the crash that changed my life Essays

the crash that changed my life Essays the crash that changed my life Essay the crash that changed my life Essay The Crash that changed my life Paris Tallman Developmental Writing Life can be very unpredictable, there are many accidents everyday. Some people perceive these events as unfortunate, while others believe it to be an act of god. Whenever I witness car accidents on the road, I view them as to be very unfortunate for the people involved. I never imagined one day I would firsthand experience the event of being in a car accident. I remember it as if it was yesterday. On Sunday, September 16th, 2012, my grandfather picked me up from work and we were on our way to go shopping at Wal- Mart. My grandfather went to make a turn and then BOOM! All of a sudden my entire life changed. A car sped through a red light hitting my side of the car, at 70 miles per hour. The first thing I remember was the extreme pain I felt. My hips and my entire lower body felt as if they were put in a large compacter and crushed. I feared that the pain in itself might cause me to die. Even though the pain was severe, I knew I had other things of great importance to pay attention to. The second thing I remember is when I looked over at my grandfather. The oment our car was struck he lost consciousness. I was fully conscious and aware of what Just occurred. Overwhelmed with fear, I truly thought my grandfather was dead. I screamed out as loud as I possibly could, in attempt to wake him up. I noticed how the car was still moving, slowly rolling its way towards a wooded area. When my first attempt in waking up my grandfather failed, I tried a different approach. I struggled to free my arm, and I began to shake my grandfathers shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes, and regained consciousness. He quickly put the car in park and pulled the mergency brake to stop the car. Once he had fully awakened, he went into a state of shock. He looked around realizing what Just happened along with seeing the condition I was in. He hastily Jumped out of the car and repetitively cried out What did I do? What did I do? Look at what Ive done! He sounded as if he was riddled with extreme guilt. Even though I had debilitating pain and injuries, I knew at that moment I had to be the stronger person in this situation. I saw the sheer panic and sorrow my grandfather felt, it showed all over his face and body language. In my mind, I had to consider my grandfather has had heart problems. I was so grateful Just for the fact that we both were alive, I did not want anything to risk changing that. I gasped for air, taking in a deep breath, I yelled out to my grandfather, Papa relax! Im okay! Everything is fine, we are both alive! Im Just in a lot of pain though so please calm down. Its not your fault, and all that matters is that we are okay! We are alive! We are still alive! Im still alive! I tried to stop crying, or at least cry less and cry quieter. I did not want my grandfather to have any more tress than he already had, because I feared his heart might stop. Words cant explain how grateful and lucky I felt to be alive. I kept thanking god and saying out loud, Thank you god, Oh thank you god for letting me live. Words cant explain how grateful and lucky I felt to be alive. Everything seemed to be happening in slow and ambulance to come and save me. I saw a man and a woman pulled over. The man ran fast but cautiously, towards my car. At the time, I did not realize the man and woman were my next door neighbors. They witnessed the accident and came to help me. I begged the man, Sir please, Im in a lot of pain. Help me move and get to the center console of the car, please. The man looked at me with fear and doubt. He made an attempt to lift me but was unsuccessful. His wife heard me ask to be moved and she said not to move me. I cried and pleaded for help. The woman told me to calm down explaining they didnt know what injuries I might have, therefore its best they did not touch me. All I could do was pray and continue to wait for the police and ambulance. Eventually the police arrived along with the ambulance, firefighters and a firetruck. I remember the shocked look on everyones face. It must have been difficult to see such a young girl in a horrible situation. While everyone saw me as a poor victim, I saw everyone there as my heroes. The firefighters told me the only way they were able to get me out of the car was to use the Jaws of life. At that point, I told them to do whatever it took to get me out of the car. I kept thanking every police officer, medical person, firefighter and anyone else on the scene. I looked into their eyes and told them Thank you, you helped save my life. Thank god I am still alive. When they orked on cutting me out of the car, the sound of the Jaws of life was the loudest noise I have ever heard in my life. Once I was free from the car, they put me on a stretcher and got me into the ambulance. Before they shut the doors, I yelled out to thank everyone, to let them know how grateful I was and how important they were to me. My entire family as well as my boyfriend, were waiting for me at the hospital. I was so happy to see everyone. The doctor did tests and found I had 8 fractures in my pelvis and hips. I also had cartilage damage and other injuries. I thought the fight as completely over, but I still had pain and a long recovery process. Over time I made a full recovery, with some permanent damage but nothing too severe. I sued the other driver and I won the lawsuit, winning more than $100,000. Even though the car accident was such a horrible event, there were many positive things IVe learned and received from it. I received money, which doesnt buy happiness but it helped me buy a car. I learned strength, wisdom, and most of all how valuable life is. I know without a doubt this was not only an unfortunate event, but this was also an act of god.