Tonight is the anniversary of the worst night of my life. There is not a lot of things that i remember but there are bits and pieces that i will never forget.
The Saturday night started off pretty normal. My best friend Leanna, her boy friend and I were going out like we did every weekend. It was my night to drive but my car started acting funny so we decided to let Leanna drive. This night we wanted to visit our friends in West Seattle. Before we went out we stop at my brothers house and hung out with him and his roommate for a couple hours. We tried to talk them into going out with us but the declined. Still wanting to hang out they told us to come back after.
So we headed out. I remember getting a call from my older sister. It was the first night she has been out since having her son. She was telling me how they are at Cow Girls and having a blast and how she cant wait until I'm 21 so we can go out together. It was getting late fast so we decide to leave so we still had time to go back to my brothers house.
When we would go out we would always stop at McDonalds before going home. This night Leanna asked me if i wanted to stop and I told her my throat was a bit sore so I passed. She said she would spot me but i still said "No." That was the last thing I remember.
On the intersection of 1st ave and 160th in Burien at about 1:30AM on November 10, 2007 I was hit by a drunk driver.
I dont remember the actual crash. Im glad that i dont. I was told that we were hit by a Ford Explorer and as you can see it was on the passenger door right where i was sitting. Leanna told me she looked over at me after we were hit to see my hand in my lap, my head hanging down, blood pouring from my head, and i was unconscious. She said she thought I was dead.
The fire department had to use the jaws of life to get my door open and put me on a stretcher. This is the point that I started to wake up and remember somethings. Its still a bit foggy and i dont think it will every really come back. I remember feeling the cold air and a rain drops falling on my face. I was very confused. I had no clue what was going on. I felt like i was going to fall off the stretcher when they were putting me in the ambulance. Thats when I kind of realized something was wrong.
The EMT's told me i had been in an accident. I think i was already crying before they told me what was going on but it could have been after when i realized i was hurt. They asked what on my body hurt. I franticly told them my face felt like it was burning. I went to touch the right side of my face but a guy took my hand and told me not to touch. I then told them that my back was hurting. When they asked me where but when i tried to show them they told me not to move. I then realized that i was in a lot of pain and i just started bawling. One of the EMT's took my hand and held it the hole way and kept telling me it was going to be ok.
They took me to Harborview. When i got to the hospital they asked me if there was someone that they could call. Of course i gave them my Mom's number. I remember them moving my from the stretcher that i came in on, to another one to bring to to x-ray and Oh my gosh did that hurt. When i back from x-ray they told me that my pelvis was broken. I asked them if i was going to be able to walk and they told me no. I started freaking out. Then they told me my mom was on the phone
She had no idea what was going on because the nurses couldnt tell her because i was over 18. I tried to explain what had happened. She said she would be there right away with my blankie. This is when thing started to get better.
They pulled all the glass out of my face (this is what made my face feel like it was burning). The plastic surgeon came and out 13 stitches in my face.
After being moved for more x-rays, cat scans, and MRI's each time i would scream in pain, they confirmed that my pelvis was broken in 3 places, i had 2 lacerations on my liver, a sprained ankle, and a lot of bruised bones. They put my leg in 15lb of traction which means they basicly hammered a metal rod through my knee and hooked that to a 15lb weight that was hooked to the end of my bed.
It looks painful but once i got that things started to fell much better. I was still i a lot of pain but i could at least try to get some rest.
I remember thinking "thank god there wasnt anyone else with us and that none of my other friends were hurt as bad as i was.
I had a lot of support both in the hospital and out. Every day my room was full of supporters. I remember my Grandma coming to visit me while i was still in the ICU. At the time she was going through chemo for breast cancer and was loosing her hair. She had a wig that she would wear sometimes. She had it on when she came to see me and i remember telling her she looked so good. Everyone started laughing . Jon, my brother, stayed with me every night a would push my Morphine button every 9 minutes so i wouldnt be in pain so i could get some rest. My mom was there every day, even took time off work. She would notice when i would be clicking my pain med button multiple times in a row and would get the nurse to up my dose. My sister washed my hair in a bowl to get the blood off. She bought me bigger underwear so they would fit on my swollen body. There were people that came an saw me in the hospital that i never thought would. i got phone call, cards, flowers, myspace comments and messages from friends, relatives, co worker, and people a barley knew.
3 days after being in the hospital they told me i would need surgery on my pelvis. They put a titanium screw the size of a Sharpy through my pelvis to realign everything.
I think with all the support and prayers that i received i was able to recover quicker. I always kept my spirits high and try to stay positive.
Drinking and driving is no joke. I was one of the lucky ones. Leannas car had side air bags. thats what saved my life. If it wasnt for my car acting funny we would have been in my car, with no side air bags, Leanna would have been in the passenger seat and none of use would have survived. But there are others that arnt so lucky. There are people that cant ever walk again, or they are mentaly disabled, or dead because someone chose to get behind the wheel of a car after they had been drinking.
Save a life. Dont drink and drive.
Xoxo,
Amanda
