Ben has really good teeth; he
doesn't regularly go to the dentist but he is always plaque and cavity
free. I do not have good teeth and they
have got embarrassingly worse since being pregnant. Last April I made an
appointment for us to go to the dentist and get our annual check-up/clean; the
appointment was set for the early morning of August 2!
It was a beautiful Thursday, Ben had
taken the morning of work, and together we drove to Longmont towards the
dentist. We were stopped at a light and in
deep conversation when two cars collided in the intersection in front of us. I
had never seen a car accident before and it was like the world went in slow
motion and in hyper speed at the same time.
One of the car's spun and hit us.
As it was spinning towards us Ben had time to scream, "Oh no!"
and reach over to grab my arm and I had time to clench every muscle in my body
and put my feet (which we already up) and arms against the dash to brace the
impact. (Looking back at it, we have
decided it is good, and a little worrisome, that our airbags did not go off
because it would have broken my legs and arms. Ben has since forbid me of
putting my legs on the dash.)
As if a switch were flipped the
moment the car stopped moving everything came back to a real speed and we were
called to action. I grabbed my phone and
immediately called 9-1-1 as I jumped out of the car and ran to the nearest car
to see if he was hurt. He was 'ok' so I
went to the other car, giving a description on the phone to the responder, and
found that the woman in the other car was hurt but not badly. Ben came over and helped me get her out and
sit on the curb. He then checked her out
and sat with her, while I called her husband and informed him of the
accident.
The ambulance and police quickly
arrived and the 'clean-up' began. The
woman was going straight and sped up to make it through a yellow light. She was getting gas for a big vacation they
were leaving for that afternoon. The man
(in the car that hit us) also sped up to make the yellow but he turned left (as
we all should know, the left turner always get's the ticket).
She broke one arm and a wrist from
the airbags. She also had some cuts but they were not major. She was taken away by the ambulance and her
husband, who had arrived shortly after the police, stayed behind for insurance
and stuff. The other man in the accident
did not go to the hospital but stood shaken and upset on the side of the road
(we did learn later that he left the scene and went straight to the hospital to
deal with some whip-lash and airbag burns).
Ben and I were fine. As we sat, waiting for the police to get to
us and our statement, and the adrenaline left us we started to feel the impact a
little; headaches, sore backs, ect. It took almost two hours before we were
able to leave (clean up, pictures, statements, insurance) and fortunately our
car was not badly 'injured' so we were able to drive home.
On the way home I called my Obstetrician
(baby doctor) just to see if I needed to go in and they were very adamant that
I go in and as soon as possible. So I dropped Ben off at work (he was so shaken
that it took him a couple hours to get in the 'work' mindset) and went to the
doctor. They pushed me in with the first
available doctor and I got a full physical.
The baby was fine and the little heart rate was normal. I was fine but I
did have a seat belt bruise forming on my hips and across my belly. I left the doctor and went to the
chiropractor, where my neck and lower back were 'put at ease.' That night we were both a little sore but we
were both fine!
So we have been waiting for
insurance claims to figure out what to do with our car. Our dear Avalon was the
member of our family that was injured most, although it is all body
damage. The front bumper is cracked and
all the 'frame' in the front was bent slightly to the left (so the door squeaks,
the hood doesn't fit as tight and the light is crooked) but we are glad that
nothing major happened.
 |
| I took this with my phone after the accident. You can't see the 3rd car. |
So what did we learn from this
experience?.... Don't go to the dentist!
