As I sit here in my cousin Erika's kitchen, I'm struck by the blessings I have been given in the last 72 hours. I was in a wreck with my family on Thursday morning and never in my life had a really thought about something happening while we were all together . God had us in his hands on Thursday and for that I will forever be grateful. Life has a way of clarifying things to you when necessary. I think that we were
not meant to get to Chicago to see my Uncle. For whatever the reason, I know that we were meant to head on to Memphis,TN. and then on to Clarksdale,MS. to see my cousin and meet her family.
Today I make a pledge to live better each day... I don't think I was living badly before but I have a new perspective based on the luck that I had on my side that day. All you have to do is take a look at my car to see that the good Lord was with us all that day and we were lucky to walk away with nothing but bumps and bruises.
For those who want to know what happened, here goes.
We were headed to Chicago to see my Uncle who is very ill. I had been driving and got a bit tired so I asked my mom to switch (she normally drives at least an hour or two so I can get a nap in). She had just switched maybe 45 minutes before and we had just stopped to fill up the gas tank. We left the gas station headed for 440 east in Little Rock, Ark. At one point we thought we heard the wrong instructions but then 440 came and mom told us all "Here's 440 !" . I closed my eyes for a quick moment when I heard a strange noise (mom had hit bumped the tires on the bottom part of the median). I looked at her asking what that noise was and she looked at me with a vacant expression. Just as I turned to look at her, we were barrelling towards another car that looked like it was stopped ( I learned later that it wasn't we were just going that fast). Jason and I yelled at my mom to slow down and stop the car, but there was no response visually or vocally from her. Just before we hit the black expedition, I turned the wheel so that we did not hit the car straight on. We hit the back left side of the car and then went on to hit the median. Upon impact the air bags burst out and then we spun around a number of times before hitting an 18 wheeler and then hitting the other median. We were still moving at a very high speed so I had to take my seat belt off and climb over and press on the brake of the car. It was very
scary to look in my mom's face and see that she is awake but nothing is happening in her brain. Afterwards, I had to climb out of the vehicle which we were very lucky to have come to rest upright on the shoulder of the highway. There is a large drop off where we were and we were only 2 or 3 exits from the Arkansas River. Jason and Imani and Jason were all in the back seat okay. Small injuries were all we had but we still sent them all to the
ER to get checked out. JJ had a cut on his right leg and forearm, Imani had a bruise on her abdomen and my brother had some abrasions on his right arm from the second impact. We all had glass everywhere since my passenger side window shattered inside of the car. Again, all minor issues considering the events that we had just been through.
LUCKY. My mom was so out of it, she was talking to us and asking what happened and why I was so worked up.
SHE HAD NO IDEA. We have talked about it numerous times and she has no idea what happened. All she remembers is saying "Here's 440!" and then me getting her out of the car post accident. Her CT scans and blood work came back normal and the doctor diagnosed her as "healthy as a horse". I know she is healthy and I get what the tests say, but
SOMETHING happened and in that time we were lucky to still be alive. She is going to go to the neurologist and get checked out again as is my brother. It's always a scary thing when in an accident but since my brother has had a stroke already and is on blood thinning medication so we worry even more. We were blessed by an angel named Kim who stopped on the side of the road at the wreck and stayed with me all day even offering her own home at one point if we needed a place to stay the night. She will forever be a part of our family and we are lucky to have met her.
"BLACK BEAUTY" MY 2007 SATURN VUE - THE CAR THAT SAVED OUR LIVES
LUCKY is the word of the week.
This is the family the same day of the wreck... we were so happy and blessed to be a family. All of us were a bit sore and I kept finding glass in my hair and in my pants...pretty much everywhere. My bruises were making themselves known by this time and my adrenaline was wearing thin. Soreness was starting to set in hence the leaning forward position in this pose. I can only put my elbows where they are b/c of the bruises that I have.
HAMILTON FAMILY - MEMPHIS TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 4,2012
We drove on to Memphis to try to salvage something out of this horrible experience. My mom's friend Tanzie is in Memphis so I knew if I could get there I would be able to have a moment to think about wither going on to Chicago or going back to Dallas. I was the only driver and it really was my decision. Erika invited us down to her house in Clarksdale and also was good enough to check me out and get me some pain meds to help with the soreness. By Friday it had really started to set in... I was so so sore and bruised and wouldn't have slept AMAZING if my back and legs had let me. Small price to pay... I'll take it.
It is now Monday October 8th and I am back home relaxing on my day off the second to last day of what was supposed to be my DCL Reunion trip to Las Vegas, NV. and my Los Angeles, CA. trip to see my pseudo sister Ayana. My mother and I have had quite a few chats in the past few days and are even closer if that is possible. We both know that we have survived something that could have been horrible.We will be sharing a vehicle for a while but small price to pay for 5 lives still going.
BLESSED AND GRATEFUL WE WILL BE...A FAMILY OF 5 STILL ARE WE
Thanks for all of the love and support from family and friends and a BIG THANK YOU to my boss Sarah and co-workers at Anthony Travel for helping me get through this crazy time.
