The Accident by Brenda Mohammed

[Brenchris]

The Accident



Author: Brenda Mohammed
 


 
The Accident


I heard a loud bang and felt as if an iron rod hit me on my back.
The cell phone flew out of my hand, struck me on my lip, and fell to the floor of the car.
We were all screaming. I was stunned. Airbags inflated on all windows and our grandson’s car seat was jammed to the back of my seat. I heard my grandson crying but I could not turn around and I could not open the car door.
Our daughter got out of the car and I kept asking what happened. No one answered me. I could only hear our grandson crying. I managed to climb out through the driver’s side of the vehicle and I saw a man lying on the road. I asked our daughter,
“Who is this? Did you kill a man?” I was panicking.
She was dazed, confused, and crying. She did not answer me. A few persons had already gathered around, and one woman assured me that my daughter did not kill anybody. She said that I should remain calm. Someone took our grandson out of the car. On looking closely, I realized that it was my husband lying on the road. I panicked even more. I thought he was seriously injured and was unable to move.
The police and paramedics arrived within seconds. A cordon was erected on the street. Paramedics administered first aid to my husband, put him on a stretcher, and into the large ambulance with flashing lights. They did the same to my daughter.
They asked me if I wanted to go with the ambulance to Broward General Medical Center and I said that I would stay with my grandson until his Dad came. The ambulance sped away with the siren blaring. It was just as I had seen in movies
Soon our son-in-law and granddaughter came and they were shocked to see our state and the condition of the car. It was a total wreck.
My grandson and I sat in my son-in-law’s car while he checked out the scene and made inquiries as to what took place. A police officer came into the car in which we were seated and asked me if I knew how the accident occurred. I told her I was facing forward and just felt like an iron rod hit me in the back. I could not see who hit our car from behind. She took my identification card and noted my comments in her report.
My three-year-old grandson answered all her questions very intelligently. I heard him explaining that someone had hit his Mummy’s car from behind while we were parked at a traffic light, he got a cut on his tongue, and his leg was hurting.
The police officer made notes of all his answers.
My son-in-law then drove us to the Broward General Medical Center where they were treating both my husband and daughter for injuries. Everyone had to undergo vigorous tests such as X-Rays, and CT Scans. A pediatric doctor examined my grandson and treated him. He had a leg injury and a cut on his tongue.
My daughter was discharged at 2.00 am, and my husband was retained for the night for further observation. The doctor advised us that he suffered great trauma, three fractured ribs, and one broken rib. That broken rib was connected to his spine. Besides that, he had shoulder and leg injuries.
It was like a terrible nightmare. In a split second, our world came crashing down. The police officer came to the hospital to return my identification card and told us that a drunken driver had hit my daughter’s car. The woman was arrested immediately as she failed the breathalyzer test.
We had to leave the hospital and go back to our daughter’s home without my husband. When I got back to the house and undressed, I discovered bruises all along my right arm and leg.
I also had a cut on my lip and it was swollen like Miss Piggy in the TV Show. I suddenly started feeling body pains all over.
The night dragged by slowly and I could not sleep. I went over the events in my mind as I lay in bed.
We had travelled from Trinidad to Miami to spend a couple weeks with my daughter and her family. We had gone on a cruise on The Majesty of the Seas on Friday 17th June 2011. I recalled that when we entered the ship, we felt as if we were in another world. All the staff were courteous and welcomed us warmly. It was our first cruise. The ship was big and beautiful but we were told that it was the smallest in the fleet of Royal Caribbean. Our cabins were quite comfortable. Service was excellent.
My husband asked the Stateroom Attendant for a refrigerator to store his insulin and his request was immediately granted. We went up on the pool deck to see the ship sail away from the shore and we met some friends from Trinidad and chatted with them.
The first night we had dinner in the Moonlight Dining Room and the waiters were all warm and accommodating.
The next morning the ship arrived at the island of Coco Cay and after breakfast, small boats shuttled us off to the island for a day of sea, fun, and barbecue. We had lots of fun before returning on board the ship.
After dinner that night, the Captain held his reception in the Theater of the ship. He introduced himself to us and had our photo taken with him.
In the morning of the following day, the ship landed in Nassau, Bahamas. We got lots of free stuff on the island, because, on the ship, representatives gave us vouchers to collect jewelry and posters from various stores in Nassau.
We were having so much fun that we did not want the cruise to end.
The third night, being our last night, was a very fun night. The waiters formed a Conga Line after dinner and came dancing around the Dining Room to the music of ‘I feeling Hot, Hot, Hot.’ They picked up my three-year-old grandson and he led the way in the Conga Line.
Then the musicians came along and serenaded my daughter who was looking very radiant. It was a beautiful ending to such a wonderful cruise. It all seemed like a beautiful dream.
We were unaware that after that wonderful cruise we would soon meet with very unfortunate circumstances.
It was 23rd June 2011. We were booked to travel home on 24th June 2011. We were all packed and ready to leave Miami after such a great vacation. We had dinner that night at the Cheesecake Factory in Fort Lauderdale, which is not too far off from where our son-in-law worked at the Broward General Medical Centre. We met him there and had a sumptuous dinner.
We toasted each other for future successes and my daughter and family wished us a safe trip back home.
Our son-in- law had driven his own car as he had come straight from work for the dinner. He asked the children to drive home with him and they agreed. My husband, daughter and I headed in the other direction to where my daughter had parked her car. Then we saw our son-in-law coming back with our grandson. He said that our grandson refused to go with him and wanted to go in his Mummy’s car with his grandparents. Only our granddaughter went in her Dad’s car.
I got into the back seat with our grandson but he said that he wanted his grandpa to sit with him in the back. My husband agreed and I came out and went to sit in the front passenger seat of the car. Our daughter drove off. Just a couple blocks ahead, we stopped at a traffic light.
My friend from Toronto called on our daughter’s cell phone for me. She handed the phone to me. I was speaking to my friend and telling her about the wonderful time we had on the cruise when the drunken driver banged into the back of my daughter’s car while parked at the traffic lights.
It was an awful night but I eventually fell asleep. My daughter woke me very early in the morning to tell me that her husband went to bring home her Dad as he had been discharged from the Medical Center. He was discharged, as there was no need for surgery.
When my husband came home that morning after the accident, he was in severe pain and in no condition to travel home that day. The hospital had given him a brace for his ribs and a walker to help him to walk. We had to cancel our flight and book another for 2nd July.
A lawyer came at 10.00 am sharp the following day to prepare a case for compensation for our injuries. At 3.00 pm that afternoon, we went to a Personal Injury clinic for treatment. During that extra week we spent in Miami, we visited doctors and availed of medical care. We were given medication to ease our pains and were subject to intense massage therapy every day of the week. I felt sorry for my husband who was in serious pain all day and night. I ignored my own pain and injuries to attend to him.
We reported the accident to the Miami Consulate of Trinidad and Tobago and on 2nd July they sent a vehicle with a Foreign Service Officer and a chauffeur to take us to the airport. The Foreign Services Officer saw to it that my husband got a wheelchair and he remained with us until we entered the security area for passengers.
He was most helpful and comforting. When we arrived at Piarco International Airport, and after the captain thanked us for travelling with American Airlines, he announced that both of us should meet an agent outside the aircraft.
The Protocol Officer was waiting for us to take us straight through to Immigration and Customs without having to stand in the line. They also allowed our son to come inside the airport to collect our suitcases. Our son had parked in the Handicap area so we had no problem getting to the car. We arrived safely in our home that night.
The accident left me psychologically damaged. I was afraid to drive a car again. I was terrified to go anywhere. While driving I always felt as if someone was going to hit me from behind. I was no longer my happy carefree self.
I was healing physically but I kept getting strange pains in my body on occasions. I was not certain if the pains were from aging, or the accident. I sold my car and stopped driving completely. The doctor had advised me a year ago when I had collapsed at the computer to stop driving and I finally took his advice.
My husband was a diabetic and took much longer to heal. My niece brought a hospital bed for him, and we set it up in one of the rooms in the lower part of the house and I looked after him there. He had to take extended sick leave and was under constant care for many months.
Although he returned to work after a couple of months, his ribs did not heal properly until a couple of years later. My daughter and grandson took a while to heal. Our daughter suffered from back and neck pains for a long time after the accident.
After a few months, the family received compensation for our injuries. I commend the Justice system in Miami. Justice was swift.