allowing them an opportunity to share their stories. Dawne is also the author of the book, “Talk Crash to Me – What to Expect After Surviving a Collision and How to Manage Your Recovery” which is available for purchase on Amazon.
The Crash Support Network is a unique one-of-a-kind website consisting of an online support group, a crash survivor blog, a quarterly newsletter, “Sharing Our Recovery” as well as highly informative articles. Our website is based on relationship-building and puts the needs of survivors first by creating a helpful resource for victims and survivors of motor vehicle crashes.
