On a roll...

Literally.

Saturday night, May 21st around 7:00 pm, Ellie and I went for a ride. We were coming back from Oxford where we were getting a few things for my upcoming Ireland trip.

Ellie and I were about a mile away from SIFAT on County Road 113, when I drove onto the grass on the right side of the road with my right side wheels. This scared me pretty bad, so I tried to correct myself by turning the steering wheel to the left. This sent me to the left side of the road where my left side wheels drove onto the grass. This again scared me, so I tried to correct myself by turning the steering wheel back to the right. At this point, I am headed straight for the woods while trying to press the brakes as to slow me down. The brakes lock up and I am sent skidding toward the right side of the road again.

Although all of this was happening very quickly, in my mind, I knew I was going to wreck. I just didn't know how it would end. About the time I realized I was having a wreck, my left front tire hit a ditch and Ellie went for a roll. We did a full 360* flip and landed back on the wheels of the car. During the flip, I was thinking, "So this is what it feels like to flip your car!"

Once everything stopped, I could not hear a thing (even though my car was beeping from the keys still being in the ignition and the radiator making a "hiss" noise). My first reaction was some coughing from an awful smell coming from the airbag fumes and gases. Once I opened my eyes, I tried to roll down my window to get some air. Nothing. I tried to open my door to get out. Nothing. I looked down to what hurt the most. My right forearm. There was (and still is) a pretty good burn. I looked at the airbag, which had a manufactured hole in it, and realized that was most likely where the burn came from. At this point, I decided that I probably needed to get out of the car as quickly as possible, so I crawled over to the right side of the car to get out on the passengers side. I had to step through some major brush and briars to get to the road. 

There was actually a small white car that passed me and did not turn around. I felt a little discouraged by this, so in my state of not thinking straight, I walked back to the car to try and get my keys out and to look for my phone to call someone. No success on either of those things. While I was back at my car, a silver van passed me and my first thought was, "They probably won't turn around either." 

So, I made my way back to the road ready to walk back to SIFAT and said out loud, "Well, here I go!" About that time, I see the silver van coming back down the hill toward me. The van slowed down to a stop and I realized that I knew the driver. At the time I could not place how I knew who he was, but later Nate told me that he was Mr. Morales. The father of one of the families that we hang out with at County Road 88 every Thursday. He asked if I was ok and I showed him my burn. I asked if he could take me to Nate and he, of course, said yes. Once I got in the van and we were driving to SIFAT, Mr. Morales asked me what happened. I recounted the story in a bit of a haze and confusion -- probably not making much sense. He had recognized my car and turned around to see if I was ok.

When I was finished rambling, Mr. Morales had one thing left to say, 

"The Lord told me to come this way. Praise the Lord."

To which I replied, "Yes. Praise God."

**This is a bit of a side story: When Mr. Morales and I were about to turn onto Aldea Road at SIFAT, we passed Addison in his truck. He did not realize that I was in the passengers seat of the van. The little white car that passed me and did not turn around, found Addison at SIFAT and told him that a lady had a wreck and her truck was on fire. Addison, not knowing they were talking about my car, jumped in his truck and started down the road to find the truck on fire on the side of the road. He actually passed my car because he didn't see the fire, but once he realized that it was my car, he rushed over to see if I was ok. He opened the door and saw that I was no longer there (because I was in the silver van) and that there was no blood. So, Addison drove back to SIFAT to find Nate.**

When Mr. Morales and I got to the Bunkhouse, we find Nate doing the laundry. He came out to say hello and his first thought is, "Why did she go to County Road 88?" and "Maybe Laura's car broke down and he picked her up." because I wasn't crying or bleeding, just in shock. When I get out of the van to see him, I began to freak out a little. The chemicals from the airbag were getting into my system and making my face tingle and go numb and my breathing was rapid. Nate and I made our way to the porch of the Bunkhouse, so I could sit and calm down a little. After checking me thoroughly to make sure I didn't have a concussion or broken bones, Nate and Addison decided that they needed to go back and deal with the wrecker, police, and rescue squad. They did a very fine job working with the fine men of the Randolph County police and rescue crew. After the car was removed from the side of the road, the crew came over to mine and Nate's house to make sure that I was doing ok and to get things out of my car before taking it to the wrecker yard. 

When everyone finally drove away, Nate, Addison, and I sat on the porch recounting everything that happened. I wish that I could say I slept well that night, but it was quite the opposite. Replaying it all, over and over made for a sleepless night. Not to mention my arm hurt quite a bit. The next day, we decided to get away from SIFAT and head to Cheaha for a day outside and for a day of climbing. (I took part in spending they day outside, the others took part in both outside and climbing.) I'm thankful for that day because of the weather, the friends, being away from SIFAT, not having to focus on everything that happened and keeping my mind off of the pain of the burn. Plus, we went and ate at Fuji and had some sushi rolls in honor of me "rolling" Ellie. 

I am thankful that it all ended this way instead of something much, much worse. Thank God for airbags (except for the burning part), seat belts, the Yakima roof rack (which Nate believes kept my side windows from shattering), and the privet that stopped me from rolling into a rather large pine tree.

(You can see the faint tire marks starting at the bottom the picture on the left side of the road going toward the right side of the road.)

(This is the mess of brush and briars that I landed in, with Nate checking out the pieces of my car that fell off.)

(The burn on my arm. Sorry for the graphic picture.)

Now, starts the recovery process, the insurance company process, and the Ireland trip process. As for Ellie, I think her feelings are a little hurt and I am afraid we won't be seeing much of each other anymore. She was a great car and she saved my life.

(At Cheaha State Park for a beautiful day of climbing and watching the sun go down. This is the day after the wreck.)

Gratitude goes out to: praising the Lord for the breath that I am breathing, for the opportunity to tell my dear family that I love them so very much, for my supportive friends who have offered all kinds of help, for Mr. Morales and his family, and for the work that I know I am here for. Obviously God isn't done with the work that he has for me to do, so here's to hitting the ground running! 

**Yes, mothers in my life, I am taking care of the burn with antibiotic ointments and keeping it covered when outside and at night. I'll keep you posted on the progress!