First off, we're okay.

[rivka]

On our way in to work this morning, curiousangel and I were involved in a six-car pile-up. Traffic had slowed considerably as we approached Baltimore on I-95, which may be the reason why no one was seriously hurt. Suddenly, the car behind us hit us hard, knocking us into the car in front of us, and then there were a series of other impacts that shook us back and forth. We were both wearing our seat belts, which did their jobs admirably.

Shock helps a lot, actually. I checked to see if Misha was all right, and then walked up and down the line of piled-up cars making sure that there were no serious injuries and starting to take down people's information. He called 911. Our car was sadly crumpled front and rear, but the frame of the passenger compartment was untouched. We were at least able to start it up and drive it to the side of the road, when the police asked us to.

As I walked up and down the wreck I started feeling more and more wobbly. Dizzy. Headachy. Neck-achy. Unsteady on my feet. Nauseated. I wound up spending most of the next hour and a half leaning against the barrier at the side of the highway trying not to throw up or fall over, and waiting for everything to finish up with the police so we could go to the hospital. Misha took over the information-gathering job, despite the fact that his neck was also aching. We started to piece together what had happened. Apparently, a dump truck swerved to try to avoid an 18-wheeler, and instead hit the woman behind us. She hit us hard enough that her air bag inflated (ours didn't), and she was scraped up a little - including a bloody scratch from the air bag, on her six-months-pregnant stomach. Her car and ours were the only ones so damaged that they had to be towed. At least everyone had insurance.

The guy we hit drove us to the ER at the hospital where I work. We were quickly separated - I stayed in the main ER because of my concussion symptoms, and Misha was sent to Urgent Care, which is one step down. Both of us were strapped into cervical collars. I got a whole series of X-rays - including a pelvic X-ray, because they didn't believe me when I said it was normal for me to have pain when my hip bones are touched - and a cursory neurological exam. We both walked away with prescriptions for 800mg Motrin pills and a dire prediction that we're going to hurt a lot more tomorrow. I was given a scrip for Valium too, which I guess is to relax my muscles. (I wasn't exactly hysterical or anything.) They said that as long as I didn't lose consciousness or have altered mental status there's nothing that needs doing for my dizziness &etc. But the whole ER trip took hours and hours and hours.

Bill came and got us and drove us home. I expect that the dump truck driver's insurance company will be providing us with a rental car, but we didn't want to wait around in the ER with nothing to eat or read while all of that got worked out.

It could have been so much worse. We're lucky to be as safe and well as we are. We're lucky to have insurance that will sort everything out for us. Lucky. We're lucky. But sore.

Comments

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

oh, honey!

*careful hug for you and misha*

i'm glad to hear that you're all right.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Scary shit. Glad you two are OK.

aaiiee

[mittelbar.livejournal.com]

I checked in to see if you had anything to say about tornado stuff. But then this!

Aiiee!

Aiieee!

I mean, oh, good, you're more or less OK. Well. Um. Good. Going dancing tonight? (Um. That's a lame joke, in case you didn't guess.)

Re: aaiiee

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Speaking of tornados, I was wondering if it came anywhere near you. I listened to the radio in my car as it was reported in Montgomery County, and from the predicted track it sounded like it was going to be passing near your place. Good to see you posting, as I've had quite enough excitement for one day.

This is getting entirely too much like Texas springtime afternoon weather.

Re: aaiiee

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I mean, oh, good, you're more or less OK. Well. Um. Good.

Thanks, and thanks for calling. Sorry Misha hurried you off the phone, but we were waiting to hear from our insurance company - we're hoping that they'll take care of all the preliminary negotiation with the truck driver's insurance company for us, and so we didn't want to miss their call.

Going dancing tonight? (Um. That's a lame joke, in case you didn't guess.)

Actually, Misha might go. We have the ball coming up this weekend, and he hasn't been in some time. I don't really think that turns and things are a good idea for me, though. I really do think that I'm mildly concussed. So my plan is to stay home and take painkillers and go to sleep early.

Re: aaiiee

[redbird]

I worry: the combination of staying home alone, mildly concussed, painkillers, and going to sleep early seems risky. But I Am Not A Doctor, so this isn't medical advice, just a suggestion that you might want to consult someone about this.

Oh, and thanks for starting by telling us that you're all right.

Re: aaiiee

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I worry: the combination of staying home alone, mildly concussed, painkillers, and going to sleep early seems risky.

True, and thanks for mentioning it. My understanding is that it's just the first few hours after a concussion that really matter in terms of necessary observation and sleep being dangerous, and by the time I wind up in bed it will have been at least twelve. But also Misha is currently doubting whether he should really go dancing. There's another line of strong storms coming our way, and the last one included a tornado. Not a good inducement for driving across town for a dance.

When Bill called to warn us that there was a tornado headed in our general direction, I told Misha that being in a car accident and having our apartment destroyed by a tornado in the same day would simply be too overly dramatic. Fortunately the universe appeared to agree.

Oh, and thanks for starting by telling us that you're all right.

Heh. I was raised right, I guess. It's been the opener of every single conversation I've had about the accident, including the one I just had over the phone with my mom: "Hi Mom. Let me start out by saying that we're both okay." "You were in an accident!" "Well, yes, now that you mention it."

Good reasons to stay home

[wcg.livejournal.com]

But also Misha is currently doubting whether he should really go dancing. There's another line of strong storms coming our way, and the last one included a tornado.

Given his absence from the dance, I surmise he decided to stay home. I now have his dance booklet for next Saturday's ball, which I will pass along whenever convenient.

I left the dance early, since the wind had freshened to somewhere around a Force 4 gale, and I didn't fancy driving home in wind whipped rain with the usual assortment of I-695 drivers around me. I'm now home, having driven past an uprooted oak tree less than a mile from here. I hope the ones in my back yard all stay put.

Re: Good reasons to stay home

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Given his absence from the dance, I surmise he decided to stay home. I now have his dance booklet for next Saturday's ball, which I will pass along whenever convenient.

Around 20 to 8, I pulled up the Doppler image at weather.com (http://www.weather.com) and called out "Hey, looks like the storms are going to go north and south of us, so you could probably make the dance." No answer. I went into the bedroom and he was fast asleep.

Dance booklets! Do you have mine as well as his? That would be great. Every bit of review is going to help.

Re: Good reasons to stay home

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Norm only had his, for some weird reason I still don't know. I did specifically ask for yours too. (For that matter, he didn't have mine either.)

The program is available online at http://www.just.net/~roger/ball2002/ although you'll have to look elsewhere for the specific steps and figures. I'll note from last night's chaotic attempt that Shandy Hall is beautiful when all four couples in the set know what they're doing, and a complete mess if even one person goes astray.

[jodawi.livejournal.com]

eeek. if you need me for any transportations or other things while i'm at work let me know. phone is in my Memories / Contact Info

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Thank you, very much. The nice people at State Farm arranged a rental car for us already - they've really been on the ball about this. But it's nice to know there are helpful people out there.

[gundo.livejournal.com]

Just glad to hear y'all are ok!

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

ARGH!

I dissaprove of these things happening to my friends!

G'luck with the post-crash stuff, too...

[kalikanzara.livejournal.com]

...glad to hear you're okay, hopefully there won't be any longer term problems. Document everything & all that stuff, sorting everything out after can be a pain, IME.

[jenett]

Yikes! That sounds entirely too .. something. Words fail me right now. But it's good that you're both safe, that you've been given medication stuff (and that they wanted to be sure about your hip bones, too.) And that insurance stuff will happen. Take care of yourselves, though.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Eek. I'm so glad you're both all right.

[wiredferret.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that it turned out okay for you. That's very scary!

[scherazade.livejournal.com]

Glad you guys are alright. Be gentle with yourselves for a while...

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Insurance coverage is good. Getting contact from the dump truck company is also good. Not being injured is good. Still - yeargh! I'm very glad to hear that you're all right, and I also hope that the pregnant lady and her baby are all right. Ye ghods.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I also hope that the pregnant lady and her baby are all right. Ye ghods.

We saw the pregnant lady and her family at the hospital. As of the time we left, which was a good five hours after the accident, she was fine - just scratched up, no injury to the baby, not going into premature labor or anything, Gods be praised.

[elynne.livejournal.com]

Good, good, good. Whew. And advice from above is also excellent - document the hell out of everything, especially write down exactly what happened as both of you remember it, and keep all reciepts/records/whatever. As I'm finding out, many civil suits that go to court don't start getting processed for a few years. I doubt that you'll be a target for any suits, if anything it sounds like the dump truck company will be taking most of that; still, it's good to have and take care of now, while everything is still fresh.

Re:

[rivka.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine how it could possibly be construed as our fault, given that everyone seemed to be in agreement that we'd been hit from behind. They had us all fill out separate witness reports on the scene, so there won't be a lot of room for people's stories to change. And fortunately, I heard the dump truck driver acknowledge responsibility for the accident to one of the officers on the scene.

But we're keeping all our records. And we were careful to get fully checked out at the hospital, just in case his insurance company balks at paying for anything we might need. And we called our agent before we left the scene, to find out what we needed to find out and so forth. Really, we were remarkably well-organized about it all.

Plus, Misha's dad is a State Farm agent. So we have a big gun in reserve. :-)

Thanks for your good wishes. Thanks, everybody.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Gods be praised, indeed. In this country, pregnant wemen are often advised to get the airbags disabled for the duration - the impact can be enough to cause a miscarriage, and some manufacturers have had trouble with airbags going off accidentally when they weren't needed.

I'm very glad you're okay, too.

[jilesa.livejournal.com]

Yeep!! I'm glad no one was seriously injured, and I hope you both heal quickly and well.

*gentlehugs and icepacks offered*

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I'm delighted that you're not badly hurt, and that Bill was there to help. Even if you had been able to get a rental right away, driving with sore necks and possible concussions might not have been advisable.

[wayward-va.livejournal.com]

Allow me to join world+dog and congratulate you on being ok. Take care, follow the good advice about insurance.

====steve

[anisoptera.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you guys are mostly okay. Sending healing thoughts.

[tammylc.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're okay.

Very gentle hugs to both of you.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

I'll echo everyone else's sentiments about being glad that you're OK. Please do go get evaluated by a neck and back specialist (osteopath??) ASAP - a friend of mine was hit a few months back and has been spending all his free time going to doctor, chiropracter, and acupuncturist appointments ever since, and he *still* can't do anything more than "light duty."

Warm thoughts

[ororo.livejournal.com]

Very happy to hear y'all are okay. Keep taking care of each other.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Yipes - see what happens when I turn my back on LJ for a day?

What everyone else said. And gentle *hugs* for both of you.

[geekchick]

Let me also say that I'm glad to hear that both of you are okay (as well as apparently everyone else involved). I can think of many more pleasant ways to start the week.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Oh, my god. I'm so glad you're okay. Which car was it? I hope the prediction is wrong that you end up hurting a lot more tomorrow!

It's a good thing the airbag didn't inflate, though, because all of the resulting gender confusion would have been far more traumatic than the accident, I'm afraid. ;-)

-J

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Oh, my god. I'm so glad you're okay. Which car was it?

Alas, it was not the 12-year-old rust bucket, but the bright shiny '98 Protege we're still making payments on. On the bright side, I suppose that means they're less likely to declare it totalled.

I hope the prediction is wrong that you end up hurting a lot more tomorrow!

In a little bit we're both going to take one-half a Valium. I'm hoping that will help keep our muscles relaxed overnight, but it seems pretty much inevitable that we're going to have more muscle pain and stiffness tomorrow.

It's a good thing the airbag didn't inflate, though, because all of the resulting gender confusion would have been far more traumatic than the accident, I'm afraid. ;-)

*snort* I can't believe I completely forgot about that. You're absolutely right. (For the confused, the label on our dashboard clearly says 'SRS airbag' - and neither Misha nor I has ever had much interest in taking that step.)

[redbird]

That's a warning that the airbag has had, or is planning, SRS, so be gentle with it.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm glad the both of you are safe!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm *so* glad you're both relatively okay.

Carol

[dandelion-diva.livejournal.com]

Oh my.

I'm so glad both of you are only minorly smushed, and that the insurance people have been good about keeping in touch and getting things done.

I'm also glad the the pregnant person and passenger were ok.

Hope neither of you are too achey.

Gesi