The Symmetry of Car accidents, part 1
I want to take a moment and write a bit about car accidents.
My wife and children were involved in an awful wreck 10 days ago when their vehicle was struck by a driver who ran a red light at nearly 60 miles per hour. My wife was driving our Suzuki Reno and the car itself was totaled in the accident, though — thankfully — my family escaped with only injuries; some worse then others.
I am not going to detail the physical injuries in this post. My purpose in writing this today is to raise a little awareness about a side effect of traumatic accidents that I was not previously aware of. I am talking about “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” or PTSD. Before I get into it though I want to share with you a picture or two of the car post accident, so that you can get a feel for the violence of this particular accident.
Ok — first up is a picture of the front end of our car. As you can see, the car preformed as it was designed to do in the event of a catastrophic accident: The engine collapsed to the pavement, and the engine compartment folded itself around the passenger area, protecting the occupants of the vehicle.
Officers who arrived on the scene just after the accident and who interviewed the eyewitnesses tell me that my wife probably didn’t see the other vehicle until he appeared out of the blind spot near the crest of the hill, less then 20 feet from the intersection. Reacting on instinct, she slammed down hard on her breaks, and struck the other vehicle broadside in the passenger doors. Had she not reacted the way she did, he would have probably struck her broadside, and considering the size and weight of the other car — the outcome of the accident would have been very different for her and my children.
She tells me she can still see his face as clear as day as he looked up from whatever it was he was doing just as our car impacted with his. I can imagine the surprise on his face.
Thankfully, the other driver was riding alone, and there were no injuries in his car.
We were lucky, but not altogether unscathed. My 10 year old daughter was cut by her seatbelt in the lower part of her belly and required 20 stitches. Thats a picture of her stitches, next to the picture of our car (above). My son was the luckiest of all. Asleep at the time of the accident escaped with bruises on his face and back and a bloody nose. My wife was not so lucky, of course. She probably tensed up as she stomped down on the breaks, and her body suffered for it. Her injuries are numerous and include a fractured pelvic joint, a bulging disc in her spine where her neck meets her head, a large gash in her right shin and dozens of contusions over most of her body — especially on her left side.
Her worst injury by far in my opinion is something I had never considered before the accident. Because the accident happened at the corner just outside of our rural neighborhood, there is no way to avoid the intersection. She cannot ride in a car now without spontaneously and uncontrollably weeping. She has from horrible dreams wherein she relives the accident over and over, and consequently suffers from insomnia. She is also prone to waking flashbacks, as well as visions of similar collisions whenever we pass another vehicle on a two lane road, or even while parking in the parking lot of our local grocery store. She is terrified of driving, and her body seems to be on a heightened state of alert at all times. This anxiety and stress has compounded her more physical injuries and caused her debilitating pain.
Because of the circumstances around the accident; the other driver running the red light, the impact with his vehicle, the spinning and subsequent ditching of our car, the smell of the airbags after deployment and the screams of my children as our care settled at the bottom of a ravine — and because she was driving not only herself, but our children as well — she suffers from what her doctors have diagnosed as “post traumatic stress disorder. I am told that her recovery will be complete, and that she will eventually feel whole again, but the mental recovery will likely take months — perhaps even years. In the meantime I have read everything that I can find on PTSD and auto accidents, and I am struck by stories of anxiety and mental anguish that often persist long after stitches are removed and broken bones heal.
Honestly — I always assumed that PTSD was something soldiers suffered from after experiencing war up close. I never imagined that the same kind of thing might apply to those who survive a near fatal collision. As a guy who has always been able to shrug off adversity, I must admit that it has always been hard for me to understand depression or anxiety. My gut reaction is to tell her to get back on the horse as soon as her physical injuries have healed, and maybe that works for some people — who knows? The truth of the matter is I have seen the very real effects this accident has had on my wife beyond the physical ones — I now have a deeper understanding and empathy for those who have experienced these kind of traumatic events in their lives. It is my hope that anyone who suffers from this kind of thing gets the help they need for both their physical and emotional injuries because there can be no real recovery without addressing both.
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Very well said. A very powerful and moving article. I hope your wife is on the mend. Much love.