I remember the day as if it were yesterday. My mother and I were in the car on our way to a family member’s house- just like any other day. We were driving down the main road in my town when the car was t-boned by another car that had run a red light. Our Honda Accord was smashed to pieces in the middle of the intersection. My mother was bleeding and the front of the car had crashed on top of my legs- I couldn’t feel either leg, but at the same time, tremendous pain shot through my body, not to mention fear. I looked over at the car that hit us and it was just as demolished- the front of the car was smoking; honestly, I feared that one of the vehicles might combust.
I tried to get out of my vehicle, but I could not open the door. The impact from the crash caused too much damage and my injured mother and I had no choice but to wait for the EMTs to arrive to help us get out of the vehicle.
Several cop cars, two ambulances and a fire truck rushed to the scene. The doors to our car were pried open with the jaws of life as the man who hit us was placed onto a gurney and lifted into the ambulance. I don’t know what his condition was, but if it even paled in comparison to the way his car looked after the accident, he was in serious medical condition.
When my mother was removed from our vehicle, she was treated by EMS workers for cuts and scrapes associated with the accident, but the EMS technicians said that she would be fine. I wasn’t as lucky.
When the doors on my side of the car were pried away, it revealed to the medical help that I had broken at least one of my legs, if not both. I was carefully removed from the vehicle and placed in a wheelchair then brought to the ambulance. The EMTs drove me to the local hospital where they took X-rays of both of my legs.
I waited anxiously in my bed for the results of the X-rays as the nurses cleaned up my cuts from the shattered glass. My mother sat by my bedside praying over me, but most of me was just thankful that I was the one in the hospital bed instead of her.
The doctor came into the room with my X-ray results. As an athlete and an overall busy person who relies on my legs heavily, I feared for the worst. Luckily, it could have been worse. The doctor revealed to me that I shattered my right knee but that my left leg did not break in the impact. Although I would have to undergo intense surgery and physical rehabilitation to repair my right knee, the doctor assured me that I would be walking fine again within several months. It wasn’t the greatest news I had ever received, but through my eyes, my mother and I were okay, and I was grateful.
The accident changed me. The surgery was difficult but I got through it with the support of my family. I may have walked out of the hospital with a broken right knee, but I also carried with me a greater appreciation for my family, as well as my life. In the accident I realized the preciousness of every moment and ultimately the car crash changed my life for the better.
Since the accident I have become closer to God, my family and my friends. I understand the importance of what true love is and what it means to savor each moment. My rehabilitation for my knee might have been a physical healing process, but I also went through an emotional rehabilitation, where my spirit healed from the accident.
I could have died that day. Worse, I could have lost my best friend and my mother that day. I carry the accident with me in my mind every day- it is my constant reminder to cherish life and appreciate every moment. I have a set of rosary beads that I know hang off the rear view window of my own car, as my personal reminder of that day. When I look at those beads, I think of my mother, I think of God, and I am truly grateful for being where I am today.
For a long time I struggled to look at my glass as half full after the accident. I wanted reasons for questions that had no answers. Why us? Why me? Why my knee? For months I took those questions and fostered them into hostility.
Today is different though. Today I carry my scars like badges of honor. Yes I did get in a horrible car accident, and here I am today. Clearly I wasn’t meant to die that day- and I know that ultimately I am on this earth to serve a larger purpose. Instead of being ashamed of my scars, today I look at them as markers of strength- proof that I can overcome anything. That accident may have broken my knee but it didn’t break my spirit. If anything, it made my spirit stronger and helped me get to where I am today.
