Yesterday, I went out on the dessert with my family to find fossils and pretty rocks. It was so much fun...until.....
I was following my Dad in the pick-up truck ahead of us, going home. I got caught in a dust cloud from their car. When the dust cleared, the car was headed straight for the ditch on the passenger side. I tried to correct the car and in so doing, the back wheels spun out. We fish-tailed right, left, right...and soon, I thought we would gain control. Right then, the back wheels caught a nasty patch of loose dirt and we spun out over the opposite ditch. The roof collapsed centimeters by my head, and the car rolled.
(taken with my cell phone just after it happened)
It was the scariest moment of my life! There were 2 adults, me and my younger sister, and 5 kids, my 3 and my sister's 2. It's funny what the brain will do, I learned that when faced within seconds of death, it thought of the worst thing possible. I was thinking about Top Gear and how they roll their cars all the time, and how I was about to do the same. There was no "my entire life flashed before my eyes," "thoughts of Mommy," or even "are the kids going to be safe..." My last thoughts: A British Car Show, Top Gear...sheesh....
After the car stopped rolling, I checked my door to see if I could get out. It seemed like time had slowed and things were passing before my eyes as if we were in space. I couldn't get the door open, and so I unbuckled and widdled my way towards the back of the car. I have NEVER been so GRATEFUL to hear screaming. That meant the kids were alive! Cambri unbuckled herself and Adelie tried to do the same. When it unlatched, she fell on the ceiling and bonked her head on the "top." I managed to get Adelie out of the car by Mele, and then proceeded to get Zac out of his car seat. By then, Mele had gotten her door open (by sheer brutality) and got one of her kids out. I handed her Adelie, Zac and then worked on getting Audree out. When all the kids were out of the car, we assessed the damages. Amazingly, no one was bleeding, no bones were broken, no one had any physical ailments. Adelie's "bonk" turned out to be more of an emotional bonk than a physical one. The seat belts (I'm adamant about that!!!), and car seats had done their job!!! The air bags did not deploy...thank goodness?!?!?
Mele told me she was going into shock...so, I had to mentally block all emotion and be the "sane" one. It was amazing that even though time seemed to slow down, I bet we got all of the kids out of the car in a matter of minutes. Mele and I were working that fast to secure their safety. Only seconds passed when another car drove by and I told them to call 911. They got 911 on the line and asked if I wanted an ambulance...HECK YES!!!
Then, my dad's car pulled up. I can only imagine what they thought when they realized the car that was upside-down was ours. They took over the roll of taking care of the kids and providing support. We waited for patrol men to come and the ambulance. While waiting, the couple that stopped to help had ice in their car and offered it to Mele and me. We hadn't noticed before the huge goose eggs on our heads, caused by the roof collapsing.
I had everyone to get an evaluation from the paramedics. The kids were fine, other than being in the sun a bit too long. Mele had hurt her shoulder along with the head bump. I had a little cut on my elbow and the bump on my head. Other than that, we were all pronounced okay. It was only then that I was able to connect with Ryan, who is in Minnesota. He first heard about it through a picture message I took on my phone slightly after it happened...no message...no explanation. I had tried calling him 12000 million times....I'm so thankful for his years as a paramedic...he stayed calm through the phone call, yet I have to think he was a basket case inside his head!!! He pulled me back to earth, in a way.
The tow truck came and flipped the car back over. Then, we went over to salvage things from the car. THe car seats are recommended not to be used after getting in that serious of an accident...but we used them to get home. The tow truck hauled the car away, the ambulance left, most of the patrol/police people left and as we left the scene, it felt so weird. Like nothing had happened.
After we got back to my parent's house, I was still a little bit in the "robot" mode...it wasn't until I saw the pictures of the car did I realize I should be in serious condition, maybe even dead. I thought about how terrible it would have been if any of those kids were injured or dead. I thought about how much worse it could have been. My imagination couldn't be stopped and I lost it.
My dad and brothers-in-law gave me a Priesthood blessing that saved my sanity. It gave me comfort like I'd never felt. Things were said that I will keep locked up in my heart forever.
Things still feel surreal, and it's almost impossible to keep my mind from imagining the worst, but I know that Heavenly Father sent angels to push the metal away from smashing the kids and us in the front. I've sat and thought about how I would feel if I had to meet my Creator that day. I think that I could have said that I died without any serious sin...but I don't know if I could boast of anything I've done to help build His Kingdom. So, I am going to work on that...
Anyway, thank you for your prayers and thoughts during this time. It really has been a blessing and a help for me.
