June 17th was a Monday. I hadn't been to the gym in weeks and decided that I was going to be really good and go at least 4 times that week to get back into the routine. We put the kids to bed and I headed out at the normal time of 9:15. I always take Drake to Timberline, but as I approached the light at Drake I made a last minute decision to take Horsetooth because I didn't feel like waiting for the light to turn green. Then when I got to Horsetooth and Shields I was reminded how it was closed, so I turned and planned on just going to Harmony and take that the rest of the way, when I decided at the last second to turn down the neighborhood street to get to Meadowlark and cut back over to Horsetooth. Funny how little decisions like that make such an impact. I was driving on Meadowlark approaching Horsetooth, passing the movie theatre when I saw the headlights of a truck coming at my passenger side window and it was too late. He hit me HARD and pushed me into the other lane of oncoming traffic where a car hard to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me from the front. And I started screaming and crying. It scared me to death. I had never been in an accident before and was in a little bit of shock. It jolted me so hard that my chest was hurting pretty bad, probably mostly from the seat belt, partly from my heart beating out of my chest. Pretty quickly a woman appeared at my window asking if I was alright and she was on the phone with 911, then the kid driving the truck came up and started apologizing and making sure I was OK. It was a mess! I had glass in my lap from my broken windshield and the whole interior passenger side of my car was caved in, glove compartment stuck open. I ended up taking the ambulance to the hospital because of chest pains, where they did x-rays to make sure nothing was broken. I was REALLY hoping my car wasn't totalled, I loved my car. But a week later when the insurance finally went to look at it, they determined that there was so much damage because of how hard he hit me, it was totalling $15,000, and my car was not worth that, so I had to go say goodbye. I get attached to things... and I don't like change :) So it was hard to say goodbye to a car that I knew, and felt comfortable in, AND was close to paying off :( It's been 2 months since the accident and I am still having doctor appointments because my back and neck were all messed up from the whip-lash. I'm happy to say it's FINALLY getting better. I know people get in car accidents every day, it's scary to think how frequently accidents happen, but this was my first experience, and hopefully last! Thank God the kids weren't with me! After I told the kids what happened and they saw the car, Bradley was really worried driving anywhere that someone would run into us. And still now when I tell the kids I'm going to the gym Gracie asks, "That guy run into you again?"
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