Last night I decided to walk to the store around the corner from my apartment. I came to a crosswalk and looked both ways. Out of nowhere this woman takes a left of of the main road and *BLAM*!!!

She hit me with her Chevy Suburban! I really did see my life flash before my eyes. When I heard the tires squeal and saw the grill coming towards me I thought to my self "Awww, Man! So this is it?"

I went flying like 6 feet through the air and landed on the side of the road! I saw stars, but I somehow managed to get up. I could feel pain in my left foot and ankle immediately. I was just happy to be alive. Totally in shock.

The woman who hit me loaded me in her car and rushed me to the emergency room. I was admitted immediately, and when they started to check me out I told them about the pain in my foot. When they took off my sneakers and pulled up my pants leg I saw that my ankle joint was swollen to almost the size of a tennis ball.

My next thought was "What am I going to do if I can't work?"

Luckily it was not broken. I just have a deep bruise and a sprain to deal with. I should only be out of the salon for 3 days to a week depending on how I feel. I think I have whiplash and and injury in my forearm also, but all the x-rays turned out ok.

The ER doctor asked me if I am the Bionic Woman. :)

With that kind of impact I really should be a lot more hurt than I am, if not dead. I guess being sturdy type of girl is paying off for once, even if it makes things harder in the Macy's dressing room!

It really got me thinking though about what precautions I might be able to take to protect me in the case of an accident or illness. Has anybody else thought about this kind of stuff?

I am so sorry to hear you were injured.  Please listen to me.  Her insurance company is going to pay those medical bills for your injury.  Do NOT sign off on any papers stating that you are fully recovered at all.  Just because you feel better you do not know the long term effects of this. 

They will probably come in there asking to give you money for time off work, etc - but do not take a one time lump sum payment.  You need to contact a lawyer.  Not that you intend to sue.  Just so you know what your options are. 

It is great to know that you are alive - same is true when you are in a car wreck - but you were hit by a car.  The instant feeling is wow - I am going to be ok.  But long term effects are different than short term.  Please think about this.

Since this is not your fault - her car insurance company should be paying for your hospital bills and your time off work and for your suffering.  Again - consult a lawyer and do not sign off on anything from that insurance company.  If they try and force you - just say I do not feel comfortable with this because I do not know what the long term effects may be - I need time to think.  OK? 

Take care of you and get better.

Cindy

Popgyrl,

So sorry to hear about your accident.  I read the posts daily and appreciate all of your replies. With that said, definitely listen to what Cindy said. I was in an accident a long time ago and thought I was fine.  Months later I felt off. By a year later (15 or so years ago) I started having major hand, wrists and back problems. I still see a chiropractor every week, and since been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  Be grateful to be alive and relatively unscathed, but at the same time, make sure you cover for down the line.

Glad to hear you're okay!

Hey Cindy,

I already contacted a lawyer. It was one of the first things I did today. One thing I know for sure is that insurance companies can not be trusted.

My father was a passenger in a car accident 10 years ago, his lawyer took care of everything and really got everything you could imagine out of the insurance company, from theraputic massage and chiropractor treatment to a pretty fat settlement. I'm definitely going to use the same guy. They are coming over to my apartment Wednesday night to talk to me more about my case.

Not that I'm trying to make money off of this, but I want to make sure that my bases are covered in case of a long-term injury popping up in the future. I'm planning on going to the doctor tommorow to have my back and neck checked out more thoroughly since they were not bothering me in the emergency room last night, but today I was in quite a bit of pain. I felt like I got hit by a truck!

Oh wait, I did get hit by a truck :)  

Sorry, I'm a little goofy from painkillers.

Thank you for your concern. It means a lot to me. I'm going to be very careful to make sure that everything is properly documented and only deal with the insurance company through the lawyer. I'm not even going to send in the claim documentation without talking to them about it first.

I feel bad for the woman who hit me. She was even more upset than I was! She seems to be a really good person who just made an honest mistake in judgement.

Last night I had to tell the police officer in the hospital to tell her to go home, becase she was insisting on waiting with me. She called me to check up on me today and sent me a beautiful fruit basket from Edible Arrangements along with a Get Well card. I want to call her and thank her for her concern to make her feel better but I'm not even going to do that untill I talk to the lawyer. I hate that you have to be that way about these things.

For now I'm stuck in the house and bored crazy already. You guys are probably going to see even more of me now!

Thanks again.

*L

Dear popygirl-

I know I would feel awful if I ran into a pedistrian.  She is probably doing the things she is doing because she is truly sorry.

I am glad you are resting and taking care of you.  But you are handling things in the right way.   Injuries to any of your feet, muscles, spine, hands, discs - can put long term effects on our career even if they do not show up until much later.

Please take things one day at a time right now and heal and do not try and go back to work too soon.  If they suggest physical therapy it will probably be a good idea.  I am so sorry this happned to you.  Get well :)

Cindy