December 30, 2008 - Terrifying

On the 30th, Scott went off to work. I hopped in my Honda, with Jaelyn and we headed down to the Cities, which is over an hour south east of us. About 45 minutes into our drive, I hit a patch of ice, going 55 mph. My car spun backwards, slid backwards into the ditch, rolled onto the roof, and came to rest against the cable barrier which separates the traffic lanes. Talk about terrifying!

I was screaming, "Jesus!" and then was screaming, "Jaelyn!" As soon as I realized we were upside down, I slid to the backseat to check on Jaelyn. She was hanging upside down, looking at me like, "That was kind of fun, Mom!" The windows on the passenger side had blown out, and there were at least five men who had stopped to help. I unbuckled Jaelyn, passed her to one of the men, then slid myself out of the window. Jaelyn only cried once she was in some stranger's arms and couldn't see me. As soon as I got out of the car, I took her back, and checked her over, best I could. She seemed totally fine. I was certainly shaky, but seemed fine as well. THANK YOU LORD!!! I did get a small cut on my knee, but I think that was from crawling back into the car on broken glass to get out my purse, my jacket, and cell phone.

We then sat in the van of a wonderful man, named Larry. He and his son, Tyler, were our angels that day. They sat with us until the police were done with their reports and the car got towed away. They then took us to a local Target to get a new car seat for Jaelyn. Next, they took us about 10 miles to Scott's work. All together, they spent two hours of their day with us and I am so grateful to them and for them.

Jaelyn and I went to the doctor that afternoon to get checked out, just in case. Jaelyn got a full exam and seems to be doing great! She is acting normal, has shown no signs of discomfort, and doesn't have any bruising or cuts on her. I can't even put into words how thankful I am for that. Thankful isn't even a strong enough word to describe my relief.

Overall, I'm doing great, as well. A few weeks ago, I had an MRI which showed I have two herniated discs in my lower back. YUCK! So, I think that has been aggravated a bit more with the crash, but otherwise, I feel really good. I don't have any other pain, aside from being sore for the first day or two from the tension of it all.

So, as far as we can tell, the car is totaled, but we are waiting for official word on Monday, Jan. 5. There was damage to all four doors, two windows got blown out, both mirrors are gone. The front, driver's side is smashed up from hitting the cable barrier, the roof is dented, as well as the hood. I think it's safe to say, we won't be fixing that one up. Our next move will be to a mini-van. Never thought I'd be driving one, but it seems to be the best option to fit our family's needs.

All I can say is "Thank you, God! We are so blessed and so thankful for Your protection in such a horrifying situation."