By Candace Schoner
The expression every cloud has a silver lining may seem like an empty platitude when you’re experiencing a difficult time, struggling with your mental health, or suffering after a serious accident.
As it so happens, I was recently involved in a horrible car accident on my way to a Parkinson’s Awareness fundraiser. I vividly remember knowing seconds before the car went off the road that we going to crash into several large oak trees. Instinctively, I took off my eyeglasses, bent forward, and braced for impact. I heard the driver who was also my friend swear, metal crumbling, and glass breaking, and then felt the car rolling onto the passenger side.
Grateful that I did not see blood (mine or the driver’s), I immediately checked to make sure my friend was not seriously hurt. Fortunately, she wasn’t and neither was I. “Oh my god, is this how I’m going to die,” I thought. Crushed by an SUV and no way out. The Volvo’s On-star system immediately called 911. The driver’s cell phone also automatically called for emergency assistance. Knowing that rescuers were being sent to the scene helped me to remain calm.
When I’m stressed or in an awkward situation, I tend to make dumb jokes to cover up what I am really thinking. Since I didn’t know this particular friend very well, I didn’t want to make matters worse so I asked if it was okay to joke about our predicament.
After a few minutes, I started to feel my seat belt digging into my ribs pinning me to the passenger seat and inches from the ground. Still no sign of help.
I was frightened and desperately wanted out of the vehicle. My mind kept thinking about all the car crashes I’d seen on TV shows like Chicago Fire and 911. They didn’t all end well for the passengers.
The driver’s side window had broken but the front windshield remained in tack. The pain in my ribs was increasing. Given that the car was precariously leaning to one side, I feared that it might roller over again.
Thinking back to those TV dramas, I managed to extract a ball cap and wool hat from the back of the driver’s seat to cover our faces to protect from any falling shards of glass. Still no sign of help, so I decided to free myself from the seatbelt so I could try to find a way out. When I did this, I slammed hard into the passenger door and instantly felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and forearm. Now I was stuck between the edge of the seat and the arm rest. “Stay calm,” I kept repeating to myself, “Stay calm.”
Even though I saw no signs of injury or bleeding to my friend, I kept checking to make sure she was okay.
I have no idea how much time had past before I started hearing voices from outside the vehicle. “Is anyone hurt?” “How many people are in the car?” “We are going to get you out.” A sudden sense of relief fell over me. We were going to be okay, or would we?
I could hear those same voices discussing a plan to stabilize the vehicle. From my limited view from the ground through the front window, I could see bodies in orange vests moving around the SUV assessing the situation.
I’m not exactly sure how long we were stuck when I heard a fireman say the vehicle was secured and they were going to have to cut a hole in the roof to pull each of us out.
A fireman handed the driver a few blankets and told us to cover up as much as possible to avoid the metal shards as they cut through the car roof. I could hear the loud buzzing over my head, feel the vibration, and tiny bits of metal dropping on my head.
Finally, one after the other, we were lifted onto stretchers and pulled out through what was once an SUV roof. That’s when I saw over a dozen first responders (firemen, EMT’s, and policemen) standing by the crash site and knew we were going to be fine. I am so grateful to each and everyone of them.
Fortunately the driver and I were wearing seat belts and able to both walk away from the accident without serious harm. That is what I call a silver lining!
A Side Note About PTSD
While there were no visible signs of injury on either one of us, I now know what it’s like to have PTSD. Days after the accident I started having nightmares, problems sleeping, and panic attacks while driving. I’ve been told by mental health professionals that PTSD isn’t always immediate and can happen days, weeks and even longer following trauma