Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Set-Backs and Rear-Enders

If you haven't already figured it out by now, I'm going to tell you something you may or may not already know:  I haven't had the best 2 weeks of my life recently.  And it just got a bit worse.

I had a work-related meeting yesterday afternoon close to the big city.  The boys were staying at my best friend's house for the afternoon while I attended the meeting.  On the way to pick them up, I was involved in a minor vehicle accident.  I was rear-ended and suffered some injuries to my face, neck and also my back, which I am only beginning to feel today.

What happened at the time of the accident is a bit of a blur to me, but thankfully I had enough sense to know that I had to get my vehicle out of the way so that the beginnings of rush-hour traffic would not be slowed down.  Thinking that the person who hit me knew they hit me and would offer to exchange information for insurance purposes, I pulled over to the side of the road and out of the main flow of traffic as soon as possible.  I could immediately feel immense pain on the left side of my face and particularly at my left temple, but I was trying to be as diligent and responsible as possible after the accident, so I ignored it and got the car safely parked on the side of the street.  I got out of my car, thinking that the person who hit me would immediately follow.  That was not the case.  They drove away!  There is no way they didn't know they hit me.  They left an imprint of their front license plate in the dust on my bumper!  And while I do not know if they intentionally hit me or not, I get the feeling that from their actions following the hit, they in fact meant to hit me.  The police are classifying this as a hit and run vehicular accident, but because I don't have much supporting evidence and apparently no other witnesses to the accident, there isn't much they can do to find the person who hit me.  The only thing I know about the vehicle is that it was white--very white--very clean, and it was either a PT Cruiser or an HHR.  I don't even know if the driver was male or female.  But what I do know is that they hurt me and have done nothing to make amends.  They haven't even acknowledged what they've done!  That hurts!

I saw a doctor after visiting the police station and aside from taking pain-killers and icing my wound, there isn't a whole lot more that can be done.  I have taken the day off from work because my eye is almost completely swollen shut this morning, and my driving with only one good eye doesn't seem very responsible to me.  Plus, I'm still in quite a bit of pain and my back is now starting to feel the effects of the accident.

I would say that this is a set-back for me in so many ways.  While I am trying to stay positive about the changes going on in my life, this just makes me feel worse about everything.  I should be at work but now I might be out for several more days.  I need to be there so that I can get into the groove.  My house is in upheaval right now because over the weekend Wayne installed more flooring.  He's almost done our flooring project--only 64 more square feet to install in our second entrance way.  I've been rearranging furniture and had every intention of sewing curtains this afternoon after work, but that will now need to be put on hold.  Our surplus of items that were being stored in the office now need to find new homes as well.  But that means carrying boxes up and down stairs and doing a lot of work with my arms/shoulders and right now that isn't possible.  By today I wanted to have our office back to normal condition; but with my extended stay in the city last night due to a visit to the doctor and police station, NOTHING was accomplished yesterday; and now I'm not sure when I'll feel up to getting back at it.  My mind says "Yes, do it," but my body tells me otherwise.

I know I need to rest.  And I need to ice my wound some more.  But when I see everything around me that is creating a sense of chaos, I have a hard time leaving it alone.

I guess I'm feeling a bit helpless right now and am lacking understanding as to how I am to make the most of this situation.  Please pray that I have a speedy recovery and that there are no long-term effects on my body due to the accident.

Here are some photos of my face for your enjoyment.  The first two were taken last night, about 6 hours after the accident.  Today my face is not as puffy, but rather, more purple.  A beautiful shade of purple--the last picture is how it's looking today :(  The last picture shows how it's progressed . . . day 4 (Saturday, Sept. 11/10).

Above photos:  6 hours after the accident.
The day after the accident . . . on day 3 it was even more purple
but I didn't take any pictures that day :(
This is what it looks like on day 4.

5 comments:

Kim said...

Aww Kim, I hope you're feeling better soon. Wish I could come and give you a hand and have a good visit. Sending a hug your way!

Jen said...

That's terrible what happened. I hope you'll start feeling better soon. I'm praying for you.

michelle said...

Kim...I'm so sorry that happened to you. It is really too bad that the person didn't even bother to stop to make sure you were all right. How very frustrating! Take care of yourself. I hope you are doing better today and that the back/neck issues don't become more of a problem.

Michelle

~Rain``` said...

We have been praying for you and even our little girl has added you to her evening prayers. Her prayers recently have been, "Auntie Kim bumped her head." Take care my dear.

Stacey said...

insane! that eye looked TERRIBLE! hope you are healing!!