All About G

I can safely say that I’ve officially survived what could have been imminent death. I can also say that the accident I was involved in last night was probably, and will probably always be, one of the scariest experiences in my entire life.

It started out as what was supposed to be a fun joyride around the southern tier of NY. My little sister and I were in the back seat; she was passenger’s side, I was driver’s. My two friends Brian and Joey were in front, and Brian was driving.

We had taken the backroads to Oneonta; the whole way there I would warn him about dangerous curves and times when he’d want to slow down. We were going pretty fast, between 60 and 70 most of the time. Luckily, I know those roads like the back of my hand. But I don’t blame Bhoff, I mean, I love driving fast too. It’s fun. We were just unlucky that night.

We decided that it would be fun to drive to Delhi from Oneonta, and then take the backroads to Sidney from there via a route that Derek and Mom had taught me. I had driven it a couple of times, and while I didn’t know those roads as well as I knew others, I knew it’d be a fun drive.

We drove up over the hill on route 28 just outside of the city. Brian had just passed a car and was still going pretty fast. I think he was coasting down to speed (I do that ALL the time, seriously. Easier on the brakes). I don’t remember saying it, but Kimmie told me later that I had said “You should probably slow down.” The music, Guns N’ Roses, was blaring though. We were enjoying ourselves, even if we had to scream at the top of our lungs just to hear each other. A car was coming up the other way, and didn’t turn down their high beams as they drove by. It blinded me and I assume Brian too, at the very least, because I didn’t see the sign that warned us of the curve up ahead. When my vision cleared, the first thing I saw were the yellow arrow signs usually associated with sharp turns, and it was about that point that I knew that something awful was going to happen.

On the way down the hill, 28 has a relatively sharp left turn as route 357 splits off and bears right. If I had to guess the speed at which that sign probably says, I’d have to say it probably recommended to take the speed at anywhere between 35 and 45 mph. I can usually get my dad’s car around any curve at approximately 15 mph over the speed listed on the sign. We could’ve gotten around that curve at 50, 55mph maybe even 60 if the recommended speed was 45. I think we hit that curve at speeds closer to 70.

The rear end spun out and around as we entered the turn. I think it actually took Brian by surprise, the way his hands jerked on the steering wheel. I don’t blame him; I saw that turn at the last minute as well. The instant we were off the road, I started to scream. I couldn’t stop screaming. I grabbed hold of Brian’s seat in front of me and braced myself for what I expected to be a very painful end. And the whole time I was just screaming Brian’s name, over and over. Perhaps a small part of me inwardly thought I could somehow channel my energy through to him and give him the power to stop the car. A bit naive of me, if I do say so myself.

We plowed through a road sign, flew off the ground over the slight incline, careered across the road that merged with 28, and slammed into a tree. I’m sure we hit it at speeds anywhere between 50 and 65. Initially, the car was moving sideways. I’m sure that we probably would have started rolling if Brian hadn’t kept his cool as well as he did. And I don’t know how he managed to more or less straighten us out, but he did, and while it resulted in us hitting the tree on the driver’s side, I’m positive that he saved our lives.

I screamed as the car buckled around me. I watched as the tree came through Brian’s door, shattering the glass and smashing the metal. I screamed as debris hit my face and shoulders. The entire side of the car we were on gave way inward. Brian’s seat came back and rammed against me, wedging my foot underneath. I couldn’t budge it. I thought in that instant, that I was going to crushed by hot, twisted metal, that I was going to die right then and there. My sister immediately came to mind; I knew she was right there next to me, and I could only think of the fact that I had invited her to come along and she could be dying right here with me.

We all jerked as the car came to an abrupt stop. I remember half-shrieking “Brian?!” I was instantly concerned about Brian, as I had watched him slam into the steering wheel. His head lolled about slightly for a few seconds before he managed to slur “Is everyone okay?” I went to move, but my foot was stuck. The smell was terrifying, and smoke was coming up from the engine. And I couldn’t move. I had to get out of the car and I couldn’t move. Brian made to move his seat back but I screamed “Don’t move the seat Brian, I can’t move my foot! I can’t move my foot! Oh my God, I can’t move!”

Kimmie was there, asking me about my foot. I pushed her away, not wanting her to stay in the wreckage any longer than necessary. I half-snapped in reply, “It’s stuck!” In a rush of adrenaline, I wrenched my foot out, abandoning my sandals in the process. I didn’t realize it until later, but that sandal probably saved my foot from seriously being crushed.

We climbed out of the car; Brian sat on the trunk (more or less intact, considering the condition of the rest of the vehicle) with blood covering his arm. There was already a couple (married, I assume) at the side of the road, making sure we were okay and calling 9-1-1 (which is good, because I had no service). I went back periodically to check on Brian, who was apologizing over and over and saying how he screwed up and that he was so sorry. I told him to just not think about it; that we’re all alive. EMS arrived and took over, sending me off to get checked. In retrospect, I should’ve provided neck stabilization until they arrived, but I wasn’t thinking about anything other than calming him down. We were questioned about the situation. I think I retold the story like, 50 times in the span of 5 minutes. The state trooper took my license. I haven’t seen it since (that bastard).

The EMS people took Joey, Kimmie and I by ambulance over to Fox. Brian had been back-boarded and transported ahead of us. The EMS crew were very lighthearted and nice and it helped to brighten the mood a little. I’m only amazed at how they can maintain such a cheerful demeanor considering the kinds of things they have to deal with on a day-by-day basis.

At the hospital, my hand, clavicle and shoulder were x-rayed. Nothing was broken, to my surprise (well, not the thumb because I already knew it was sprained). They gave me a sling and a splint for my thumb and sent me off. No offense, but the ER doctor was kind of an ass. Mike, the receptionist that Kimmie had told me about when her throat was bleeding after her surgery, was around, and he was pretty awesome in the few seconds that we interacted. Yes, he looks like he should be in Green Day’s band.

I plan on following up with Dr. Wiesner (an orthopedic) and Dr. Aaronson (a dentist… one of my teeth was knocked out of place and it HURTS). I sprained my right thumb, and SOMETHING happened to my left clavicle, I’m sure. One of my teeth, like I said, is out of place. Scrapes and bruises here and there, and a very sore neck are the only injuries besides those three.

The ride home was terrifying. Mom drove slower than she usually does, and I was pressed as far back against my seat as I could get. My shoulders were so tense, I could feel the knots forming.

Since then, I keep replaying the crash over and over in my head. Sucks that I couldn’t just close my eyes so I didn’t have to watch it happen. My mind prevented me from doing so, as if I could somehow see what was coming and dodge whatever came my way. If I don’t actively stop myself from thinking about it, the images come back as strong as ever.

I don’t think we’ve ever been as lucky as we were last night. I feel like if we had hit that any different, I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this blog post. All I know is, I’m just extremely thankful that we’re all alive and okay.

Comments (1) May 31 2010

No pun intended >.>

Anyway, it’s about 7 days, give a few hours, since I sustained my concussion. My follow-up for my concussion says I still have a concussion. Dr. Getzin recommend mental and physical rest, of course, and advised me to push back my midterms thank God; I was worried about that. I had taken my Bioethics midterm last Thursday and I couldn’t finish it . He said “no exercise”, which I knew and had already been doing with frustration (I hate not playing soccer). I still get headaches, and they worsen when I have to really concentrate on something. The sunlight hurts too, and not just my head but my eyes. Sleeping does help and I should do more of that, but since I’m going home in a couple of days, and since I don’t have a life outside of the house and Nat’s place, I think sleep won’t be an issue.

… Crap. I shouldn’t have stopped typing this to pull up a song… now I can’t remember what I was gonna write. Yea, my short-term memory has improved, but it’s not back to the way it was. Um… yea. Since I don’t remember what else I was going to say, I guess I’m done with this blog post =/

Comments (0) Mar 09 2010

Thank gawd it’s not broken. Though I’m not really good to go either. I dealt a good deal of damage to the soft tissue in my foot, so I’m to get the swelling down as best as I can, and I have a follow up appointment with Laurie (the orthopedic PA who saw me) in two weeks. It’s awesome, because Laurie was an ATC at IC, and she taught P&C so we had a nice little discussion about that good stuff, let me tell you.

The pain’s gotten better, but the bruises sure haven’t, lol. It sorta looks like death. I’ll take a pic or two and I’ll post another time.

Comments (0) Mar 31 2009

A bit delayed, seeing that my internet was back last Wednesday, but since I now have the time and the energy to actually post something, I’m finally here, posting something.

So first off, to reassure anyone who was worried about it, my knee’s fine. The doctor I saw told me that it was just a minor strain and so long as I iced i and used my brace, I’d be fine. And my knee’s doing good now too. Which is awesome, seeing as how I have a soccer game tonight.

Of course, G wouldn’t be G without fucking something else up to make up for the healed injury; I went ahead and re-fractured my tailbone Thursday night after I tripped over a guy that I had knocked over 5 seconds before (he’s cute too, lol). Wonderful stuff let me tell you.

Moving on… the doctor I saw on Wednesday I also saw to see if I can get started on correcting my clavicle. I know that you readers have probably read about this whole fiasco, and I’ll let you know, I’ve made some more progress. The doctor was perfectly willing to help me out, and I had to sign three different release forms so the doctor can get all the medical information that’s been accumulated over the years. Once she reviews that info, she’d be able to refer me, and not just to any doctor, but the doctor I was wanted to go to! This makes me a lot happier than I was when I started out on this nightmare of an adventure.

Infant’s still an infant… I don’t know how many of you actually know who I’m talking about, but to summarize, he’s very retarded and immature, hence why I call him Infant. I sorta feel like I need to slap him around to get it through his thick skull that there is no way in all hell I would EVER go out with him. Even if he was the last man on earth, I wouldn’t even contemplate it. I’d probably kill myself instead.

In other news, the sun burned me, again. So now I’m gonna actually be careful in the early track season when I’m out in the sun for 8 hours non stop (I was working at the meet as opposed to actually competing). Other than that, I’ve been putting the lotion on the affected areas and whatnot. Hopefully the peeling won’t be as bad as when I got burnt last year…. THAT was hellish…

Oh! I promised I’d get you a picture of my tattoo, did I not? Well here you go; take a gander:

It only cost $100, which is a good deal, considering the guy who did it said that they usually charged $120-150 for four characters. I love how it came out. The tattoo artist made it so that the characters look like brush strokes, which has a more natural feel to it. I’m actually thinking about getting one more tattoo; it would be on my left shoulder blade, and it wouldn’t be too big, the character would probably just be a little bigger than the size of the characters in my name, and it’d be the kanji for “energy”. Any opinions on it?

Comments (1) Mar 29 2009

I’m posting two posts today, since I realized I have a lot to say. But since it’s been a while since I updated, I wanted to let you know how the medical junk is going.

It’s going well… actually, it’s currently going no where, since I’m waiting for our insurance to actually kick in before I start talking to people. So far, however, I have two prospective (I don’t think this word is even in context but whatever. It’s Monday, sue me) orthopedics on my mind that I hope I’ll be able to see one of them for my clavicle.

The first one, Dr. Toni McLauren, is a trauma/fracture specialist based in New York City. I learned about her with the help of a wonderful communications coordinator at NYU’s medical center (I didn’t know they had a med school… potential school for later on yaaaaaay), and got her contact info and everything. She even takes GHI, which is awesome, because that’s the kind of health insurance we’re about to get. Another plus is that NYU’s med center is a research hospital. Cutting edge stuff, the most up to date technology. Good stuff, indeed.

And what I like even more about Dr. McLauren is that she’s female — I never find female orthopedic surgeons, and I’ll be honest, I have a personal bias for female doctors, since 1) the majority of doctors I’ve seen are female, and 2) males doctors just seem more stupid, 3) female doctors just seem more in tune to understanding their patient’s needs and 4) Male dentists traumatize me (a little off subject, but it matters). The only downside to this is that she’s in the city. No, it has absolutely nothing to do with transportation — I’d love to go back down to the city since it’s been a while since I’ve been down there. The issue related more to the insurance company.

I’m not sure how GHI works, and more than anything I don’t know how big my ‘network’ is. I don’t know if it’s within 100 miles of where I live (that’s the only way we could search), and I don’t know if it’s more likely that I can see anyone in the state of NY without too much trouble. If it is a 100 mile radius, then I’m going to have to jump through a hell of a lot of hoops to get downstate to see McLauren.

The other doctor, who was recommended to me by an ATC on Yahoo Answers, is Dr. Leslie J. Bisson, based in the orthopedic facility at the University of Buffalo’s med school (another potential school for later yaaaaay). He’s actually done research and published studies specifically on clavicular osteonomies. And if that’s not a good sign that he’d be a good candidate for such, I don’t know what would be.

The only thing is that he’s definitely more than 100 miles away, just like McLauren is. And actually, I don’t even know if the guy takes GHI. He is a bit closer than McLauren, but not within that 100 miles radius, once again. So we’ll just have to hope that, once again, I’ll be able to jump through enough hoops to get me sent to either one of these doctors.

(Honestly, I feel like I’d be better off seeing an orthopedic who’s based in a med school, and I’m not exactly sure why, but they seem like they’re more… idk… experienced… that’s not the best word to describe it. I’m gonna assume you know what I’m talking about)

Of course, it still doesn’t solve the insurance idiot problem. But since I had a few tricks of my sleeve as well, I have the feeling that in the end, I’m gonna get my freakin’ way. After all, I know the insurance people don’t really care, but they will care if I continuously give them hell every day until they do listen to what I have to say *evil grin*.

Comments (0) Feb 23 2009