Eeek. I've been in 3 major automobile accidents, none of which were my fault. The most serious one was the first accident--in June of 1997. Four close friends of mine and I went out for dinner. We were on the way back to my house when an oncoming car decided to pull a U-turn on a red light. We were already through the intersection when we were hit head-on.
He must have been drunk, because his car was pinned between our car and a concrete island. He then threw his car into reverse, rammed our car several times to push us out of his way, and then left the scene. I have no recollection of this happening because I was knocked unconcious from the first impact.
The car was totalled, and all the airbags deployed. I was lucky to walk away with a concussion, whiplash, cuts, bruises, and a golf-ball sized hematoma on my left shin that put me on crutches for a few weeks. Thank God I was wearing my seatbelt. One of my friends didn't wear hers--she hit the metal bars that lift the headrest face-first. Her face was lacerated and she has permanent scars on her forehead now.
The police found the car that hit us abandoned a few miles away. We never did find out who the driver was--the owner of the car pleaded ignorance.
I was rear-ended in the other two accidents. I'd been in physical therapy years and was doing well until about 2 years ago, when my symptoms became suddenly worse. I was diagnosed with trauma-induced fibromyalgia about a year and 1/2 ago. My life has changed tremendously since then. Thank goodness I have wonderful doctors and therapists. With their help, I have done a 180. While I still have bad days, they are much fewer and farther between now.
