TUESDAY JANUARY 2 2007 7:30AM
I pull out of the driveway of my daughter's home and onto the road home, only 6 kilometres away. I want to take a new route home that had recently opened but change my mind and turn around and take the old route home instead, travelling west.
In front of my car is an elderly old man who suddenly slows down to about 40 km from about 65 KMPH, indicates to the left and turns just about the same time into the Lakes Area, I swerve into the right lane, see another car turn into the left lane from the Lakes Area, decide to stay where I am, I will be turning right soon, the traffic is quite hectic anyway.
I pick up to about 65 KMPH head safely across the intersection on the green light, no sooner do I cross over, when (the next events happen in approx three seconds) I see a white hatch back completely out of control spinning around in the two lanes travelling east it suddenly hits the curb of the median, the car becomes airborne, it flies across strip, straight in my direction. My foot hits the brake, I look to my left there is a car, I scream out, "My Lord deliver me safely to my family there is no escape for me this time." As I say this everything goes slow motion in deathly silence, only the sound of wind from an air conditioner can be heard. I watch the windscreen cracking in the centre then spreading outwards to the rest of windscreen, then blackness. I do not hear the crash, can you believe it. I only just discover, the impact comes first then sound of the crash.
The sounds of police sirens wake me up from a deep sleep in agony, I see an arm from my lying position, I reach up to touch it, I see a kind face. " Call my husband, number is 9##### tell him." I black out again.
WEDNESDAY 3RD JANUARY
I open my eyes every cell of my body is in agony. I feel as though I am falling, I'm so heavily drugged the foot of my bed seems to be facing the ceiling and my visitors and the hospital staff seem to be walking on the walls, I felt sick, dizzy and cannot breathe properly I feel as though I am drowning. I pull at the mask on my face, "help me nurse," I whisper.
"Good morning Peg Leg you're up at last,” she scolds as she replaces the oxygen mask. "You must keep this on, the base of both your lungs collapsed."
I try to reach out to her to her but my hands are trapped with needles drips tape etc., "help me up please, quickly I can't lay like this I am feel sick, I can't breath properly, I'm dizzy and you are walking on the walls the foot of my bed is facing the ceiling. Please lift me I need to sit," I whine.
MONDAY 30 APRIL 2007
Before I bore you any further, after concussion, blue and purple bruises on my whole body, five fractures to the sternum, fractured ribs, a broken femur and foot, exactly four months later, the last three spent in excruciating agony and I am still on crutches, only tomorrow will I be going into hospital for day surgery to have the top screw removed to allow further compression of the fracture to the femur.
When I look at the X-rays, I see a gap between the top half and the bottom half of the femur. The top half looks like it has been trying it's hardest to find it’s way to the bottom half. You can see this from the calcium deposits, they look like white strands of hair trying to work their way down to meet and join the bottom half of the femur, they have a way to go yet. No wonder I was in so much pain, I have had a broken femur for four months with no chance of the top half reaching the bottom half in the near future. My description of my pain to my husband these past few months, "It's like an open wound that is trying hard to close but can't."
Please listen carefully to your loved ones when they trying to describe their pain. I would like to hear your stories.
Best wishes,
Peg leg.
