Crash and Burn

I know what you are thinking...How dare I just walk back into blogger like nothing ever happened!  How dare I disappear for over a month without so much as a post, a note, or a brb.  But before you get too angry with me, please let me explain...I promise I have an excuse.  And no, my dog didn't eat my keyboard.  Well, remember that quick little trip I blogged about last??  Well, that quick trip cost us a truck, and my near perfect health.  Traveling down the interstate, the traffic came to a sudden halt.  A tow truck following a bit too closely behind wasn't paying attention and slammed into us at about 55 mph.  The crash was so jolting, I was certain the dog in the kennel in the bed of the truck was killed.  There was no way a crash that hard by a vehicle that large, traveling that fast, didn't smash the bed of the truck flush with the cab.  I just knew our poor dog was a pancake.  I was screaming and screaming.  My son, whom was covered in glass in the backseat was completely calm, he kept rubbing my arm, telling me everything was okay.  My husband went into soldier mode, checking the health of everyone in the vehicle and making sure everything was handled properly, without any sort of emotion in the matter, it was all very foreign for me to see him that way.  Because I had seen the truck in my rear view mirror just seconds before the collision, I tensed up. I know they say you shouldn't do it, but it's just a reaction...an uncontrollable reflex.  Everyone in the vehicle (including the dog by some miracle) was fine, aside from some whiplash on my husband's behalf and a little trauma and glass scratches on my son's behalf.  I, on the other-hand, knew immediately my back was in serious pain.  I tensed up, and now my back is screwed!  Medic's asked if I requested a ride to the hospital, but all I could think was how I didn't want to let go of my son or leave my husband's side.  I felt like we were so close to death just moments earlier, I wasn't leaving them, not for a moment.  So I told them after we got things taken care of, we would take ourselves.  I've been in and out of doctors and hospitals ever since, and in the last month, it hasn't gotten any better. In fact, it's gotten worse.   I'm miserable, I can't work out anymore, I can't take care of my kid, can't clean my house...I feel so useless right now.  I just want things to get better.  This Friday is my husband's battalion ball.  For the first time in 5 years of marriage, we are finally going (and you have NO CLUE how difficult it was to get those tickets).  I lost 30+ pounds with the sole inspiration of looking awesome in that ball gown.  You see, my husband and I were married in a baptist church, so dancing was forbidden!!!!! (OH YEAH, I'M SERIOUS!).  So we've never had our first dance.  I've looked forward to this night for more than 5 years.  It's a big deal to me.  And now, I'll be limping to the dance...in my ballet flats.  We'll get our first dance, but that'll probably be about it. 

But there you have it, now you know why I was MIA for so long.  Hopefully now that we are done filling out paper work, truck shopping online, and talking to insurance companies and lawyers, maybe I'll find some time to Blog.  I've got about a million things I want to catch up on...like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and now currently, our Christmas decor.  But until then...I'll leave you with some food for thought:

Below I've added some photos.  You may not think the damage is that bad...but you should consider that we were hit by a flat bed tow truck traveling full speed down the interstate.  Our Dodge HEMI was totaled by the insurance company.  The bed of the truck was smashed all the way up into the cab of the vehicle.  The back doors would not open.  The tailgate fell off, the dash fell to the floor board, change from the ash tray was all over the truck.  The back window was shattered into the back seat.  The dog kennel, the tough box, and the tool box in the bed of the truck were ruined.  So it may not look so bad in photos, but that's because Dodge HEMI's are tough trucks!! That's why we replaced it with another Dodge Hemi :)  We will never own anything else.  Had we been in a small sedan, the damage would have been extensive, and we'd have been lucky to survive.

And just in case you think the truck may have not been all that great to begin with...here's a photo of the condition of the truck back in May.  When my husband came home for R&R my father buffed every ding, scratch, bump, and nick out of it.  We added chrome step sides and had the bed lined with a spray in liner.  Just 24 hours earlier, the truck had a $500 tune-up.  That truck was my husband's baby...

Fortunately, because it was in such nice condition prior to the accident, the insurance was pretty generous...giving us nearly exactly what we would have considered selling it for.  We found a great deal on another truck and replaced his baby with a black HEMI (the color he always wanted),  a year newer, and 100,000 less miles!! Yeah, we know how to car shop!

Fortunately, he came out ahead with the truck situation, but I can't say the same for me.  Because my back is so sore, I haven't been able to work out since the wreck.  I've gained 5 pounds.  I'm completely miserable being stuck on the couch and I don't foresee things ever getting better.  It's a back injury...people never seem to bounce back from those.   I know I should be more positive, but currently, I just don't feel so upbeat about it.  All well, at least my husband is here to take care of me.  I can't imagine having gone through this with him still deployed.