The Early Morning Air Was As Cold As Ice. About a Year Ago, on the Way to School, I Was

Blessed

By

Maggie Elam

The early morning air was as cold as ice. About a year ago, on the way to school, I was in a car accident. I sat on the passenger’s side in the back, my brother sat on the passenger’s side in the front, and my dad was driving. We had to drive from Olympia to Owingsville, which took about 20 minutes.

As I got into the car, I didn’t want to buckle up because I had a blanket over me. Then I heard a voice in my head that said, “You better buckle up.” It was like I knew what was going to happen, because I also heard a voice that said, “If your brother wasn’t here, you would be sitting in the front.”

My brother and I were asleep because it was so early. Suddenly, I was awoken by a voice that said, “Maggie wake up.” It was my dad and he told me to get out of the car.

I can remember the sounds of the ambulances and the talking among the EMT’s. The EMT’s wanted to keep us in the car, but my dad wouldn’t let them, because we could smell oil and my dad thought the car might blow up. So we got out of the car and then I saw all the cars lined up behind us. I had to have a neck brace on my neck. And I can remember my mom walking up to me saying, “Are you okay?” With the expression on her face, I knew she was really scared and I didn’t know why because I didn’t know what was happening.

The ambulances rushed me, my brother, and my dad to the hospital. My brother and I rode in separate ambulances. My dad rode with me and my mom rode with my brother. I can remember the doctor trying to keep me awake. I still didn’t know what happened at the point and I wanted to see my brother. I can remember asking the EMT what happened. He said, “You’ve been in a car accident.”

We finally got to the emergency room and they put me and my brother in separate rooms. My dad told me, “You just have a little scratch on your neck.” I wanted to see it, so he took a picture of it and it wasn’t just a little scratch. It was a seat belt burn on my neck. I can remember the nurse put some gel on and I was scared when she did because I didn’t want her to touch it.

After that, they put me through a tube to see if I had any broken bones. I didn’t, but I was sore.

Then, they put my brother through the tube, but he had broken a few of his ribs, he broke his foot, and they found a bruise on his brain. My dad had also broken his foot. I had to go home with my nana and papaw because my mom and dad had to go to UK hospital because of the bruise on my brother’s brain. So I went to my nana and papaws house and took a three hour nap and when I woke up my nana said, “You are okay.”

Thinking back, I think me, my brother, and my dad are very blessed, because not a lot of people survive car crashes. Also because we got hit in the back and some in the side and that could’ve killed me or I could’ve been badly hurt. I am thankful now, because all three of us survived the crash and are fine.