Lucky???, A true poem I hope will make people think before they go out to drink. Options

[Guest_Ellen_*]

LUCKY???




“You’re lucky she is even here,”
They heard the doctor sigh.
“Did all we could…but I fear,
She very well might die.”

“Injuries were horrendous.
Her body may not cope.
The blood loss was tremendous.
I can’t give you much hope.”

“Multiple compound fractures,
And severely bruised heart;
Right lung collapsed from punctures;
Still,….THAT….is just a start….”

“Lower leg was crushed and cooked.
We’re forced to amputate.
There’s more surgeries to book,
But they will have to wait.”

“Sternum, ribs, arms, lower back…
Ankle, wrists, hands and knees…
Broken and crushed; one hip cracked.
There’s even more than these”

“Femur completely shattered,
Muscles torn and tattered.”

“Must have been quite a wreck,
She also broke her neck.”

“Drug allergies prevent us
Prescribing meds for pain.
So, we’ll keep her comatose.
That seems the most humane.”

Three weeks in intensive care,
They leaned on each other.
Uniting in fervent prayer,
“Please don’t take our mother.”

In answer to words spoken,
My spirit was sent back…
In body badly broken,
To keep their faith on track.

In a coma, you can hear
Voices and what is said;
Feel the touch of loved ones near
As they gently stroke your head.

“She’s so lucky!” voices churned,
Determined, I resolved…...
When I awoke they would learn,
There was no luck involved.

Speeding driver, drunk and high,
At the scene, he did die.

But I sit here wracked with pain,
My whole life forever changed.

Hope this poem will make you think.
When you drive, please don‘t drink.

NOTE: The pic is one I found on Photobucket and is quite similar to what my car looked like, except the rescue team had to cut through the roof of my car too to slide me out on a backboard after they were able to jack up the engine that was sitting on top of me.

.

[Guest_ohsteve_*]

Ellen, Luck or not? I think you must talk to Wally, one of our members here, I think he might agree there was more involved than luck. He also survived a horrendous car crash, no drunk driver but still. Nice piece of poetry to back up that statement on DUI. Welcome to MM.

Steve

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Ellen. I welcome you to MM.

Gosh, what a horrific experience!! I don't think I can formulate the proper words to ask how you cope with all those fractures and such - is the pain too much to bear at times? You must chat with Wally (Thoth) from South Africa, he survived a horrendous car accident as well and has many stories that parallel your own. It's often very theraputic to be able to converse, whether through poetry or just on the internet so you can voice your thoughts. If I may ask, how long ago was the accident?

I hope you are feeling better each and every day.
Welcome!
~Cleo

[Guest_Ellen_*]

Hello Steve,

Thanks for the welcome and suggestion. Often it is good to be able to share with someone who has been through a similar experience. I have recently started having flashbacks to the accident, the 2 1/2 hour rescue, and the ICU. So, since writing is good therapy I wrote this. I actually didn't mention all of my injuries but thought this was graphic enough that it may make people stop to think before they go out to drink. This is one poem I hope people do copy and share as much as possible. I only ask that you leave my name attached to it because I think it would have more impact than no name or "Author Unknown." So if anyone would like to copy and share this please feel free to do so.

[Guest_Ellen_*]

Hello Cleo,

Thanks for the welcome and your compassion. The collision was July 12, 2007, and I awoke from my coma in early August. I did hear a lot and feel a lot even when I was comatose. Ordinary Tylenol really doesn't cut it some days, especially when I had a large bone graft 2 months later. I still need a knee replacement but am putting that off for as long as I possibly can. I just try to keep my mind occupied so it doesn't have so much time to think about the pain. With metal in all four limbs (my right leg was amputated just below the knee) a more aggressive arthritis has set into all the breaks and the joints. Since both hands were badly broken there are days I just can not type much. So I do hope all will understand that I will do my best to catch up and post comments when I am able.

I didn't write this looking for sympathy but rather to hopefully convince at least one person to consider what can happen when one makes the poor decision to drive after drinking. My cousin recently mentioned it to a friend in Ontario who is connected with M.A.D.D. She asked him to have me contact the director by email. I heard back from her that only a few days earlier, the different chapters had a meeting and all were asked if they knew of a poem re injuries that someone has suffered due to a DUI driver. So she was quite excited to read mine and would like to share it with other chapters of M.A.D.D. and hopefully to pass it out to the public. So, at least some good may come from all of my suffering. One of the silver linings in the dark cloud.

I just wanted to share that good news. Thanks again.

[Kimi]

Ellen,
I to do not beleive it was luck, Your poem truly shows what victims go through when people drink and drive. I can not imangine the difficult time you have had since the accident and even now going through. Keep writing, your words will touch a lot of people.
God Bless, Kimi

[Guest_Ellen_*]

Hello Kimi!

Thanks for dropping by. Sorry to be so long responding as I have been under the weather for almost a month. I do hope this poem will get through to some who may be tempted to drive after having a few drinks.

[Thoth]

Hello Ellen

Somehow I missed this post completely. I was in hospital for another bone graft at the time, please forgive me.

An outstanding account of what happened to you and very well written in verse too. Seems your injuries were worse than mine so I am humbled by the courage you have shown in surviving your ordeal and writing about it so passionately just as a true poet should.

My accident occurred on 14 Feb 2009 on a remote road 400Km from the nearest ER. I emerged with a right arm and left leg undamaged but the rest pretty smashed up. Sent home in wheelchair after 5 weeks in a coma and 56 days in intensive care. My femur still remains unhealed and the spinal nerve damage is permanent. I remember little but am haunted by dreams and flash images that persist to this day.
See;
Fickle Pain

Thoth Accident

They said I was lucky. Lucky not to have died or been paralyzed but there again luck is a double edged sword and not always a blessing.

I hope you are over the worst now, thanks for sharing this experience and hope to see some more of your work soon.

Hugz,

Wally

[Guest_Ellen_*]

Hello Wally,

Glad you found this one and liked it too. Sorry you are still going through surgeries and flashbacks. Bone grafts are not easy for sure. And, I still have flashbacks. But, life does go on just much differently than we hoped or expected. Hope you are well on the road to recovery but I know how long some things can take to heal. Take care!

[4rum]

I worked Fire/Rescue for 17 years. I cut mangled metal in places you could not see. Places the only way to tell that you were not cutting flesh was to put your hand/arm in and 'feel' to place the cutters or spreaders. I helped extricate victims with injuries like those you describe. Most often once packaged, I never got an update on the patients. Some I would hear later didn't make it. The ones, lucky or unlucky, as I feel is determined by the QUALITY of life preserved, I rarely heard from. Their pain, suffering, recovery and the strains it puts on them and their family, I was spared the knowledge of. The children were the worst for me. Babies torn and bruised. So many times it was because of a drunk driver. The innocents have no choice. That freedom is taken from them. Often the perpetrators do not learn. I helped cut the same man from two vehicles in one week.

And now, it is cell (mobile) phones that are causing the same accidents on our highways. Just because you cannot wait a few minutes to pull over, you take away that opportunity for someone forever.

Your poem is very relevent. It tells a story that could happen to any one of us the very next time we leave home in an automobile.