wadecherry.com
Sunday May 11th, 2008
Car Accident
I was released from the hospital last night after being in a car accident on Friday. Thankfully everything is fine. My head and neck still hurt a bit but my memory and brain seem to be functioning normally, i.e. normally as in "the same as before the accident". Hehe, I don't want any smart alec comments on my blog =). I blacked out and my memory from when the accident occurred until about 6 hours afterwards is very spotty. As such, I will try to recall what I can remember:

At around 4pm, as I was leaving Motorola on Marcano and turning left onto University, a car driving north bound on University hit the front left of my car. I remember seeing smoke (which was probably from the airbags), trying to move the gearshift into park, trying to open my door (i think it was stuck), and vaguely remember thinking that I need to get out of the passenger side door. I assume I climbed over and got out of the passenger side of the door but not entirely sure. Nonetheless, I got out of the car and was sitting in the grass on the side of the road. I remember trying to think what day it was and was concerned because I could not remember. Not even close; as in I didn't know what month or year it was. The next thing I remember was being inside the ambulance. I only have a snippet of memory from there. After that, I was in a hospital bed in a room at the ER (at Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation). I do remember my doctor was an Indian guy whose name was Venkatasamy or some such. My nurse was Greg. I vaguely remember other doctors and nurses coming in and asking me questions, taking blood, etc. Apparently during this time I had a catscan but I have no recollection of that. I think it was around 6:30pm my friends arrived and my memory was improving a bit. I vaguely remember trying to make jokes and whatnot; probably my reaction to stressful situations. Mike, Byron, Shea, Meredith, and Jackie were all there and Kelly came later. Apparently, a police officer came to the house so Byron knew where I was and that I had been in a car accident. Everyone said I was repeating myself and my short-term memory was almost nonexistent. I also remember Phillip calling but Shea was there and answered the phone. It was a call to the hospital, not my cell phone. All my stuff, including my cell phone, was still in the car at Interstate Towing. It's still there as they are closed until Monday.

Since I had a concussion and was not acting normally, the doctors told me I would have to spend the night at the hospital and have more tests done in the morning. They moved me out of ER to the fifth floor. I was not allowed any food and at first was not allowed water. At about midnight I tried going to sleep. I remember being slightly paranoid about the saline drip injecting air bubbles into my bloodstream. That, along with the noises from the medical equipment, and someone down the hall moaning all night, I didn't sleep so well. I vaguely remember someone coming in at 3am, I believe they took blood but not sure. Another nurse came in at 5:30am. Someone else came in with breakfast but I just fell back asleep. Finally, I got up around 8:30am (I think) and ate some full-liquid-diet breakfast. Yum. To conduct tests, I was moved from my room to the downstairs labs by the transporter (such a cool name for a not-so-cool job). I had another catscan and five neck x-rays. All tests came back negative and I was told I would likely be released from the hospital. By this time, I felt a lot better, my memory was all coming back, and I felt normal again. Byron and Shea stopped by with my glasses just after lunchtime. Speaking of lunch, I had gelatin cubes, pudding, and strained soup. Mmmm-Mmmm. As soon as my primary care doctor reviewed the x-rays, they would release me. Since we weren't sure how long it would take, Byron and Shea went to the car dealership to look for a new car. I listened to some hip-hop from Jackie's iPod, watched some Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on USA and they finally released me at around 5:30pm. Byron and Shea were still at the car dealership so Mike picked me up.

Just wanted to give a special thank-you to all my friends who helped out during this time. Please do not feel hurt in some way because I did not call you. I did not have my cell phone with me (and I still don't have it) so I didn't have any phone numbers. Plus I wasn't exactly coherent through this whole thing. Everything now seems fine. I slept 11 hours last night and, except for a slight pain in my head and neck, everything is good.
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Sunday May 11th, 2008

Rohit says:

God... that was frightening!

Sunday May 11th, 2008

Aunt Mary B. says:

Glad you're okay. Frightening indeed.

Sunday May 11th, 2008

Dad says:

Knock some sense into ya! Who's Car? did you have a seat belt on? Where did you hit, front, back, side? Take care!

Sunday May 11th, 2008

Wade says:

Yes, I had my seatbelt on, and a small bruise on my left shoulder to prove it - the only exterior mark that showed I had been in an accident. I have no idea what part of my head was hit, I assume the back part, which is where it hurts the most, but that's just a guess. It was my car, the RSX, which kind of puts a damper on our plans to drive it up to Atlanta; I saw the police officer yesterday and he said it was totaled.

Sunday May 11th, 2008

Carrie says:

Glad to hear you're OK, let us know if you need anything.

Sunday May 11th, 2008

Candee says:

Glad to hear you are okay. I wish I could have been there with you in the hospital. Our phone numbers are 770 xxx xxxx or 404 xxx xxxx [edited] in case you need them before you get your cell phone back.

Sunday May 11th, 2008

DD says:

Wow, I'm glad you're OK. Did they catch the person that hit you?

Sunday May 11th, 2008

Dad says:

You can buy a new one when you get back from CR, we'll rent for Candee, OK and Austin, maybe, what you think? Call when you get your phone.

Tuesday May 13th, 2008

SR says:

I'm glad you're ok, EP! What a weekend, huh? We can go car shopping together! (although, I'll probably just get the same car again. . .is that lame?)

Wednesday May 14th, 2008

Ali says:

So sorry to hear about your accident! Hope your doing better now, take it easy for a while.

Wednesday May 14th, 2008

Leslie says:

WOW! Glad you are ok. Now you can justify getting that new car.

Monday May 19th, 2008

Kristin says:

What a harrowing ordeal! I am very glad to hear that you will be OK.