For a Second Time

I don’t remember seeing the vehicle approaching me.  I only remember the jarring impact and that for only a split second. The next thing I remember is EMTs or paramedics opening the door and attempting to describe what they were going to do to help me and that everything would be fine.  I remember being loaded onto a very uncomfortable gurney and then into the ambulance, and experiencing discomfort as the ambulance jostled and bounced me on the way to the hospital where I was taken into the ER.

I recall directing one of the EMTs to call my wife during the bumpy ride.  I recall seeing a lot of people around me in the ER, a bustle of arms and hands.  I recall seeing attendants cutting up and cutting off my nice suit pants, my garment underwear, my white shirt.  I recall feeling cared for but completely at the mercy of these people, doing what they were trained to do.  I remember my relief to see my wife appear and to offer the comfort that only she can give.

She told me that on the way home from church she heard a siren, and since she hadn’t seen me return to the chapel, thought that perhaps something might have happened to me.  She told me that she had immediately left the house after receiving the EMT phone call.  She told me that she was concerned about me and that she wanted to be there at my side, a very comforting feeling in the drama of the moment.  She told me that she had caught a glimpse of the car, that it was in bad shape, and that I was fortunate to have only been hurt to the degree that I had.

It did not seem like a Sunday.  The whole time seemed very surreal.  As I reflected on the impact, it didn’t seem to be as forceful as it actually was.  It didn’t seem that I had come close to losing my life, but in looking at the wreckage, and reflecting on what might have been, I had come very, very close.  It did seem, and does seem, that for as serious as my injuries were/are,  that I was/am being watched over once again by a loving God.

Apparently it was all the other’s driver’s fault, and apparently he left a message on our home phone about how sorry he indeed was.  It seems to have been caused by losing control of his smallish SUV while dealing with a wasp or hornet that had already stung him at least once.  While his car apparently suffered minimal damage, my car was totaled, the front end completely destroyed, and the wreckage bears witness to the dramatic impact of the two vehicles.

The day after, I started to make phone calls and leave messages for people that would be affected by me being out of circulation.  For some reason I don’t fully understand, it was particularly difficult to speak with my brother and sister.  It suppose that I realized how blessed I was to still be around and how difficult it would be for them to lose their little brother.  They did bring up, and it is true, that this was the second near-death experience I’ve had in 2013 and that God must really be preserving my life.