StoryTime: Hit by a car

It was a Tuesday afternoon. June 8, 2010 seemed like any other day, until my life changed forever. As an active volunteer of the local Humane Society, I wanted to use my free time to help them. I had off of work, so I took advantage of my day off. At around 1:20 pm MT I headed to the Humane Society to take pictures of the cats, so I could upload them online in an effort to get them adopted. 

The weather was quite warm yet sunny with a light breeze. I guess you could say it was a beautiful day. I lived about a half a mile (one-way) away from the shelter, so I decided to take my mountain bike. I felt this sense of anticipation, but never felt reluctant nor did I get a feeling something would happen which would ultimately change my life forever.

I decided to cross the road at an intersection which was nearly a few blocks away. Some days the shelter was busy, so the traffic at the intersection near the shelter is almost unpredictable. As I continued, I noticed a trailblazer. I didn't think much of this vehicle, until it hit me.  

One of my biggest fears in life was getting hit by a car. In fact, I had a nightmare a few months prior to this happening, that I was hit by a car. As she hit the gas to increase the velocity of the large SUV, without noticing me crossing, she struck me. I basically went flying into the air. My bike virtually busted in half instantaneously and I landed on my side, where I forced myself to get back up.

I felt as if all my emotions were wrapped around each other in a plethora of shock. The adrenaline was quite evident; however, when I looked at myself I was covered in hematoma bruises and blood. The driver of the trailblazer was crying and didn't know what to do. She kept apologizing, as she was fidgeting. As I wiped away my tears, I looked at her and told her that I forgave her. 

I was so in shock. My only thought was "did this just happen?" A few people who drove by stopped to see if I was okay. About 5 minutes later, the police showed up followed by an ambulance. Apparently several people reported the accident, hence why they showed up so swiftly. I went in a car with a family member who showed up and went directly to the hospital where I limped into the ER. 

When you are in shock, you don't feel pain. In fact, it's almost as if you are a zombie with a lot of adrenaline. Almost a state of confusion, but being well aware of what just happened. I am not sure if my emotions were fighting each other, but as soon as I got into the hospital, I almost fell to the floor before crawling into the hospital bed. I have a high pain tolerance, so my rating was about an 8 out of 10. 

As the nurse hooked me up to an IV, I was given pain medication. If I can remember, it was Morphine. The pain kind of merged into shock and once again, I felt like a lifeless yet emotionless zombie. I knew I wasn't dying, but my mind was clear. I had to pinch myself to see if I was still alive because everything hit me all at once. I could only question - Did I get hit by a car? How did I get hit by an SUV? The only thing I could do at this point was be grateful that I survived because most people do not. 

Today, it is 2016. I have had to endure quite a few things since then, but nothing as big nor traumatic as this. I can honestly admit that I am stronger than ever and getting hit by the trailblazer has changed my life. How? I have learned to not only love my life, but appreciate it much more so. Hello world, my name is Sarah Afshar and I survived getting hit by a car.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sorry to hear you were hit by a car. Have you had to endure anything since the accident?