Man I did not see that coming!

Just imagine. You’re driving down the road one day to check on a rental property. The divorce is over and you’re trying to getting up and go on with your life.   You wouldn’t even have to be on this road except your last tenant left the water on after they turned off the electricity. Ok. Hands raised. How many of you know that if it’s January and you’re moving out you should let the landlord know the day the heat is being turned off? Plus it’s probably a good idea to have the water turned off first. Yeah, I thought so.  Well, obviously this renter lacked the education or common sense or... just did not care. Either way I had to meet the plumber at the property to have the water turned off.  It had been a very long day and I was pretty tired. But grateful that this tenant had vacated the property. She didn’t seem to be respectful of me or the property and there were plenty of other people willing to take care of this home.  I laid down to take a nap until the plumber could meet me there. My alarm goes off and I’m up and "atem"... what does that mean anyway? Atem? So, I’d taken this drive a few hundred times. This road was familiar to me. It was one of the roads I knew backwards and forwards.  It was January and I had just spent my first Christmas alone. I was sad, but ready for a new beginning. I was in charge of my life for the very first time.  I had dreams! I was going to finish my education, travel to a few places and find out just "Who is Barjeana"? When you’ve been married a long time and you were just a teenager when you got married you become wife, mother and part alien. I say alien because I had no idea who I used to be.  In my case I never knew who I was in the first place. I mean, I’d just graduated Bible School, just turned 19, had supported myself for just one year and BAM I’m married.  This is not a slam on marriage or love, but I want to know why nobody stood up at the wedding of a pair of 19 and 20 years old children say, “are you people crazy ? These kids need to go to college and get a life. “   Remember in my other blog about God randomly showing up and saying it’s time to move? Well He randomly showed up and said that we should get married and pastor a church. I think someone rang that door bell one too many times.  Of course I was as naive as possible and believed that everyone else heard from God and I just had to follow along. So, back to the story. I’d been Wife, Mother, Preacher's wife, etc... for 28 years.  Church after church, home after home, city after city. You know they say that insanity is doing something over and over again expecting a different result? Well , I guess if you do it over and over again, but in different places it doesn’t qualify as insanity. Seriously? For the first time in my life I was alone and getting to know myself.   Back to my story. It was January, but there’s no ice on the road and I was focused on meeting this plumber. A little peeved that a grown person wouldn’t know any better than to turn the water off before turning the heat off in the winter, but surely that much damage couldn’t have been done. Nobody acted like it was an emergency or anything. I mean the plumber made an appointment for heavens sake.  I took the direct route to this property, which took me through back country homes and even though it was early afternoon it was desolate. I knew the road and there was no speed limit. So, 55 was average.  Everything was going along just fine and then I turned a corner and couldn’t stop the car. I couldn’t steer the car, nothing worked. All I knew is that I was headed straight for a house going 55 miles an hour.  Let me pause here and put you in slow motion. Car, curve, house. Ok you’re all caught up now.  I kept thinking that the brakes would work before I got to the house, but I was gaining speed instead of losing it. The house was looming closer and closer. I was so convinced that I shattered my right foot trying to convince the break to work. I guess most people would have freaked out. Not me. I was thinking “well, if it hits the house at least it will stop” which it did. It stopped and knocked the house off of its foundation. No, I should not be here telling you this. There should be a grave marker with my name on it. After I hit the house the airbag goes off and I thought, "well that wasn’t too bad". I wasn’t bleeding and my face didn’t hurt, but I had this feeling that if I moved things would get really bad.  I looked around and nobody was home, nobody was anywhere. I had Bluetooth in my car so I called 911. The lady kept me talking. She acted as if I don’t know that’s what she was doing, but seriously how many times could I tell you where I was before the “duh” light went off in my head? Shortly thereafter people begin to show up. I was so grateful because I was literally in the middle of nowhere.  After the operator knew the ambulance is close we hung up. Someone came to the passenger side door and I said calmly, “could you dial the last number before 911 and tell the plumber I’m not going to make it?” Yes, I really did.  Nobody knew whether I was just not going to meet him at the house or would I survive at all.  Matter of fact, one of my friends had my license plate sitting on her table because the car was totaled and another friend came over and gave condolences because he thought I was dead.  I mean I made the news! That car was destroyed.  I can’t tell you the make and model of that car because they could sue me. However, there was a known defect that “could “ cause the computer in the car to malfunction and mine hadn’t been recalled.  I was literally out of it and all I could think to tell everyone was that the car wouldn’t stop. So, the car company came out and checked the breaks and discovered nothing was wrong with them. Of course nothing was wrong with them it was the computer system that failed. But, I digress. Just let me say this, the car company did not pay any of my bills and I ended up owing over $250,000.00 in medical expenses. What? I told you that things weren’t fair. So I’m still making payments on the two rods in my back, seven bolts and two screws in my right foot. But! I don’t have a car payment! Pulease! So, the ambulance arrived and I wasn't moving a muscle. I noticed that the EMS people were getting worried. For one thing they couldn’t get me out of the car. They tried taking off the door , breaking the glass, and even cutting open the sun roof. Nothing. So, they covered me with material and cut the drivers side of the car off.  I’m serious. When I went back to see the car, not advisable by the way, the drivers side of the car was laying in the back seat.  Something else that I thought was funny was the poor EMS techs. They were trying not to move me, but they couldn't get an IV going. I was watching them try, they would throw the needle into the air, grab another and try again. When I went back to see the car there were needles in the roof and strewn throughout the car.  Thankfully I wasn’t in any pain, yet. However right as they got the drivers side of the car off I started feeling it. I was BROKEN, The seat belt had locked and pretty much squished my organs to bursting.  The EMS decided to do a central line and that was the last thing I remembered before I woke up in the hospital.  I knew something was terribly wrong but I didn’t know what it was. I couldn’t move and I couldn’t see the rest of my body. But my son in law was there and he was wearing sunglasses inside the building. I got very upset. I said, “what’s wrong?” Nobody would answer me so I’d ask questions.  The first question I asked was, “am I dead” they would say, “no!.” Then I’d say, “why are you here?" I guess I should have asked why I was there.  I then started asking if I still had legs? Yes, they told me. Then my son in law would put the sunglasses back on and I’d say, “what’s wrong?”  They didn’t want to tell me that I’d been unconscious for a couple of days and that the Doctor was concerned that I may never walk again. One false move and BAM, that’s all she wrote. Needless to say it was a long road to recovery. My family went back to their respective homes and I spent months in the hospital learning how to walk again. Then I spent months in a body cast and foot cast trying to get to rehab appointments. Thankfully my dear friend took me into her home, got me to my appointments and cared for me until I could get up the steps into my own home.  Don’t feel sorry for me. I came up with a very scriptural answer to life. I said,” thy rods (both of them) and thy staff (cane) they comfort me.” Yes I really did.   Before I end this blog let me thank my family including my children, mother and sister who dropped everything to come and help me. Without them and my dearest friend I don't know what could have happened. So, if you're reading this, "Thank you!"

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