Wake_Up_Call

Melissa Dyjak MWA 1 English 1010 Wake up Call I woke up, my whole body was aching. I was freezing cold. My legs felt numb, and when I moved my neck I wanted to burst into tears. It felt like I had been hit by a big huge semi truck! I laid there for awhile, panicked and scared to move. I thought to myself, what happened to me' I tried to remember yesterday, but my mind was blank. I felt like a baby waking up for the first time, and I still had not even opened my eyes yet. I just kept laying there wondering why I felt so busted up. I started to wish I wouldn’t have woken up because I was so frightened to know what happened and why I felt this way. I knew sometime I was going to have to face the music. So, I decided it was time to have a look. I gazed around the room, wondering why I had never been there before. Why am I not waking up in my own room, in my queen size bed with my lime green walls that hurt my eyes' Why am I in this little, tiny, twin bed' Why do I have these flimsy old blankets' Where is my hot pink comforter, and my big fluffy feather pillows' I have to figure out what’s going on' Why does it feel like there is something jammed in my arm' The simple white walls were so plain that they almost made me feel awkward when I looked at them. The only thing on the wall was a television way up high so that I could barely see because I couldn’t move my neck at all to look at it. There was what I thought was a window, but had a big beastly brown curtain on it. There was a little, lonely, copper colored chair sitting in the corner, that looked like it would hurt your bottom if you sat on it. There was a grey table that had wheels on it, which sat next to me. The room was so noisy, I could hear what sounded like ten people talking at the same time. I didn’t know where it was coming from, it felt like I was the only one there. Finally, I saw my mom. She looked as if she has not slept in days, I don’t know if I have ever seen her look like that before. I started crying when she hugged me; I was just so terrified about whatever it was that happened to me. Then I asked the dreaded question. Why am I here, what happened' She started to choke up, and told me I was in a really bad car accident. I knew it! Why else would I be in the hospital! I started to get angry! She told me everything was going to be fine, for some reason I didn’t believe her. I felt like my life was falling apart right in front of me. I asked my mom when did this happen' I couldn’t even remember yesterday. She proceeded to tell me it was almost three days ago! I couldn’t believe it! I had been sleeping for three days' She told me I woke up a few times, but was not really coherent, and just went back to sleep. I was so puzzled! Then, my Dad came in the room. He looked awful too. He hugged and kissed me. It felt so good to see my parents. I could still hear people talking outside the door. I asked my mom what is all that noise' She said “It’s the rest of the family; they have been here with us everyday.” They all came in, my aunt, Grandma and Grandpa, and cousins. I couldn’t believe they were all here. I thought to myself, this must be bad. I felt like I had been sleeping for years and I really could not remember a thing about the accident. All I knew was that I wanted to be out of that hospital bed. I tried to get up and just fell to the ground. My legs were hurt, I could not walk, that made me annoyed again. My mom told me to lay back down and relax. She said I needed to rest if I wanted to get better. I realized I needed answers, since I couldn’t remember a thing. It was May 22, 2002. The weather was beautiful. I lived with my parents in a little town called Fairgrove, Michigan. It was just another normal day of high-school, I was almost done with my 10th grade year. I woke up around 6:45 a.m. to get ready for school. I got ready, ate breakfast, and waited for my friend Allison, to come get me. I was only 15, so I didn’t have a driver’s license yet and I really did not enjoy riding the school bus because I had to ride it for at least an hour before we got to school. My friend Allison arrived to pick me up at 7:45 a.m. She drove a red Dodge Avenger, sports edition, two doors, leather seats, sunroof, and cd player. It was a really nice car. We still had to go pick up our other friend Ashley. School didn’t start until 8:20 so we thought we had lots of time and would make it to school. We picked up Ashley, we were all in great moods, the sun was shining. It was almost the end of the school year, so we were pumped for summer. We were all just chatting away and then the next thing I knew I was waking up inside the hospital with not a clue why I was there. It’s very hard for me to remember the actual accident because I was knocked out cold. I am going to tell you what happened from what others have told me. We were listening to one of our favorite cd’s that we always listened to on our way to school. Allison, the driver, did not make a complete stop at the stop sign at the corner of Fairgrove and Ringle Road, instead she just rolled right through it. She did not see the bright yellow Buick that was coming down the road towards us. Inside of the Buick were Lance and Peter, two boys that were a grade above me and also on their way to school. Lance was a short dark haired boy with blue eyes and Peter was a taller blonde with brown eyes. They saw us in the red Avenger and started waving hello since we were all friends. Then started to notice that we were not stopping. They tried to slam on their brakes, but it was to late they were too close. The Buick Lasabre t-boned us on the passenger side right where Ashley and I were sitting. Then bang we were done for. They hit us so hard we were pushed into the ditch that was clear across the other side of the street. Lance was driving at excessive speeds, the squeal marks were 100 feet long. The Buick hit us on the passenger side right where Ashley and I were. The man that lived on the corner heard the horrible crash and right away called 911. He was an older man about 65 years old. When he got out to the scene he saw that I was out cold, foaming at the mouth, and barely breathing. Ashley was screaming in pain and started to go into shock. He realized then that he knew us. He had known my parents for years. He got so scared and upset that he had a massive heart attach right then and there on the scene. A few moments later the ambulance arrived. Ashley and I were taken out of the car with the jaws of life. Ashley was taken in ambulance 45 minutes away to Covenant Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan. She broke her pelvis in more then one place. The older man went in the same ambulance with Ashley. I was still not conscious, they had to put me in the helicopter to get me to the hospital as fast as they could. I was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw Michigan about 10 minutes away from Ashley’s hospital. They got me in the emergency room and found out I have no severe brain damage. I suffered from a mild head injury, and they thought the reason my legs hurt so bad was because I braced myself when I saw the car about to crash into us. I was in the hospital for about a week. It took me the rest of the summer to get well. I could not finish the rest of the school year. My homework was sent to me. I was very dumfounded for months and had a really hard time talking to people. I went to occupational therapists and councilors for a few months, they really helped me cope with the situation. Ashley was in a wheelchair for about 4 months, then she was on crutches for another month after that. Now she is all recovered and doing very well. Lance had to get stitches in his head, because his speakers that were in his back window hit him in the back of the head. Peter just was soar for a few weeks. The old man recovered from his heart attack and is now doing great. My best friend at the time was also amazing. She was a always full of energy and extremely bubbly. Her name was Tacy she came over everyday to make sure I was all right. Her positive personality made me feel better every time I was around her. During the time of the accident I was not doing very well. I was almost failing in school, I was skipping class, and really didn’t care much about anything in my life. The accident was a huge wake up call. I realized I loved my life, my family, and my friends. The accident was like a sign from God telling me to shape up and get back on track. Although, this tragic event changed my life in many ways, it was not all for the negative. It made me realize things really do happen for a reason. This accident made me want to live my life to the fullest. I really am a strong believer now that you live and learn by all life’s experiences.