Black Friday is an interesting day for me. When I was 20 years old, home for Thanksgiving weekend, I drove from our town of Snohomish, Wash. to Bothell to hear a band play at a grange hall. I was with two high school girlfriends, Mary and Rebecca, who were sisters.
People in the band were friends. My goal was to ask one of the guys in the band to our sorority dance. It was a Tolo type of dance, where the girl asked the boy.
We parked across the street. Rebecca was stopping cars on the busy highway so we could cross. I froze in the headlights and held onto the hood of Rebecca’s parka, when a pick up truck came racing toward us.
The truck hit us both.
I bounced onto the hood, shattered the windshield and landed 35 feet on the other side. I was on the highway lying in a pool of blood with tires driving by — inches from my face.
Thank goodness for Mary, who wasn’t hit and watched it all happen. She called the ambulance and I was off to Evergreen Hospital for a few weeks. Rebecca refused to be admitted and lost a kidney later.
This is another one my memories of Thanksgiving week that isn’t so great. Our dear friend died Thanksgiving 2021. Kitty died Sunday and then I have the memory of getting hit by a truck.
But one of the unexpected outcomes of that Black Friday was gratitude. Yes, there was pain. Months of not walking. I had to come home from college for a quarter.
My priorities in life profoundly changed.
Waiting in the hospital bed for a physical therapist to show up, I realized my two strong desires. To walk again and be able to go to the bathroom. I no longer cared about losing five pounds. I didn’t care about the latest fashion. I didn’t care about grades.
Life is precious. And I appreciate every moment.
What life changing moment have you experienced where your priorities changed?
It must have been a very scary experience for you Elizabeth. It’s true that when we go through such a traumatic experience, our priorities do change. Lots of love and hugs
Thank you. It was a scary experience. I had nightmares for years reliving it.
Oh I can imagine. 🤗
💕
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Not a happy time of the year for you EA. I know people who try very hard to ignore specific holidays and do things totally unrelated to a bad memory time of year but I wonder if that really works? Life and tragedy happens all the time and I think being honest about the pain like you have been and are illustrating in these posts helps to deal with emotions and go on living… I think that I have 2 big ones- facing my cancer diagnosis when my kids were young, and then the final realization that my marriage had failed.
Thanks for understanding. I think being honest helps rather than hiding from pain. I didn’t know about your cancer diagnosis. I’m relieved for you that you’re healthy now.
Thank you EA. I continue to be grateful that it was found very early. The surgical recovery took some doing with 3 kids and a husband in the military at the time…It is a part of my life that I don’t think all that much about anymore but at the time I could not imagine leaving my kids as I know many woman easily face that news with reproductive cancers.
Wow. That must have been so difficult to take care of your three children alone, while you needed to recover and heal. You made it through that time probably stronger than not having experiencing it.
I had lost my dad around that time also. He was always someone who just did what needed to be done. I think he was guiding me and keeping me focused…
You were facing so much at that time in your life. I’m sorry you lost your dad, too. 💕
And I am glad that you survived that horrific experience. We both found strength to move ahead.
Yes we did!
Amazing how much a huge event like that can re-order our priorities. Wow, Elizabeth, I’m so glad that you survived. Hearing this story makes me appreciate your morning walking habit even more. I can see why Thanksgiving week comes with a lot of associations.
Thank you, Wynne. I hadn’t thought about the connection with my morning walks, but I’m sure that’s why I find so much comfort with them. I remember being on crutches in the rain trying to get to class on time across campus! That was exhausting!
Oddly enough the day after Thanksgiving is one of those days where everything in my life changed dramatically. About 20 years ago I was admitted into ER with horrendous stomach pain and a few hours later I had 25% of my intestine removed in emergency surgery. It had knotted shut and I was on the cusp of gangrene. Nothing has been the same for me since then.
That’s so good you went to the ER. How horrific for you. I’m so glad you had emergency surgery and are better. Nothing has been the same for me since my encounter with the truck.
Yes, I can understand that.
We’re both fortunate to be here.
Well written EA. What a story. We forget but life really is precious!
Thank you, Brian. Yes, it’s a good reminder that life is precious. Also to have our priorities focused on what matters most in life.
Wow, I believe you were blessed to get up and walk away, mostly. Truly a horrific experience. Most holidays have passed fairly good for me. When I was a teenager, I was involved as a passenger in a horrific accident and was thrown from the car. We all survived, though. I am cautious driving with others and try to keep my anxiety in check.
I didn’t exactly walk away, but thank you. I was awake after getting hit, but could’t move. I am with you on the driving anxiety. It’s gotten worse in the last few years. I think it stems from my getting by the truck. You’re lucky you made it after being thrown from a car!
Well, I mean that you got on your feet after some time, but yes. I was lucky because I was laying down in the back seat. My mom told me, ‘get down’ when we knew we were going to hit the oil truck. She went through the wind shield. Being in a small town, we had some great friends and neighbors who helped us through.
You and your mother are so lucky! I am fortunate because five or six years after my accident I went back to ballet class and skiing. My best friend in college would force me to get out of bed and go with her outside rain or shine and get some exercise.
That is very good to have a friend like this! Yes, we had lots of support from our community. Good things to keep in mind and forget the anxiety of hitting the oil tanker! Enjoy your Black Friday.
Thanks!
Wow! Fortunately I haven’t had any experiences like that so far. Glad you eventually came out of it okay.
Thank you. It was rough and my friend Rebecca lost a kidney. She died from kidney failure a few years ago.
I’m thankful you’re still with us to tell that story. Sounds very painful and scary. Wintertime has become a scary season for me as my daughter has been in the hospital frequently during the holiday virus season. I’m having an anxiety already about her catching something. But I’m hoping she will get a break this year .
I’m sorry to hear that about your daughter. My son had severe asthma from RSV as a toddler. I spent many sleepless nights in the hospital, so I can relate a bit. He still gets sick every winter and the asthma never went away. I’m happy I’m here today, too.
🙏❤️
🙏🙏 for you and your daughter.
Oh my, what a horrible experience, EA! I do know people who have also suffered from life-threatening and disabling injuries after accidents and I think it can cause them to perceive the world differently from then on. I have been fortunate in my life. I’ll have to make those life-changing decisions without the trauma.
Thanks. It was an awful experience that has affected me my entire life. But in many positive ways. I think I am suffering from more anxiety as a driver or passenger now as I’m getting older. It might be related to that Black Friday decades ago.