This week marks 5 years since my life-changing accident. It was a day that wasn't much different that any November day before it, raising two busy young boys with a husband who worked out of town. I was home playing with my 11-year-old and my 13-year-old was at a friend's house after playing hockey and needed to be picked up, my husband who is a pilot was across the country. Just an average Saturday night as I told my youngest to stay put and play his video game and that Mama would be home soon with his brother. It was only a 15-minute ride up the road and he was okay with being left for half an hour or so. My oldest was expecting me, and I told him to be ready to go when I got there as it was starting to rain and snow and I wanted to get home and settle in for the night.
My not showing up to pick up my son, nor returning home to my little boy that night had long-lasting effects on my boys that will forever haunt me. Both boys to this day still check on me if I’m gone too long, and will never forget the way the evening was quarterbacked for them from a cell phone in Calgary as their Dad frantically tried to arrange friends to get them together and take care of them while I was taken to hospital. People tried to keep it from them that I had been involved in a car accident but they were old enough to understand Mom didn't come back when she said she would, so something must be wrong.
A concussion, whiplash and some bruising. 12 hours in a bright, busy hospital, waiting, 5 minutes with a doctor, and sent home in a cab. The next few weeks are a blur but mostly consisted of sleeping and occasional showering with some assistance. Everyone said a concussion should only be a few weeks so I forced myself to get up, get moving and even tried to go back to my work after 5 weeks but to no avail, the concussion symptoms would not let go!
Next to my husband and my sons, my work is my life and I enjoyed going to work. I was blessed to find a career that gave me joy and inspired me. I’ve been fulfilling my life work since my teen years when I looked after my frail Nana in her last years and I carried on and made it a profession. I enjoyed workshops and further education about Gerontology and between motherhood, being a wife and doing the job that I loved-my life was close to perfect. But that was taken from me. Yup, I still love interacting with people, especially older adults. I still LOVE my husband and my boys but the last 5 years were not what I was expecting and certainly not what I had planned.
The legal battles, the emotional battles, the physical battles….. There isn't much time for anything else. I can only hope that time will heal the scars from this 5-year battle and that I will be able to find some of my old self.
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