While I was left to face financial burdens from being involved in a motor vehicle crash, family and friends started to attend Christmas Parties, bake cookies and shop for gifts, while I found myself completely and utterly overwhelmed with medical appointments. While I was in the hospital, I never thought to ask the discharging doctor for a medical note the day I was being discharged and I am now faced with the dreaded task of travelling to see my family doctor. Not only was I terrified getting into a vehicle, I also had to go in a wheelchair as I was unable to walk and I could not do it alone. My doctor examined me and wrote a medical note to send to my employer and she also agreed to fill out the proper paperwork for a handicap sticker to be placed in a vehicle.
How on earth was I going to support myself financially now that I am not working? As it turned out, my employer did not offer short term disability (which was news to me) and I had to apply for income replacement benefits through my auto insurance carrier. How much sick time did I have left? Have I used any of it this year? What about vacation time? How much do I have left? Financial burdens have begun to sink in.
Save All of Your Receipts
I am now being told that I should be saving all gas receipts, parking receipts and that I should start to keep track of any mileage accumulated to attend medical appointments going forward. Medical appointments now consisted of follow up appointments with the trauma surgeon, head injury clinic, plastic surgeon and the wound specialist which were all located approximately 2 hours away. My lawyer mentioned to me that if I cannot make the drive on my own, I could order a transportation company to take me to these appointments. Driving with a complete stranger in a wheelchair? Where on earth will I find the strength for all of this? How would I afford this while I am faced with financial burdens?
Did I also mention that you are able to make a claim for all of your clothes that were ruined on the day of your crash? Who knew? As a matter of fact, the hospital was nice enough to bag all of my clothes and I now find myself opening this bag as I cannot even remember what I was wearing that day. I fight back the tears as I find myself once again wondering how on earth I got into this mess.
The door bell rings and the occupational therapist has arrived and I could literally scream. At the end of her visit, she asked me “what are you doing with all of your documents that are you are starting to receive from your collision”? I was dumfounded. They were scattered all over the house in different rooms just like my life had become. She suggests that I should find an empty box and start to put each and every document pertaining to my crash into that box to keep it safe in one place so nothing gets lost. She then continues to tell me that the box will fill up fast and I need to try my best to keep it organized. She wasn’t kidding!
Become Your Own Advocate
Do you recall that I mentioned that my eye sight didn’t seem to be the same? Ahhhh yes…as a matter of fact it just doesn’t seem to be getting better at all. I advocated for myself and booked an appointment to see an optometrist. Yes, another appointment for me BUT I feel that it is quite important as I had many concerns and as it turns out, so did the optometrist. He was aware that I was in a horrific motor vehicle crash and he performed a certain eye exam (which I cannot recall the name) and he gently alerts me that he cannot say for sure but it looks like I may have a brain bleed and he will need to perform the test again.
Just when I didn’t think anything could get worse I now find myself waiting for the results. Luckily enough the test came back negative but I am now being informed that I will need reading glasses. I am once again heartbroken as I am now faced with the dreaded task of shopping for reading glasses that I did not need before my crash.
You will want to scream, you will want to cry. You will feel frustration and anger. You will face unexpected financial burdens. You will want to stay in bed all day to escape. You will feel overwhelmed and your anxiety will be running high. This is all completely normal. Your life has been completely altered unexpectedly at no fault of your own. I started a journal so I could write my feelings down and found it helped tremendously. Even if its just a small daily note, you may be surprised how therapeutic it may be.
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.
