April 10th: Almost died.

[Neomega]

Damn. Snapped femur? Broken vertabrae? Damn!

No I haven't, but this weekend, I went to Mt. Rainier with a friend. Obviously she doesn't country drive often, because she made a very bad pass that almost killed us, made both the truck she was passing, and the car in the oncoming lane swerve onto the shoulders.... and she almost went from friend to somebody I hate for it. It was so stupid I was livid.

 

[emzie]

Holy autocensorword!

I think it's only natural that the woman's death would pain you. It's good that you acknowledge that. A friend of my wife's crushed a motorcycle passenger's skull (motorcycle operator's fault) and refuses to this day to deal with it.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Wow. I can see where they cut the A and C-pillars to get you out, but I can also see the left front tire embeddded in the area where your legs were supposed to be. You are one lucky guy!

I have a couple of questions about the accident if you don't mind. Were you wearing a seatbelt? Was she? Did your car have an airbag? Did the seat back ratchet mechanism fail from the impact, or was it pushed back by the emergency workers?

Regarding death, a fellow club racer hydroplaned on the front straight and hit the pit exit wall squarely with the back of his car during qualifying just before I was supposed to go out to qualify myself. The event was suspended for 3 hours while a highway patrol officer investigated the incident. Almost half the racers decided to quit for the weekend, but I decided to go ahead and qualify and race even though it rained for the rest of the weekend. For about a month or so afterwards, I constantly thought about him and the way he died, and wondered if I really wanted to do this as a hobby when it could have such negative repercussions. What made it even worse was that he had a wife and 2 kids. Gradually, I thought about it less and less. Now, I can't even remember his name...

Two events later, another driver died of a heart attack during his race. His death didn't really affect me that much. It happens fairly frequently in club racing even though they require a medical exam from a doctor and an EKG if there is any doubt about your heart or you are over a certain age.

 

[Cutlass]

I'm glad that you survived and will recover.

To your question, fortunately for me I have not been in that bad of a situation or been there when someone else was. My brother once saw one of his friends die in a motorcycle crash. Myself, I suffered moderate neck injuries about 1 1/2 years ago when I was rear ended by a reckless (uninsured) driver while waiting at a a stoplight. Someone in the other car was more seriously injured, but I never found out the full extent of it.

 

[Mirc]

Wow. It's great to hear you're recovering so well! Thanks for letting us know!!!

I've been staring at that pic for a few minutes and I still can't take my eyes off that car and in what a bad shape it is.

 

[warpus]

Man, that's INSANE. I'm glad you're okay!

Have any of you been in a similar near death-type situation?

The closet I've come to anything like this (and it's not even remotely close) was when I was riding my bike (regular bike, I'm not a biker) down the street, and the front wheel somehow came off, and I went flying over the handlebars and hit the aslphalt face first. I was knocked out cold and had a brain hemorrage.. and half my face was bloody and messed up. I had to get some stiches - and have a couple scars on my face as a result.

Now, the weirdest part of all this was that I don't even remember any of the accident.. which I'm told is normal, but it's still weird.. I mean, I don't even remember the events leading up to the accident! From what I remember, I'm riding down the street, and next thing I know, I'm waking up in the hospital. It's so bizarre - it's like that part of my life was just erased from my mind.

It took me about a month and a half to get better - for the first couple weeks I couldn't even think straight - my mind was very slow. I couldn't do full days at work.. it's like my brain was rebooted. It was very weird.

What made it a lot easier though, is FAMILY. When I woke up in hospital, they were right there, all of them.. To see them there meant a lot to me - it made me feel safe.. I mean, I didn't even know where I was or what had happened.

So I"m glad you're okay and that you have had such great support from your friends and family - something very important after an experience like that.

 

[Flying Pig]

I've been near quite a lot of messy deaths; it doesn't bother me much. I tend to be pretty good at avoiding it, though I know General Blood-and-Guts Patton died in a motor accident.

 

[Aegis]

You need to go play the lotto tonight, because you are one lucky SOB for surviving that wreck. How's your insurance/military handling it? Will everything be paid in full for you?

Too bad the other driver didn't make it, but it was her fault, after all. How old was she?

 

[bhsup]

Dear God Very glad to hear you're gonna make a full physical recovery! I only hope you're able to come to terms with the pain you're feeling over the other driver.

As far as near deaths for me, I've not ever really been in a near death where I was horribly injured. Just had about four near misses with my life.

Grandma passed away in front of the family. We knew she was dying and everyone was at the hospital. I was sitting right behind grandpa next to her when she finally passed. It was very difficult, but then again she was 88 and had lived a full life.

 

[Flying Pig]

I've lent a hand at a few car accidents - even by normal standards, that's a bad one. Sorry the other driver didn't make it.

 

[JerichoHill]

John,

As I messaged you, I was in an accident cause by poor road conditions near Jackson Mississippi going 65 in a 70 mph zone. The car split in half on a tree, and I walked away with not one injury. I found out from many folks who pulled over that there had been several fatal wrecks in that area over the last month. A few weeks later I lost a good friend when her car flipped over on her way home from college. Two years after that, I saw an SUV flip over on a highway and I ran across traffic to help get people out of there. I think 1 guy died.

It does change how you view things. We're here for you

 

[JohnRM]

Wow. I can see where they cut the A and C-pillars to get you out, but I can also see the left front tire embeddded in the area where your legs were supposed to be. You are one lucky guy!

I have a couple of questions about the accident if you don't mind. Were you wearing a seatbelt? Was she? Did your car have an airbag? Did the seat back ratchet mechanism fail from the impact, or was it pushed back by the emergency workers?

Seatbelt; absolutely, though they originally thought no, because I unbuckled it right after the crash...it is the only thing I remember immediately after impact.

I don't know if she was wearing hers.

Airbag; yes, thank God.

Seat; no clue.

 

[JohnRM]

You need to go play the lotto tonight, because you are one lucky SOB for surviving that wreck. How's your insurance/military handling it? Will everything be paid in full for you?

Too bad the other driver didn't make it, but it was her fault, after all. How old was she?

I unknowingly had pretty much the worst auto insurance you could have. I thought that if I didnt cause the accident, then I didnt need good coverage. WRONG. Anyway, between my and her insurance, they covered as much of the bills as they could. Now my personal health insurance is in effect. Fortunately, I have about the best personal health insurance you can get. Booyah!

 

[Padma]

Wow, John! Glad to hear you're doing okay, and that the prognosis is so good.

Sorry to hear about the other driver. One thing that might help is to remember that, ultimately, we are only responsible for our own actions. She took the actions that resulted in her own death, and nearly in yours. You are not responsible for her death, nor for her actions leading up to it.

 

[LucyDuke]

I'm glad you survived! Also that you can expect full recovery - that is amazing and awesome. The internet cares about you.

Another "if you don't mind my asking", how fast were each of you traveling?

And also:

I don't want to waste time being afraid.

Can I sig this?

 

[jessiecat]

Lucky escape John. Hope you make a complete recovery.

As for near-death experiences, I very nearly drowned while snorkelling in the Med once and had to be saved by mouth-to-mouth. Very frightening and eerie experience as you can imagine. Again, glad to have you back.

 

[PeteAtoms]

Hey John, my heart and thoughts go out to you man. I can't imagine experiencing such a life changing event. I sincerely hope you make a full recovery without any serious chronic pain for the rest of your life.

To answer your questions, no to both.

 

[Richard Cribb]

Glad to hear that you survived this terrible accident.
As for your questions

Have any of you been in a similar near death-type situation?
Not anything exactly like it, been in a couple of car accidents of the lighter kind only, but I have been close to death a couple of times due to illness.
- At 13, my appendix bursted. A very close call.
- Last year, I almost died by a viral infection in my stomach.That one turned out to have a positive side-effect, since it lead tothediscovery that I have celiaki.

Have any of you been present when somebody died and did it bother you, at all?

I was present when my grandmother died 9 years ago. It was not a pleasant experience.

EDIT: For the record, the doctors expect me to make a full recovery. No disabilities.

That is good news indeed.

 

[mech654]

Anyway, that leads me to two questions.

Have any of you been in a similar near death-type situation?

Have any of you been present when somebody died and did it bother you, at all?


EDIT: For the record, the doctors expect me to make a full recovery. No disabilities.

Glad to hear that you survived and you recovery very well.

1) When I 10 years old, I was out side and I triped and I hit my forehead on a shove. I remember seeing a lot blood before I passed out.

2) I never being in that situation.

 

[Narz]

Luckily, my balls are okay!

Whew!!

What an experience. I'm glad you're alright. It sucks about the other driver but it sounds like there was nothing you could have done, no one wants to get into a head on collision.

Rest up & feel better! I hope you come out of this stronger than before & with a new lease on life!