So I had a car accident yesterday. I was driving to work and a truck came from my left and blew a yield sign and I hit him, pretty much destroying my car. Pretty much as soon as it happened the cops and ambulance were there, both happened to be driving around and came upon the accident. The paramedics got me out of the car and strapped me to a flat board, completely immobilizing my head and upper body (but not my arms), and hauled me into the ambulance. The cop only took a brief statement from me, pretty much just my name, address, and what happened and then he went to take statements from witnesses and whatnot.

For anyone reading who doesnt know me, Im prone to motion sickness if I cannot see where I am going. Like, I cannot travel in a car with my head down, I have to look ahead, and I cannot sleep in a moving vehicle. So by the time they get me in the ambulance, I know full well that Im probably going to get sick. But I made it to the hospital without getting sick (shock) and they wheeled me into the ER and nurses started fussing about getting information and my health card to get me registered. And I had to give them my mother's number at work so that she could be contacted and whatnot. It didnt take very long for my parents to get to the hospital, now its time to wait for a doctor.

The nurses called my family doctor, but he was not in his office, so they tried to page him with no success. They called another doctor, who they thought was on call, but actually wasnt, so he could not come over. Then there was the doctor who was Chief of Staff at the hospital, who was making rounds, and was standing outside my room, but would not come in and see me. I ended up waiting over two hours before my family doctor made it to the hospital. Keep in mind that I spend this time strapped to the flat board, with my head not only immobilized, but tilted up. It felt like I was laying upside down. I could move my arms and legs, but that was it. I dont think I need to say how cranky I was.

I know there was nothing that the nurses could do, they couldnt take all the stuff of me until they could x-ray my neck and spine and make sure they werent broken. I was pissed off because the goddamned Chief of Staff wouldnt come in and see me so I could at least sit up. Nonetheless, sometime around 3pm my family doctor came in and talked to me to make sure I could move my arms and legs, as well as see and hear him, and talk. Done and done. Then he asked me where it hurt. I told him that so far, it was my left shoulder and just below my right knee. So he poked at my collarbone and my knees for a few minutes and then he ordered the x-rays.

After about a half hour the nurses came in to wheel me from the ER into the x-ray lab. Keep in mind I've been immobilized (and felt like I was laying upside down) for over two and a half hours. I politely said to the nurses "can you please walk slowly, I'll get sick". The nurse responded with "oh just close your eyes".

I did what she said. They did not go slowly. I got sick.

As soon as they parked me in the x-ray lab I knew it was coming, I told the x-ray tech that I was nauseous and she ran and got the nurses back while I proceeded to throw up (three times, on an empty stomach, impressive) all over myself. Now, because I cannot move my head, Im literally throwing up all over myself. The nurses kind of stood around saying "what do we do? what do we do?" because they couldnt move me. I had vomit all over my mouth and hands, all under the neck brace, and all in my hair. It was lovely.

They took the first x-ray of my neck and rushed it to my doctor who gave the okay to take the contraption off of my head. Man that felt good. I was still light-headed and dizzy, but at least I could move around. They finished taking the rest of the x-rays and wheeled me back into the room. My doctor had gone over to his office to see the patients that were in the waiting room and I napped because my mom had to go home and get some stuff done.

Mom and my brother came back around 5pm and the doctor came back just then to look at the x-rays. The first rib under my collarbone on my left side is fractured from the seat belt, but that was the only broken bone. The rest of the injuries are soft tissue injuries, which hurt more than I could have ever imagined.

I found it hard to sleep last night because I just couldnt get comfortable. I woke up early too, not fun. It is difficult to wash my hair, or to even lift my arms up above my shoulders. I mind it to pick things up using my left arm especially, because of the shoulder injury. Im going to be off of work for at least a week. I'll see how I feel after a week and then decide how I feel. On a plus side, I have enough pain killers to last me a month. But, I still feel pain...

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