Recovering from an Accident

On Tuesday, I went to work -- just like I do on any other normal Tuesday. However, this particular Tuesday would prove to be very different than most. I left work around 9:30am to get some breakfast because I had a lot of work ahead of me and needed the boost in energy. My plan was to skip lunch and just crunch numbers throughout most of the day.

I purchased an egg biscuit and an orange juice from Chick-Fil-A and headed back to work. What happened next was a bit fuzzy to me but I can remember most of it. I was sitting still in my car (an RX-8 which is heavy and low to the ground) waiting to make a left turn onto the street that lead to our Annapolis warehouse. I was sitting there waiting for traffic from the other side of the street to pass. What happened next was easily the most traumatic impact I have ever felt in my life.

I heard what sounded like a stick of dynamite exploding in my backseat. I remember feeling this intense wave of energy just pass through the car. My car was picked up and thrown across the road while doing a complete 180. Apparently, a 76 year old woman was driving a 2007 Corolla and ran into the back of my car without even attempting to stop (there were no skid marks on the road).

As my car was spinning, I felt time slow down. I didn't understand what was happening or why everything in my car was flying in various directions. My cell phone, which had been in my side holster on my hip, was thrown into the back seat. CD's that were up on my visor had been thrown out and shattered throughout the car. When my car finally came to a stop, I remember blacking out for a few seconds. I felt very dizzy and disoriented. My heart-rate then went through the roof and I began to panic, but I couldn't really move. I caught the car that had hit me slowly rolling to a stop behind me with anti-freeze and another liquid pouring out onto the road. I was worried about the other driver and decided to get out of my car. I suddenly felt very dizzy and started to black out again. I didn't realize it, but my head had been thrown back with amazing force. I started to lose consciousness and was afraid I wouldn't be able to control my car from drifting backwards down the large hill.

A man came up to my window seconds later and opened my passenger door. "Are you alright," he asked, but I didn't respond for some reason. I was totally confused and disoriented. "We've called 911, don't move -- an ambulance is on the way."

In what seemed like mere seconds, I saw multiple firetrucks and a paramedic unit arrive. An EMT came up to my driver side and asked if I was hurt. At this point, I started to regain most of my senses. "I'm hurt," I said. He called over to another EMT and said something about getting a neck brace and loading me into the back.

He started asking me some questions about who I was, where I was and what had happened. I knew who I was obviously but I wasn't very sure about what had happened. I remember looking at him and suddenly getting worried that they would forget about my egg biscuit and orange juice. "Please one of you guys eat my breakfast -- I don't want it to go to waste!" The EMT started laughing. "Don't worry, we'll take care of you."

I remember them opening up my front door and back suicide door. They brought a board over and attached a brace to my neck. He then started pulling me out of the car and placed me on the board. They then started placing straps around my body and began taping my head down to the board. After a minute or two, I couldn't move at all. I was completely taped down. I remember looking up and realizing how immensely bright it was in the sky. There were no clouds, the weather was nice and it was just beautiful. I remember squinting at the sun wondering if I was going to be alright. I didn't know if I was paralyzed or what was wrong with me. They asked me if I was bleeding anywhere and I told them that I didn't know. I didn't feel any pain at all because my body was in shock.

They loaded me into the back of the ambulance and began asking me questions. I answered some of them coherently and apparently gave some off the wall answers to some other questions.

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Of course, it is Monday, August 14, 2007."

"Well, you got one out of two right. Not bad."

I remember thinking to myself that I had too much work to get done and that I needed to get out of the ambulance and go back to work. I started to freak out and told them that I didn't have time to go to the hospital -- that I had too much work. The EMT told me I was free to go if I could get out of the straps. Obviously, that wasn't happening because I was completely tied up. He started joking with me about it and we joked back and forth for a bit.

"Do you know where you are, sir?"

"Heaven? And you're all angels, right? We're driving to a strip club?"

He told one of the guys to mark down on the paperwork that my sense of humor was still very much intact. The EMT took my blood pressure and told me that it was pretty high. I told him that it is always high anytime I am near anything related to a hospital. He said not to worry and that they see it all the time when people are in shock.

They unloaded me and began rolling me down long hallways. I started laying down a bunch of one-liners at this point. "Hey, I feel like I'm watching ER!" A few doctors overheard me and laughed. One said, "we've got a comedian this morning!" They stopped me in the middle of a hallway and the EMT guy started talking to a trauma doctor.

"We have a 30 year old male involved in an automobile accident. Neck trauma and upper-back trauma, appears to have lost consciousness several times. Blood pressure is high and heartbeat is extremely high. No past history of any major medical conditions. Blah blah blah ."

"Good morning Mr. Baumgartner, how are you today?"

"You know, you guys need to put artwork on the ceiling for people like me. Counting holes gets old after awhile. Did you know that each of these tiles has exactly 739 holes?"

To be continued shortly ...