We always had a system of touching base by calling when we reached our destinations.Around 11:30, when not hearing from them, I placed a call to my daughter's cell phone. There was no answer. In fact, I couldn't leave a message. I figured in their excitement they forgot to call me.
At 1:00 a.m. I got the bone-chilling call that changed all our lives. The kids were driving home and long story short, were involved in a terrible car accident that required them both to be flown by helicopter to the Univ.of Washington Medical Center http://www.uwhc.com/shells/levels3-4/cli...
Being a former EMT/RN, before my diagnosis with MS, I knew the drill. Airlifts only occur when the accident involves the critically injured. The trauma center coordinator asked me if I could get to the hospital as soon as possible. I answered yes, wondering how I was going to accomplish this. I had no car, my husband was driving home, but he was an hour away. In a panic, I called my friend, who only lives blocks away, breathless and scared to death.
Within a few minutes (that felt like hours), we were on our way to Seattle. Within fifteen minutes, my husband was also on his way to the trauma center.
I almost ran to the hospital emergency room entrance. After a long time, going through a metal detector, walking down long corridors, we arrived at the emergency room. I never skipped a beat! Suddenly my mobility problems disappeared and my extraordinary strength took over.
Our daughter and son sustained mostly bruises and muscle injuries. The most awful realization to this whole accident was to learn that my grandson had not survived the crash. This meant that my daughter would have to undergo labor and give birth to our stillborn child. http://www.behavemed.com/kbase/shc/shc08...
When faced with such tragedy, the body and mind has reserves that kick in, which in my case, was to enter disaster mode and get the situation available taken care of as quickly as possible.
Once in the University of Washington Medical Center, http://www.uwhc.com/shells/levels3-4/cli... the hospital whose experience in handling the most critical of obstetric care, we placed ourselves in the capable hands of their medical staff.
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