Life as a Yowler

I love to goof around and make my birthday week all about me. I told my kids we would be celebrating me all week. And this week will be one of the biggest weeks of the year, because mom is very awesome. 🤣 While I was just joking, i had no idea this week really would be all about me and life changing. What started out as a great week, quickly took a terrifying turn. I had a great birthday. I was spoiled and got to celebrate with family and friends. The day after my birthday, Tuesday, June 16 was the day of the car accident.

Brandon had the boys with him. They all went fishing with a family friend. I decided last minute to take the girls to Bad Axe. I decided to have a fun girls’ morning. I was planning to grab a coffee at Emma’s for me and Bubble tea for the girls. Bubble tea is their absolute favorite. As I was driving into Bad Axe on 53, right in front of North Star bank, I noticed a car in the other lane getting ready to turn left. The car started to turn in front of me. I nailed on the horn and slammed on the breaks. I was probably only going 30mph, but the car hit me head on.
All air bags deployed. The car started smoking. I could hear my girls screaming and crying in the back seat. I couldn’t see them because of all the smoke. I noticed blood gushing down my face and shirt, and I had no idea where it was coming from. My shirt was getting soaked. I tried to get out of the vehicle but couldn’t, because of the side air bag covering up the door handle. I tried to push the airbag out to the way, and I actually burned my wrist on the burning air bag. But I managed to get the door open. There was the sweetest lady there waiting for me. I was really shaken up. She had seen the crash and pulled over. She helped me sit down and I asked her to please go grab my girls from the back seat.
She got both girls out of their car seats. They were both crying and terrified, but they were totally fine. With the exception of one scratch on Isla, they are injury free. Brielle was very worried about me and terrified to see me bleeding. Isla clutched onto the lady who helped her and didn’t want to leave her.
A very sweet lady who worked inside the bank came outside. She called 911. She got me water and a towel. She told me the blood was coming from my nose and lip.
There was a teenage boy who also stopped. He was clearly very nervous and shaken up. He had no idea what to say, so he didn’t say anything. He handed me his personal beach towel, so I could clean up. It was the sweetest gesture.
When the paramedics showed up I was feeling very light headed and they worried about me going into shock. They asked me question after question. One of the questions I remember answering “ummm. I don’t know what day of the week it is on a regular day.” 🤣
They drove me by ambulance to the closest ER which was Bad Axe, Mclaren. They did tons of tests there, including a CT scan. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, not because I’m afraid of small spaces. It was hard because I couldn’t hardly breath and I had to hold perfectly still. The lady working with me was so incredibly nice. She kept encouraging me and talking to me and helping me not to panic.
I got debris in my left eyeball. I explained to the nurse “I’m usually every cooperative and I have a high pain tolerance, but I am the biggest eye weenie you’ll ever meet.” I have this phobia when people come towards my eye. They had to do a complete eye flush and she had to call for help. 🤣 one nurse had to hold my eye open. One had to hold my hands. And one had to flush my eye. That was not the funnest experience, but I’m so thankful for sweet and amazing medical workers.
The police officer who handled my case was amazing. He reassured me I was not at fault. He was frustrated with the lady who hit us. She was mean, uncooperative, uninsured, and her car wasn’t even registered in her name. I’m not convinced alcohol or drugs weren’t involved, but I’ll let the police figure that one out. He encouraged me that my kids were some of the best behaved kids he’s ever seen. They really were. Even Isla sat perfectly still and waited for someone to come pick her up from the ER. My parents and Brandon were both 2 hours away, so Brandon got ahold of one our close family friends. She dropped everything and came and got my kids. Before she got there, the police officer left and bought my girls huge stuffed bears. He told them they can hug them if they feel scared. They have slept with those bears and been loving all over them ever since the accident.

I have been absolutely blown away by this community. People have come and visited me and broke down crying. Turns out people actually like me and are sad at the thought of losing me. People have been bringing meals. People have been watching my kids. People have been driving me to doctors appointments. People have been volunteering their homes for me to come rest in since we have house renovations going on here. People have been taking care of housework for me, since I am under strict instructions to rest and take it easy. I am truly blessed and truly well taken care of and loved.
The main concern right now is my left eye. I wish I could post a picture. It looks very bad. It’s very swollen and I can’t see clearly out of it. I went to 3 different eye doctors yesterday. They want the pressure and blood pooling to go down. They told me to rest and try to avoid bending over and straining the eye. I will be re-checked Monday. I am very hopeful to avoid surgery.
Overall, this week has had a very positive ending. My face is smashed in, but my life is spared. The day of the accident, Brandon accidentally took our van keys with him in his pocket. I was so frustrated with him. I wanted to drive our van, because it’s the best on gas. I was forced to drive our suburban instead. The suburban is a much bigger and safer vehicle. It most likely saved my life. God was in every detail. I’m so thankful for the gift of life. I’m thankful for my friends and family. I’m thankful for a healthy body, that I’m really believing is going to be fully healed and restored. I’m thankful for caring friends who are helping my girls talk through what happened. In time we’re all going to be just fine. We may not ever sleep alone again, but I’ll take kids piled on top of me any day.
My nose is broken in 3 places. I have a fracture under my eye. I look like I got into a bar fight. But there’s no brain damage or broken bones. I keep finding more bruises. I have a nasty one from the seatbelt. I also noticed my eyebrow and eyelashes burned off. I’m sad about that, but overall I’m thankful for a happy outcome.