A Day I Will Never Forget...

Preface: The following post is a journal entry about a serious car accident we were in last week. The only reason I am sharing it in such a public format is because we have had so many questions and concerns about our welfare. There have also been some misconceptions about the accident that I hope this will clear up. We realize that we have been part of a miracle, and have some very tender feelings about what has happened. This is a very long post, so I have broken it into sections in case you only want to read about the accident. At the time of the accident, McKenna is 10 1/2, Andrew is 5 1/2, and Jonah is 3 1/2 months. We were all buckled up, which helped to save our lives. Also, SQUEAMISH ALERT: There is a picture of Andrew's injured foot in the ER section.

The Morning Rush

Thursday, January 23, 2014 started out as just an ordinary day in the Turner home. Brian usually leaves for work before the rest of us are awake, so when he gets to work he calls so we can have a family prayer. On this day, it was McKenna's turn. I reminded her to pray that we would be protected throughout our day, and she did. Then the hustle and bustle began.

Alex leaves for school first since he is in Middle School. He is supposed to ride the bus, but he missed it and needed me to take him. I rushed him to school, told him I loved him, and hurried back to get the rest of the crew ready. I am in charge of the Kindergarten carpool that day, so I helped get the kids ready for school and headed out the door. I am still in my pj's when I get the kids to school, but I remembered that Andrew was supposed to bring the snack for the Kindergarten treat. Shoot! He is panicking and begs me to go to the store and bring it to him. How can I resist those pleading eyes? I tell him I will do my best, as I have a busy morning planned. I am supposed to go visiting teaching at 11:00 am, I need to pick up the Kindergartners by noon, I still haven't showered or dressed and, before all of that, I need to go to the store and get a snack and take it to the school--which is a challenge when you live clear in the boonies. It is 9:30 am. Oh yeah, one other obstacle: McKenna has had a sore throat for three days that doesn't seem to be getting better. I need to call the doctor's office and schedule an appointment to make sure it isn't strep. I found out the doctor won't be in until later, so I am able to schedule an appointment for 1:00 pm. Perfect! I should have time to get everything done and make it back before Alex and Maya get out of school.

The morning proceeds as planned. I manage to get the treat to school, feed the baby and even shower before I had to go visiting teaching. Before I leave, I ask McKenna if she will pack a lunch for herself and Andrew, as well as get the diaper bag ready, so we can leave for the doctor as soon as I drop off the Kindergartners. She agrees and I'm out the door with the baby. When I return, McKenna has everything ready and we leave for our 40 minute commute to the doctor's office. Everything goes well at the doctor--McKenna doesn't have strep and seems to be feeling better (of course), so we pack up and head out for the long drive home.

The Crash

On the way home, McKenna begs me to stop at the store. I ask her why she wants to stop, and she said she doesn't know, she just feels like she needs to stop. I think about it because there are a few things I need, but I decide that I am tired of running around and just want to get home. In retrospect, if I had only listened to her we would have avoided a lot of heartache. Anyway, Jonah is fussy and McKenna is sitting next to him so she tries to comfort him with his binky. He is inconsolable for a while, but when we get to SR-73, the highway that heads out to Eagle Mountain, he seems to calm down. We turn and head west. I debate one more time about turning into Walmart, but decide that getting the baby home is a bigger priority. I am behind a car that is going well below the speed limit. I follow for a few moments, hoping they will get up to speed, but they don't so I pass them and increase my speed to 55 mph.

We are moving along and I notice that there are no other cars around me. It seems strange since this is a well-traveled road. I look to the eastbound lanes and notice the same thing. I have a strange feeling and am suddenly on high alert. I notice a white car in the eastbound lanes, and it starts to curve into the middle turn lane. I completely expect them to correct their course, but they keep coming--and FAST! I realize that they are going to hit me--it is inevitable. They were heading straight for where Jonah was sitting, and I had the thought (I truly believe it was the Spirit) to move to the outside lane to buy a little more time. I can't believe how calm I felt. I didn't freak out, but quickly moved over into the other lane. It seems as if time stands still until...BAM! I can tell we were hit in the rear of our vehicle.

At this point, we are spinning, rolling and sliding, and I feel myself being thrown around like a rag doll. It's interesting because I don't feel any pain. I hear McKenna screaming and saying, "This is not happening...this is a dream!" I hear Andrew crying and screaming. For some reason I don't remember Jonah screaming while we were rolling, but once we stopped he started wailing. I have to say that hearing my children scream was the best sound in the world...I knew they were at least alive! (Our neighbor works in the courts for the Sheriff's Dept., and he told Brian that we rolled/skid about 1000 ft. I will have to verify that in the police report, but that is crazy!) I feel dizzy and disoriented. I realize that we are upside down, suspended by our seat belts. I suddenly have a fear--what if we are hit again? I don't dare move for a few moments. I hear McKenna saying, "I love you, mommy. I love you, mommy," over and over. Later she would tell me that she thought I was dead. After some time, I decide to unbuckle my seat belt. I flopped down and was able to crawl out my broken window. I looked back into the van and notice Andrew is out of his seat belt, sitting on the ceiling. Strange. Any coherent mom would then do everything she could to get her kids out of the vehicle. I, however, was not coherent, and could only sit by the van and listen to my children scream, hoping for someone to come and help.

Help

A few moments later, I see someone running toward me. Amazingly, it is my awesome neighbor, Angie. She had no idea it was us until she got to the van. Her story of how she happened to be there that day is pretty miraculous, but I will save it for another time. When she recognizes me she says, "Krista! What can I do?" I cannot tell you the immense feeling of relief and gratitude to see someone I knew. "I don't know," I mumble. She then proceeds to help Jonah out of the car. He is screaming until she picks him up, and then he instantly stops. Angie later told me she thought Jonah had stopped breathing, so she quickly looked at him and he just stared up at her, perfectly fine. He didn't even have a scratch. Because I was in shock, the timeline of events is a little fuzzy from this point on, so I will do my best.

I did not see how McKenna and Andrew were helped out of the car. Angie told me that a man got on his back and slid through the broken window by McKenna. She said he slid under her, unbuckled her seat belt and let her fall on top of him. He then slid out of the car with McKenna, sparing her from cuts from the broken glass. Angie said it was amazing to watch, and she wondered if he had some rescue training. I wonder if that man had a torn shirt or cuts all over his back from helping her? What a selfless person he was to put himself at risk to help my daughter. McKenna was very fortunate because she came away from the accident with only some minor cuts on her hands. However, her emotional scarring will take longer to heal.

Andrew told me that he crawled out of the car himself. His foot was pretty bloody and he couldn't walk on it. He said that a lady "with blonder hair than him" picked him up and carried him to me. I remember looking at Andrew's foot and thinking, "Wow! If that's all we have to deal with then we are so blessed!" McKenna and Andrew were sitting by me, crying, and I just hugged them and said, "It's OK, we are all alive! We are so blessed!" It was about this point that I notice something is not quite right with my head. I reached my hand up and touched the back of my head and feel that my hair is moist and matted. I looked at my fingers and see that they have blood on them. I am still not really feeling pain, so I continue to try and focus on comforting my children.

A woman (I believe the same one who helped Andrew) handed me her cell phone and asked if there was anyone I needed to call. I dialed Brian's number, praying that he would answer since he wouldn't recognize the number. He did and I told him we were in an accident, but everyone was OK. He broke down and started crying. He told me later that the moment between my telling him about the accident, and telling him everyone was OK, was the longest moment of his life. He said he even thought, "Which of my children isn't here anymore?" I told him I didn't know to which hospital we were being transported, but I would call him back when I knew.

I remember an EMT coming up to me and asking if I knew who I was and what day it was. I gave him my name, but I had to really think about the day. Finally I said, "It's Thursday the 22nd." Well, at least I got half of it right. It then seems like it takes forever to assess all of our injuries and get us ready to leave. The EMT gives me a choice of two hospitals, American Fork or Riverton, since our injuries are not life-threatening. I think about Brian and decide that it would probably be faster for him to get to Riverton. He then asks me if I feel like I need a stretcher, or if I can sit. If I need a stretcher we would need two ambulances, since Andrew's injuries required him to also need one. I could not imagine being separated from my children right now. I tell him I think I will be fine. I looked over at my neighbor and asked her if she could take Jonah to the hospital since he was doing well, and room was limited in the ambulance. She immediately agrees, and we load up the ambulance. (As a side note: I told Angie, after the fact, that I thought it was funny that I assumed she would be willing to give up her time to take Jonah to the hospital. My brain wasn't firing on all pistons at the time. Of course, being the gracious and amazing person she is, she said she was going to the hospital anyway.) The EMT then asked me if there were some things in the van I would need. I tell them I want the diaper bag, Andrew's other boot, Andrew's coat and my phone. It seems silly to me now that I would be concerned about Andrew's boot. It was ripped off of his foot in the crash and was some distance down the road. In fact, the top part of his boot was ripped away from the sole, and it is a total loss. Besides, there was no way Andrew would be wearing that boot any time soon. At any rate, they found the diaper bag, boot and coat but my phone was lost. It felt so weird not being able to contact anyone. It made me realize how dependent I am on technology. I have to pause here and take a minute to thank the fabulous EMT's/Fire Dept. for the amazing work they do! They were so kind and professional, and they knew exactly what to do in this situation. When Andrew is better we may need to go and thank them in person--they are fantastic!

The ER

Upon our arrival at the ER, we are taken to a large room with two beds. I felt so thankful that we could remain together. After a few minutes, Brian comes into the room. He hugs me and we both break down. It is the first time I have lost my composure. Tender words are exchanged (I will leave it at that), and then Brian goes to check on Andrew. I change into a hospital gown and am ordered into the bed. I am really dizzy, and my vision doesn't seem right. Then I go into shock and start shaking uncontrollably. The nurse brings me some warm blankets and lays me back. The doctor wants to do a CT scan to make sure I don't have a brain bleed, so they hook me up to an IV and give me the contrasting solution.

Meanwhile, Angie is there with Jonah, and McKenna is sitting in a chair by me, obviously shaken. Earlier, Angie had called another friend in our neighborhood, Tiffany, and told her about the accident. I told Angie to ask Tiffany if she would get Alex and Maya from school and meet us at the ER. Another side note: a few months earlier, before Jonah was born, I was nervous about going into labor while my kids were in school. I added Tiffany on the list of authorized people to check out Alex from school, and I added my friend Annabell on the list to check out my elementary kids. This proved to be invaluable today. There were also a series of small miracles that led to Tiffany being able to be there as well. I definitely know we were watched over. Anyway, Tiffany came in with Alex and Maya about this time. It was so good to have my whole family together! Alex was visibly worried, but I think once he saw us he started to feel better. My sweet sister, Michelle, also came to be with us at the ER, in case we needed any help with the kids. It was so nice to have people there to support us and offer comfort.



Andrew's foot

Angie had also called her husband, Kent, who is our Home Teacher. He is a nurse at another hospital and was working when he got the call. Because of the situation, he was able to leave a little early and come to the hospital to be with us. It was invaluable to have him there. He assessed Jonah and McKenna to make sure they didn't have any unseen trauma. He then cleaned McKenna's cut hands and checked for bits of broken glass. He was able to assist with Andrew and help keep him calm while his injuries were treated. He was amazing! Andrew had an abrasion on his face, but his foot was the more serious injury. His right ankle on the outside was swollen and bruised, and the inside of his ankle/foot area was raw and bleeding. There are also two puncture wounds--it almost looks like he was impaled with something sharp that went inside one area and came out another. The doctor thought he might actually have a compound fracture. After a series of x-rays, it is determined that he doesn't have any broken bones. Such a blessing! He had stitches to close the puncture wounds, and his open, raw wound was cleaned and bandaged. We would need to continue his wound care at home, and Kent didn't hesitate to offer his help.



He still manages a smile...

At this point we didn't know what had happened to Andrew's foot. He was buckled and sitting in his booster, so I couldn't imagine how his foot could have been so damaged. After a few days, Andrew remembered what happened to him and told me about it. He said "while we were rumbling and tumbling, my seat belt came loose." He said that when the van stopped, his feet were trapped in the part of the seat belt that goes across your chest, and his hands were hanging down on the ceiling (remember we were upside down). My guess is that because his seat belt had loosened, he slid up out of his seat and his boot was ripped off of his foot by the seat belt. His other boot somehow remained on his foot and became lodged in the shoulder part of the seat belt, since it was locked. I think that the other snow boot, along with the locked shoulder belt, actually ended up saving his life. I don't know if the seat belt malfunctioned, or if he hadn't cinched it down tight enough when he buckled. I do know, however, that I will always check to make sure it is buckled properly from now on. I also know that angels were surrounding and protecting him that day.

As for me, the CT scan came back normal (another blessing) and I am told I have a concussion. I have a small cut on the back of my head that required a few stitches, but both Andrew and I are well enough to go home.


Leaving the hospital

Words cannot express my gratitude that we are relatively OK. It could have been so much worse! As I've said before, I know we were watched over, and angels were surrounding us that day. I cannot doubt that we have been part of a miracle.

I don't know why the other driver hit us. I have heard two possibilities, both very different accounts, so I will wait for the formal police report to give us more information. Either way, I'm sure that person and their family are shaken up by this experience as well. I feel no anger or animosity, just relief that everyone is OK. I hope we can get things resolved quickly and get back to "normal" soon.

Sometimes we may not understand why we need to go through certain trials in our lives. I don't know why we were meant to have this experience, but I do know that it has changed me profoundly. I hope I can learn what I need to learn, and possibly help someone else in the process. My friend was teaching about the importance of seat belts to approximately 100 students at her daughter's school yesterday. She said she shared our experience, and it really seemed to resonate with the kids. She told me, "your experience could have just saved 100 children." I truly hope so. I am so glad buckling up is not an option in our family. I'm grateful I was able to go home and hug my children because they were buckled, rather than saying, "If only..."