This is part 2 of my story. If you have not had the chance to read part one Click here!
Thanks to everyone who is following my story-I apologize for my recent absence. I’m not going anywhere, I’ve just been very busy the last two weeks. Things should be easing up soon! Thanks everyone for your patience!
Part 2 - A Night To Remember, A Night To Forget
We both walked towards the hospital eagerly yet, apprehensively. I think that we both knew deep down that this day would soon change our lives forever. We had so much to loose.
A child should not have to loose their mother and father at once and a mother should never have to see the death of their child. This was what my grandmother and I feared.
We approached the building. Ill never forget the stoicism that my brother possessed as we walked towards him.
“How could he appear so calm” I wondered. Was it his military background that prepared him for anything? Or was it that he was simply unable to process what had happened and his emotions had yet to catch up with him? I would later infer the latter.
At this point it was obvious that my grandma and I wanted to be up to speed with what had happened. All we knew was- my parents; her daughter and son in law, were in a terrible motorcycle accident…
…and they probably were not wearing helmets.
I hugged my little brother before I spoke. Yes, he was my younger brother. He had just had a birthday 8 days ago- his 19th birthday. I was 22 at the time and my birthday had just happened on the 26th of June.
I have always felt the need to protect my brother but it seemed he was handling the chaos a little better than me at the moment. At least that is how it appeared.
“So, what happened?… do you know” I asked
“I heard the Sirens, followed by a knock at the door. When I opened the door, a police officer was standing there was a terrible look on his face.” He replied
I told him to go on..
He proceeded to tell me that the officer had only been brief but said that my parents had been coming home late on their motorcycle. They had found them both lying in the ditch on the side of the road..
Mind you that my parents lived out in the “country”. There were very few houses around and almost no police patrol. It wasn’t at this point that I found out the whole story of what happened- I found out that much later…
Anyway, the officer told my brother that they had found a (dead) deer in close proximity to the bike.
Now I know the truth- My parents had hit a deer…in the dark.
The officer also said that my parents were found over 100 feet from the motorcycle. This most likely meant that they had been ejected quite far. It also meant that they probably didn’t see the deer in time to slow down. That back road was a 50-55 mph..
Did they hit a deer on a motorcycle? Traveling almost 60 miles per hour?
The officer said that they would investigate the wreck more carefully and let us know more of the details later. That’s what my brother said at least.
We walked into the Emergency Room together and told the staff who we were. I remember feeling like it wasn’t a good thing that they immediately knew who we were.
My stomach was turning. I am almost positive that I had a fever… I was having a complete systemic reaction to the stress I was feeling- and the lack of answers.
A nurse took my grandma, my brother and his commanding officer who drove him, and me to a completely separate part of the hospital to await answers.
Never in all the time that I have spent working for a hospital have I ever seen them take a group of people to a deserted part of the hospital to wait. We ended up in an unused waiting room on the other side of the hospital. It was in use during the day but at night, the lights were off and it was vacant. Thinking back, this was ideal for the situation we were in. I don’t think I could have survived waiting with dozens of sick, loud people in the ER waiting room. Though, I was sure that this meant that we were in for a long night..
My moms brother had arrived at the hospital soon after we got there too. To be honest, I don’t remember who all came that night. I had tunnel vision and didn’t have the capacity to think of anything but my parents.
We waited for what felt like hours before a doctor finally came down to talk to us. I had spent most of the time with my head in the toilet feeling like I was going to throw up.
As the doctor approached, my heart was racing in my chest. My vision was shaking at every pulse. I was dizzy but focused at the same time. I needed some answers- regardless of what they were.
The doctor spoke..
My parents were found on the side of the road- both were though to be in critical condition. For reasons mostly unknown to them, my dad was immediately Life flighted to Grant Medical Center- however, my mom was actually taken in an ambulance to a closer hospital. She was then declared critical and THEN Life flighted to Grant.
For those who are unaware:
Life Flight is an emergency service that uses helicopters to transport critically injured/ill patients quickly and efficiently to appropriate medical services.
The doctor told us that my Dad had arrived and my mom would be there soon.
She (the doctor) had little information to offer but told us that she would be back once she knew more.
It wasn’t long before she returned with an update..
My mom had finally arrived at the hospital. Her and my dad were both in emergency surgery. They both had some very similar injuries including abdominal compartment syndrome- which was very serious.
Their abdominal cavities had started to swell and oxygen wasn’t able to perfuse the organs. This can lead quickly to organ and tissue death. With that being said, they had preformed a laparotomy on them to relieve the pressure. The doctor told us that once they got inside, they would have a better idea of the damage that had occurred.
The doctor had also brought up something called DAI or Difuse Axonal Injury. This was an injury to the brain that is often caused by an inertia related injury. When a person is moving quickly and then stops abruptly, the brain rattles around inside the skull causing small tears. This is often a fatal injury or life altering at the least. She said that this kind of injury was hard to image but that we would cross that road when we got there.
I remember feeling like they weren’t telling us everything- and they weren’t.
The doctor had left us again to wait.. We all looked at eachother with dread. Like I said before, this all happened before I became a nurse. I was working in the medical field but not at the capacity I do now. With that being said, I was the only person who understood what the doctor had explained. Naturally, everyone looked to me to explain it to them. It was not time for speculation- so I wasn't going to.
This was both of my parents and all I could think was that they were both cut open from xiphoid to umbilicus..
Even if they made it through this, they were likely never going to be the same.
All of a sudden, One of the doctors comes running into the room....
"It's your mom, come with me!"
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