Aftermath

Whew.

A car accident is a lot of work.  It’s been a lot of emotion.  I had some logistical problems getting all 5 kids to the chiropractor on Wednesday because we were borrowing a car until the insurance gave us one, and it wasn’t big enough for our family, and the older 2 kids were at VBS anyway and VBS took them to the local nursing home to sing during the appointment anyway.  Silje and David assured me they weren’t hurting, and they could wait until Monday to see him.

So the 3 littles and I went in.  I hurt so bad that day after that ever move I made nearly brought me to tears.  It was pretty bad.  The little ones all needed some adjusting.  Thankfully they’re still so rubbery at that age.

He was so glad I came in the day after, and not the week after as so many people do.  He couldn’t emphasize enough how crucial that was.  After looking me over, and gently adjusting me as much as my tense body would allow, he sat me down and told me we have some work to do.  I’ll be going there for awhile, and he’s not willing to say whether or not yet whether or not I’ll have some long term issues.  He also wanted to prepare me that the pain wasn’t going to instantly go away.  It would be awhile.

Wednesday night I was very teary.  I was worried how long I would hurt this bad.  I was worried I was going to have long term problems from the accident.  So many little ones rely on me and my body that the thought of letting them down in any way was just overwhelming.  Knut just held me and prayed for me that I wouldn’t let fear of the unknown overwhelm me.  That really helped.

I woke up on the 4th, as we prepped to go out to the extended family lake cabin for our yearly extraordinary party.  My pain was almost half of what it was the day before, and I can’t tell you what a relief that was.  Not only that, but the lake just felt so good.

However, the 2 older kids who said they could wait to go in on Monday both had bad headaches last night.  I don’t think they’re as good as they say they are.

Things I’ve learned:

Trauma messes with your brain.  I’ve had trouble focusing on anything.  I feel like I’m walking around in a haze, having trouble finishing thoughts or answering questions.  Man, I have a new sympathy for those who go through trauma.  You know you need help, but it’s hard to know even what you need and you just need someone to come to your aid and just do stuff without being asked.  Fortunately I have such a support system.  I haven’t been much help to them, but they have taken away some of the panic of not knowing how to deal with everything.

Trauma makes you cry when you don’t want to, or start shaking when you don’t mean to.  It’s already getting better, but it sometimes just comes up and surprises me.  Prayer helps.  I am told this is normal and will get better.

I get scared going faster than 5 miles per hour through intersections, and feel like I’m even going too fast.  When Knut drove to the lake I teared up 3 times, and he was even driving slow for me.

Insurance companies are wonderful.  Shout out to State Farm for handling everything and making all of my concerns melt away, even over a holiday weekend.

Car shopping makes my head spin.  Today Knut has the day off, so he’s going out there to look at a bunch.  I’m going to stay home with the kids for this first round of test driving.  Tomorrow for our 11th anniversary, Grandma is watching the kids, and we may test drive some together for round 2.

I tried knitting last night.  It didn’t hurt to do that, and that made me happy.

Thank you all for your prayers of thankfulness and for recovery.  I have felt so profoundly loved and grateful these last few days.