On
an otherwise normal day life can take an unexpected and some might even say
grossly tragic turn. Actually I can't think of anyone who wouldn't say that it
was grossly tragic, in my case. Certain details of the morning are as vivid as
photographs. I know exactly what I was wearing right down to the jewelry and I
even remember looking in the mirror before I left and being satisfied that it
was the right outfit to go from traveling right into dinner somewhere in New
York City. There really wasn't anything out of place that day. I'd done the
trip to the airport so many times that I had it down to the minute practically.
I like getting to the airport and getting right on the plane. Maybe grab a
coffee and something non-nutritional like a chocolate chip muffin, but that's
it. I packed only a carry-on whenever possible to cut down on the time it takes
to check a bag. Once on the plane I'd shove my red Vera Bradley Paisley print
duffel bag into the overhead bin, take my seat, fish my book out of my green
canvas bag and read. That was what should have happened but it didn't. I
actually only made it just a few miles from my home before fate intervened.
I've heard people say that time slows down during an
accident but I can now throw in my own two cents and say that time did nothing
of the sort. The road I was on is not heavily traveled but for some reason a
vehicle traveling in the opposite direction decided to use the opposite lane as
well. I saw it coming at me head-on and the gray matter computer in my head
very quickly assessed that I had two choices… Choices 1, use the opposite lane
to pass him/her… Choices 2, go off the road to my right and hope to be able to
recover and get back on. The first choice seemed too risky because what if the
other vehicle went back into the correct lane… We'd still have a head on… So I
went off to my right. It should have ended at worst with me stuck in a ditch…
Should have…
But no, instead I found myself in a vehicle that did not want to obey my commands. Perhaps I bumped back onto the road at the wrong angle… Maybe steering locked on me… Maybe it was just that time for me… I was heading for the opposite side of the road at a very strange angle and something inside me just knew this was going to end very badly. The only thing I could do was shout "no no no no no" and then nothing. An empty gap in time followed by darkness and a voice telling me that they were going to get me out of there. It was so dark I thought it was night… I saw nothing just heard the reassuring voice and the sound of the cutting equipment… The kind they use to cut people out of vehicles. All I could say was "help me" over and over until I heard my phone ring and then I told them it was my boyfriend and to please call him back and let him know what was going on. Because I knew, I knew exactly what was happening… I knew they had to cut the seatbelt to get me out… I knew I broke my neck.
