04/06/2024
This past Wednesday, I was driving through an expressway interchange going from one major highway to another. It was a one-lane situation, with the short concrete wall to my left and a small shoulder to the right of my lane. Strangely, I saw a pickup truck parked on the shoulder here, what a weird place to break down?! I let my foot off the gas, and before I could get a "what the f..." out of my mouth, the person in the truck threw it in reverse and floored it. The truck swerved a little before coming directly into me while I was traveling around 60mph and smashed both of us into the concrete wall.
A kind woman came running up to my car, she couldn't quite make it to my driver's side window as it was smashed into the wall. She called 911 and talked to me while emergency services arrived. She witnessed the man in the truck getting out of his vehicle and running away from the scene of the accident.
I knew immediately I had broken my leg. My dog was in the car with me and she was my primary concern, I felt her all over and she was, to my surprise, just fine as far as I could tell. Thank you airbags. I made some calls while waiting for EMS to arrive and some amazing friends came to pick up my pup, and then the fire department got to work. A firefighter had to crawl in through the tailgate of my SUV since that was the only access. He and I were both amazed that aside from the clearly broken leg, I had no other noticeable injuries. They had to pull the truck off of my car before sawing open the passenger side of my vehicle to get me out. The friend who picked up my dog said he couldn't believe a living person had come out of my vehicle. The steering wheel ended up just a few inches from my abdomen, but the engine did not come through into the passenger compartment. Crumple zones work. The parking brake pedal appears to be the culprit for my broken leg.
I am lucky in so many ways. I never hit my head or lost consciousness. No neck or spinal injuries. I was wearing my seatbelt. My Nissan Rogue has (had) amazing safety features. My dog was in the car with me, and aside from being shaken up, she was totally fine. I was taken to U of M hospital, where I had surgery to repair my badly broken leg the next morning. I have some new hardware and am a step closer to becoming Wolverine.
I came home from the hospital last night, and although I'm NOT COMFORTABLE it's definitely improving. The parade of friends and family helps bolster my spirits and distract me from discomfort, I can't thank you all enough. The surgeon told me this was a "really bad" break and would hurt for a long time, but will get better slowly. Thankfully, I've been cleared to return to The College Of Scent Dogs Ltd in May.
Hug your dogs today, drive carefully, and wear your seatbelt.
