Friday, July 01, 2011

this is me being serious.

(steps on soapbox)

If you do follow me on Twitter, you know a couple of weeks ago I was freaking out because my brother got in another serious car accident. He's OK- but I truly consider it a miracle that he and his friend are alive, as they were hit from behind by someone who was going 100 MPH on the highway and was possibly asleep. When I saw a picture of the car, I almost choked. The back half of his car was quite literally crushed into the front half of his car. My brother was knocked unconscious and had a concussion, plus a lot of body pain, but holy shit. It could have been so much worse.

One of the reasons is because 10 years ago, as I've talked about here before, he was in another VERY serious car accident where he had six brain contusions, broken ribs, broken leg that ultimately needed a titatium rod put it in, many many cuts and bruises, and a year-long recovery. It is very, very hard to see someone close to you recover from a brain injury. So, as it stands, he really can't be knocked in the head for fear of permanent damage. He was lucky then, and he is lucky again.

All of this leads me to say, as we head into this party-heavy long weekend- please, please be careful on the road. Hey, I've been guilty of distracted driving, checking my phone while driving, certainly talking on the phone while driving, and driving while on the verge of falling asleep. Cars lull you into a false sense of confidence on the road. But make no mistake- they are extremely dangerous machines.

So buckle up, throw your phone in the trunk if it's that alluring to you, don't drink and drive, and pay attention. Have a great weekend!

(steps off soapbox)

2 comments:

Dwayne "The Train" said...

you are such a mom.

Brandee said...

I am so glad that your brother is going to be okay. My husband has been in a couple of accidents and has escaped very serious injury every time. The last one was on the freeway, at rush hour. A woman basically stopped in the middle of the freeway, and my husband tried to stop. They had just rubberized the asphalt and it was like ice. He slid for a very long way before rear-ending her. Of course, he was at fault, but we count ourselves very lucky. I had to go get him, and as I came around the curve and saw that the whole engine had been pushed almost into his lap, I lost it.

So, don't feel bad about standing on your soap-box. Driving is SUCH a serious business...believe me. We're even more aware of it now that we're teaching a teenager to drive.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for your brother & his friend!