I want to thank all of our friends and family who have offered their healing wishes for us. They must be working because we are on the road again and tonight we are half way home in Salt Lake, UT.
Several people reading about this episode were outraged by the actions of the other party and wanted more information. Yesterday before we left Albuquerque we were able to obtain the police report. The driver of the other car was a 20 year old male who claims we came into his lane. There were no witnesses, however after taking the statement the officer made this conclusion:
"My opinion is based on evidence at the scene, in this scenario tire marks and yaw marks. I believe that vehicle #2 is at fault, and that vehicle #2 struck vehicle #1 from behind."
By the way, a 'yaw mark' is basically a skid mark.
Also, the other driver 'couldn't find' his insurance information!
We're putting this behind us as we get closer to home and plan to have a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope that all of you are blessed with a peaceful and safe holiday.
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Side tracked in Albuquerque, NM
This is a post that is being written to both inform those interested in the details of the accident we had coming home, but also it's been written to help me to preserve details of the event in case they are needed later in time.
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On Saturday November 20, 2010 we spent the night in Santa Rosa, NM; the next morning we left around 7 AM in the morning to get on the road. Our plan was to drive to Grand Junction, CO and spend the night with our friends Marsha and Tim.
At approximately 8:30 AM Mountain time our plans had an abrupt change. We were in Albuquerque, NM on Hwy 40 west and we were a few miles from exiting to Hwy 25 North when our car was struck from behind. I was napping with my seat slightly reclined and William was on my lap; needless to say I awoke immediately and I think Hubby yelled 'We've been hit". Even he didn't see what had happened to us.
The initial impact was on the passenger rear of the car and we started skidding out of control. Although it took seconds, it seemed like minutes that we were helpless and skidding toward the concrete barrier in the middle of the highway. I know I was screaming and I sensed the dogs were scared.
We hit the barrier and skidded down the face of the barrier predominately on the driver's side of the car before coming to a stop. The skidding along the barrier removed most of the information from the metal license plate on the front of the car.My chest felt like it had taken the brunt of the impact and I had a little trouble breathing.
Hubby said 'Call 911' and I did and as I did people started coming over to the car to help.I wasn't able to give the 911 operator the location of our accident because I had been asleep. At this time Hubby is complaining of severe back pain. I handed the phone to one of the people who had come to assist us for them to give location information.
Hubby used my phone to call Amy to tell her what had happened and then he put my phone in his pocket.
It seemed like the police, ambulances and firetruck were there immediately. The asked hubby if he could get out of the car and he said 'No' because of his back pain. The ambulance personnel prepared him to have a head brace and be transported by ambulance.
I was able to get out of the car on my own and thank heavens had the presence of mind to pull out my camera. I knew that pictures I took could be very important in the future. I also made sure hubby's phone and my purse were recovered from the vehicle. The attending officer (Officer Curtis) gave me a slip of paper with his name, our case number and where the car would be towed.
I rode in the ambulance with hubby; it seemed like the hospital was very close to where we crashed because it didn't take much time to get there. In the ambulance I started to feel more pain in my neck region and was given a blanket to wrap around my neck to help brace it. We were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital.
At the hospital I was put in a wheel chair and hubby and I were separated; hubby went to the trauma area and I was taken to the triage area.
The police officer who was at the scene came to check on me and I he helped me get hubby's phone to him and get my phone from him. This became our only way to get updates on each other; but our batteries were low so we had to turn the phone off as much as we could.
At admissions, a neck brace was put on my neck and I was transferred to a stretcher and put in the hallway of the triage area where I would spend the next 19 hours.
There were X-rays that were taken of my spine and neck area; those seemed to occur rather quickly in relation to my admission to the hospital. After they were taken you're told to wait until a room is free in the emergency/trauma area where you will be transported and will be able to be seen by a Dr.
I had a neck brace on and had to lie on my back for at least 6 hours; I was VERY uncomfortable and started to get very thirsty and a little hungry. I hadn't had much food or liquid that morning.
I kept changing the position of my legs and massaging my lower back, it was the only thing that helped. Then I realized I had to go to the bathroom. There was one nurse, Marty, who had been compassionate to my wait and discomfort and she asked some people to take me in another room to use a bedpan. They soon disappeared. I know it was at least an hour later when Marty asked if I had used the restroom and I was nearly in tears when I told her 'No' I hadn't. Marty found someone right away and I was taken to a room where I could use the bathroom.
Right after our accident, there was an accident involving multiple motorcycle riders; these patients started taking precedence over those of us waiting in the triage area. Keep in mind that the moon was full on the date of our accident.
Again Marty tried to help me by begging a Dr. to come see me in triage; according to her she had to promise her first born in order for the Dr. to see me.
When the Dr. came she told me that my X-rays were normal; however when she tried to take the neck brace I had on I was still tender around the neck so she told me to put it back on. She said she could raise my bed and she did, but as soon as my head was elevated, I started heaving, but there wasn't anything to throw up.
She ordered an IV for me with anti nausea medication and a percocet for pain. At this point I still had had no fluids so when Marty tried to insert the IV it failed. I asked her to if I could just try taking the pain med and drinking water on my own. Marty agreed and I was given water and the pill for pain. Shortly after that I started vomiting; however there wasn't much there. Later I switched to ice chips and they were wonderful; I tried to use them as slowly as I could.
Every time I heaved, or tried to move or breath deeply I had sharp pains in my chest; it wasn't a pretty site!
I can't remember how long it was before someone came to get me for a CT scan; apparently the Dr. who saw me ordered it. If she told me that's what she was going to do, I didn't hear her. I refused to go for the test because of the level of radiation given during the test. A CT scan radiates your body with 500 times the radiation as a chest X-ray.
The Dr. was concerned that with the pain and tenderness in my neck there should be further testing. If we had discussed it, I would have asked for an MRI.
The afternoon and the night seemed to drag on and on; the shift changed and my only advocate was gone. I tried to be patient but occasionally I would ask if a room had cleared for me, but alas it hadn't or 'is just about ready'.
Meanwhile, my hubby and I checked in with each other and when hubby sensed I was pretty miserable he called Amy and asked her to come be with us. When I talked to Amy I tried to assure her that everything would be fine, but I think she sensed we really needed her and I know she had to see us for herself.
Hubby was discharged at approximately 8 PM and came to see me in triage; it was so wonderful to be reunited and to know he is going to be okay. He didn't need an X-ray or anything but his experience wasn't much better than mine as far as the care he received.
At around 9 PM, Amy arrived but they wouldn't let her come see me in triage; she was not happy! However she and hubby were allowed to see me for a couple of minutes
It was decided that Amy and hubby would go set up camp at a motel for the night. After Amy got hubby settled she came back to the hospital; she was determined to see me.
By the time Amy came back there had been two people with seizure disorders that had been admitted and they were considered a higher priority than me. One of the seizure patients was from Romania and VERY talkative. I'm afraid I wasn't in the mood to be too social.
Amy wormed her way back to see me and we had a brief but meaningful visit. I could see the helplessness in her eyes; it was hard for both of us.
The other seizure patient that was beside me started to have a seizure and we yelled for the nurses to come. By this point I've probably been waiting the longest, however there were other patients who had waited several hours and some who had just given up and checked themselves out of the hospital.
I don't remember the time, but I was told I was fine, I could remove my neck brace and that I needed to give up my bed and sit in a wheelchair. Earlier I was asked if I wouldn't like to sit in a wheelchair and sit in the lobby; I had refused. Now it was clear they weren't taking no for an answer and they needed my bed. All of a sudden I'm cured; funny thing is, I didn't feel cured!
It was probably an hour or two from that point that I was told a bed was ready for me on the other side. It was like heaven for me on the other side! I figured I would have a long wait in my room since hubby had, but I had a wonderful nurse who was compassionate and kind. He got me another pain pill and for the first time in many hours I was able to relax a bit because it was quiet and sane in this room.
It didn't take long for an intern to come see me and take a history and do an exam. We discussed doing an MRI but she didn't feel it was necessary. It wasn't long after that that I saw another Dr.who had the authority to release me. Frankly at that point I was very comfy and just wanted to sleep in that nice room since I'd gotten almost no sleep in triage. But more than that I wanted to be with my family and I wanted to get my dogs back and I wanted to start piecing our lives back together. I was released at 6:02 AM; roughly 21.5 hours after being admitted.
Hubby and Amy and I left the hospital and went immediately for the dogs; it was a joyful reunion! William yelped when I tried to pick him up so our next stop was the vet's office where they were able to see the dogs right away and give them some pain meds too.
Amy helped us move everything out of the Prius into a rental car; amazingly everything appears to be fine.
It's now Tuesday afternoon the 23rd and an insurance claim has been filed and we are resting and watching the severe weather patterns. These factors will determine our next move; we're disappointed we won't be home for Thanksgiving with Corrie, but we sure are grateful to be here.
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On Saturday November 20, 2010 we spent the night in Santa Rosa, NM; the next morning we left around 7 AM in the morning to get on the road. Our plan was to drive to Grand Junction, CO and spend the night with our friends Marsha and Tim.
At approximately 8:30 AM Mountain time our plans had an abrupt change. We were in Albuquerque, NM on Hwy 40 west and we were a few miles from exiting to Hwy 25 North when our car was struck from behind. I was napping with my seat slightly reclined and William was on my lap; needless to say I awoke immediately and I think Hubby yelled 'We've been hit". Even he didn't see what had happened to us.
The initial impact was on the passenger rear of the car and we started skidding out of control. Although it took seconds, it seemed like minutes that we were helpless and skidding toward the concrete barrier in the middle of the highway. I know I was screaming and I sensed the dogs were scared.
We hit the barrier and skidded down the face of the barrier predominately on the driver's side of the car before coming to a stop. The skidding along the barrier removed most of the information from the metal license plate on the front of the car.My chest felt like it had taken the brunt of the impact and I had a little trouble breathing.
Hubby said 'Call 911' and I did and as I did people started coming over to the car to help.I wasn't able to give the 911 operator the location of our accident because I had been asleep. At this time Hubby is complaining of severe back pain. I handed the phone to one of the people who had come to assist us for them to give location information.
Hubby used my phone to call Amy to tell her what had happened and then he put my phone in his pocket.
It seemed like the police, ambulances and firetruck were there immediately. The asked hubby if he could get out of the car and he said 'No' because of his back pain. The ambulance personnel prepared him to have a head brace and be transported by ambulance.
I was able to get out of the car on my own and thank heavens had the presence of mind to pull out my camera. I knew that pictures I took could be very important in the future. I also made sure hubby's phone and my purse were recovered from the vehicle. The attending officer (Officer Curtis) gave me a slip of paper with his name, our case number and where the car would be towed.
I rode in the ambulance with hubby; it seemed like the hospital was very close to where we crashed because it didn't take much time to get there. In the ambulance I started to feel more pain in my neck region and was given a blanket to wrap around my neck to help brace it. We were transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital.
At the hospital I was put in a wheel chair and hubby and I were separated; hubby went to the trauma area and I was taken to the triage area.
The police officer who was at the scene came to check on me and I he helped me get hubby's phone to him and get my phone from him. This became our only way to get updates on each other; but our batteries were low so we had to turn the phone off as much as we could.
At admissions, a neck brace was put on my neck and I was transferred to a stretcher and put in the hallway of the triage area where I would spend the next 19 hours.
There were X-rays that were taken of my spine and neck area; those seemed to occur rather quickly in relation to my admission to the hospital. After they were taken you're told to wait until a room is free in the emergency/trauma area where you will be transported and will be able to be seen by a Dr.
I had a neck brace on and had to lie on my back for at least 6 hours; I was VERY uncomfortable and started to get very thirsty and a little hungry. I hadn't had much food or liquid that morning.
I kept changing the position of my legs and massaging my lower back, it was the only thing that helped. Then I realized I had to go to the bathroom. There was one nurse, Marty, who had been compassionate to my wait and discomfort and she asked some people to take me in another room to use a bedpan. They soon disappeared. I know it was at least an hour later when Marty asked if I had used the restroom and I was nearly in tears when I told her 'No' I hadn't. Marty found someone right away and I was taken to a room where I could use the bathroom.
Right after our accident, there was an accident involving multiple motorcycle riders; these patients started taking precedence over those of us waiting in the triage area. Keep in mind that the moon was full on the date of our accident.
Again Marty tried to help me by begging a Dr. to come see me in triage; according to her she had to promise her first born in order for the Dr. to see me.
When the Dr. came she told me that my X-rays were normal; however when she tried to take the neck brace I had on I was still tender around the neck so she told me to put it back on. She said she could raise my bed and she did, but as soon as my head was elevated, I started heaving, but there wasn't anything to throw up.
She ordered an IV for me with anti nausea medication and a percocet for pain. At this point I still had had no fluids so when Marty tried to insert the IV it failed. I asked her to if I could just try taking the pain med and drinking water on my own. Marty agreed and I was given water and the pill for pain. Shortly after that I started vomiting; however there wasn't much there. Later I switched to ice chips and they were wonderful; I tried to use them as slowly as I could.
Every time I heaved, or tried to move or breath deeply I had sharp pains in my chest; it wasn't a pretty site!
I can't remember how long it was before someone came to get me for a CT scan; apparently the Dr. who saw me ordered it. If she told me that's what she was going to do, I didn't hear her. I refused to go for the test because of the level of radiation given during the test. A CT scan radiates your body with 500 times the radiation as a chest X-ray.
The Dr. was concerned that with the pain and tenderness in my neck there should be further testing. If we had discussed it, I would have asked for an MRI.
The afternoon and the night seemed to drag on and on; the shift changed and my only advocate was gone. I tried to be patient but occasionally I would ask if a room had cleared for me, but alas it hadn't or 'is just about ready'.
Meanwhile, my hubby and I checked in with each other and when hubby sensed I was pretty miserable he called Amy and asked her to come be with us. When I talked to Amy I tried to assure her that everything would be fine, but I think she sensed we really needed her and I know she had to see us for herself.
Hubby was discharged at approximately 8 PM and came to see me in triage; it was so wonderful to be reunited and to know he is going to be okay. He didn't need an X-ray or anything but his experience wasn't much better than mine as far as the care he received.
At around 9 PM, Amy arrived but they wouldn't let her come see me in triage; she was not happy! However she and hubby were allowed to see me for a couple of minutes
It was decided that Amy and hubby would go set up camp at a motel for the night. After Amy got hubby settled she came back to the hospital; she was determined to see me.
By the time Amy came back there had been two people with seizure disorders that had been admitted and they were considered a higher priority than me. One of the seizure patients was from Romania and VERY talkative. I'm afraid I wasn't in the mood to be too social.
Amy wormed her way back to see me and we had a brief but meaningful visit. I could see the helplessness in her eyes; it was hard for both of us.
The other seizure patient that was beside me started to have a seizure and we yelled for the nurses to come. By this point I've probably been waiting the longest, however there were other patients who had waited several hours and some who had just given up and checked themselves out of the hospital.
I don't remember the time, but I was told I was fine, I could remove my neck brace and that I needed to give up my bed and sit in a wheelchair. Earlier I was asked if I wouldn't like to sit in a wheelchair and sit in the lobby; I had refused. Now it was clear they weren't taking no for an answer and they needed my bed. All of a sudden I'm cured; funny thing is, I didn't feel cured!
It was probably an hour or two from that point that I was told a bed was ready for me on the other side. It was like heaven for me on the other side! I figured I would have a long wait in my room since hubby had, but I had a wonderful nurse who was compassionate and kind. He got me another pain pill and for the first time in many hours I was able to relax a bit because it was quiet and sane in this room.
It didn't take long for an intern to come see me and take a history and do an exam. We discussed doing an MRI but she didn't feel it was necessary. It wasn't long after that that I saw another Dr.who had the authority to release me. Frankly at that point I was very comfy and just wanted to sleep in that nice room since I'd gotten almost no sleep in triage. But more than that I wanted to be with my family and I wanted to get my dogs back and I wanted to start piecing our lives back together. I was released at 6:02 AM; roughly 21.5 hours after being admitted.
Hubby and Amy and I left the hospital and went immediately for the dogs; it was a joyful reunion! William yelped when I tried to pick him up so our next stop was the vet's office where they were able to see the dogs right away and give them some pain meds too.
Amy helped us move everything out of the Prius into a rental car; amazingly everything appears to be fine.
It's now Tuesday afternoon the 23rd and an insurance claim has been filed and we are resting and watching the severe weather patterns. These factors will determine our next move; we're disappointed we won't be home for Thanksgiving with Corrie, but we sure are grateful to be here.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
A Time Zone Closer to Home - Florida - Alabama - Mississippi -Louisiana - Texas
Sometimes when I'm moving closer to home a way to measure how close I'm getting is to take note of how many more time zones I need to cross before I get home. Staying in Florida we were in the furthest time zone east of home, or 3 time zones away. Yesterday we moved through a time zone in the panhandle of Florida; our next time zone crossing will be tomorrow when we enter Mountain time as we move from Texas to New Mexico, then we're only one time zone away from home.
Yesterday we spent Wednesday night in Lawrence, LA; the highlight of the day and of the night was our authentic Cajun meal at Prejeans. As you enter the restaurant you can't help but notice the 14 ft stuffed alligator near the hostess station; wow, can you imagine catching this guy?:
We had an authentic Cajun meal complete with great Cajun music; the only problem for this Yankee is that with all the Cajun spice, it was hard to tell the alligator from the crawfish or visa versa. The duck gumbo was really good and the homemade rolls were yummy.
We're spending a lot of time in the car now, but we try to do something of interest along the way. We ended Friday in Dallas and visited the museum for the John Kennedy assassination. The museum is on the sixth floor of the building where Oswald stood when he shot the president. It's a very eerie place to be since little has changed as far as being able to see what Oswald saw that day and from almost the exact location. (you can't actually stand where he did, but you can stand very close to it).
Once outside we walked the route of the motorcade and looked back up at the window. There are X's painted in the street where the bullets hit the president. On the sidewalk was a news crew and two older gentlemen. Later we were eating dinner and there was a report that came on CNN about how there is now a new book written by two secret service agents who were with Kennedy that day. I believe now those were the gentlemen I saw on the sidewalk with the news crew. Very serendipitous when you consider the 47th anniversary of the event is on Monday! On Monday a new section of the museum will be opened on the 7th floor. If you were alive I bet you remember where you were that day; I was in 5th grade and the announcement came in the classroom, we were too young to understand all the ramifications that single event would mean to the nation and to the world.
We are trying to stay south for as long as we can to avoid bad weather, but it looks like the bad weather will be unavoidable. We elongated our summer for as long as we could.
Yesterday we spent Wednesday night in Lawrence, LA; the highlight of the day and of the night was our authentic Cajun meal at Prejeans. As you enter the restaurant you can't help but notice the 14 ft stuffed alligator near the hostess station; wow, can you imagine catching this guy?:
We had an authentic Cajun meal complete with great Cajun music; the only problem for this Yankee is that with all the Cajun spice, it was hard to tell the alligator from the crawfish or visa versa. The duck gumbo was really good and the homemade rolls were yummy.
We're spending a lot of time in the car now, but we try to do something of interest along the way. We ended Friday in Dallas and visited the museum for the John Kennedy assassination. The museum is on the sixth floor of the building where Oswald stood when he shot the president. It's a very eerie place to be since little has changed as far as being able to see what Oswald saw that day and from almost the exact location. (you can't actually stand where he did, but you can stand very close to it).
Once outside we walked the route of the motorcade and looked back up at the window. There are X's painted in the street where the bullets hit the president. On the sidewalk was a news crew and two older gentlemen. Later we were eating dinner and there was a report that came on CNN about how there is now a new book written by two secret service agents who were with Kennedy that day. I believe now those were the gentlemen I saw on the sidewalk with the news crew. Very serendipitous when you consider the 47th anniversary of the event is on Monday! On Monday a new section of the museum will be opened on the 7th floor. If you were alive I bet you remember where you were that day; I was in 5th grade and the announcement came in the classroom, we were too young to understand all the ramifications that single event would mean to the nation and to the world.
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| This is map of the route used on that fateful day |
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| This is the building from which the shots were fired |
We are trying to stay south for as long as we can to avoid bad weather, but it looks like the bad weather will be unavoidable. We elongated our summer for as long as we could.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
November 2010 - On the blog again - leaving Orlando
We ended our time in Orlando
For me the community where the condo was located had nice amenities like the small pond right next to the back door. I could keep my new fly rod right next to the back door and when I felt like it I could go out and practice my new hobby of fly fishing. I’m SO glad I packed the rod! I caught about 10 small blue gills and felt much more comfortable with casting and experimenting with different flies and techniques. I am now a master at untangling my line from weeds and bushes! Since the community was gated and had several ponds I didn’t need a fishing license and could fish at different locations on the grounds. I loved watching the variety of birds along the edges competing with me for fish; what a lesson in patience and stealth that was!
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| I threw him back and asked him to send his daddy! |
There was also a nice clubhouse on the grounds with a pool and coffee served everyday. I got to know most of the staff since we stayed for a month so they became my temporary social infrastructure.
The weather was fantastic while we were in Florida
During this visit to Orlando
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| My mother's hand at age 88 |
I haven’t posted photos for a while so here are a few of my favorites from the time in Orlando
Here are the three kittens who stole my heart; through Craigslist they all have new homes and will not live a feral lifestyle. The two sisters (lighter ones) are in the same household.
Here are the three kittens who stole my heart; through Craigslist they all have new homes and will not live a feral lifestyle. The two sisters (lighter ones) are in the same household.
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| I live in East Orlando now! |
I couldn't help myself when it came to getting out my camera when I saw some of the gorgeous flowers and plants in the area.
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| Notice the butterfly to the left |
I enjoyed so much watching the birds in the area; especially the ones who were able to catch fish when I couldn't!
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| One day I saw FIVE sandhill cranes in back of the condo. I wish I could capture the noise they made in this photo; they can be loud and they do a 'dance' where they jump in the air. |
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| This bird is called a 'snake' bird because it actually swims and fishes underwater. From time to time it sticks out only its head and neck and looks like a snake. He is drying himself right now after taking all my fish! I need a whole section for my Disney World photos: |
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| I love to try on the funky hats at theme parks! |
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| My sister should be in this picture with my brother in law and I since she also went on the Tower of Terror! What a fabulous ride! |
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| This is my new friend on FB; his status is 'Mis-understood' |
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| I got to ride my first segway at Disney; I would love to own one of these! Are you listening hubby; Christmas is right around the corner! |
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| Here's my sister Jill on the segway |
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| In 2000 Corrie and I had our pictures added to the wall in Epcot. I relocated the picture and showed it to my sister while we were there. It was a great way to commenerate the millenium after being a Y2K manager at work. |
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| There's our picture on the wall |
Here are some photos of family:
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| Sister Jill, mom and of course the dogs! |
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| New grandson of my cousin Annie; welcome to the family little Gavin! |
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| Annie, Jill, new mommy Carrie and me |
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| Bill and Jill Johnson @ Epcot 2010 |
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| Mary Ellen (cousin) and Sammy |
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| Sister Jill |
We made it to Destin , FL the first day of travel after leaving Orlando Panama City
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| Oil residue? |
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| Travel buddies! |
Panama City reminded us quite a bit of Hunington Beach, CA. They have a great shopping and dining area right on the beach and there is a pier that goes out in the water. There were some great waves and some
The sun was setting as we made the trip between Panama City and Destin; a wonderful setting as we finish our time in Florida
Today our destination is Cajun country in Louisiana
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