Car Accident: Angels Round About You

Last Tuesday morning began similar to every other-- I rolled out of bed at 5:30, pushed my droopy eyelids back from their covering and prepared for the day.  Thirty minutes later, on my way to work, a collection of purse and ice cream maker spilled over the passenger seat down into the shifting mechanism of my manual 'Tinkerbell' (my golden femme fatale carre). I looked down just long enough to push the cargo out of the way, and in so doing, tugged the wheel enough to pull off the road and strait into a power pole.

The accurate visual depiction of my car accident.

Sparing the gory details, I connected with a 2-ft diameter power pole and it broke completely through.  It rested at a 45 degree angle, suspended above my car by the connecting power wires.  It took some time before anyway would come rescue me, as they were afraid the pole would come down.  The slow-to-respond-policeman said, "If this pole comes down, your accident will be the least of your worries." He then left me on the asphalt and scurried to quarantine the street of any through-traffic.

I was taken via ambulance with all the attendant spine-stabilizing equipment (neck brace, tied down to a strait-board stretcher, and a dripping IV) to the hospital where I was examined and underwent diagnostic treatment.  I found out I'm a 'lightweight,' which means my body over-responds to normal doses of medication (no- I'm not under weight!).  We found this out when I had an allergic reaction to one (too bad I don't remember) of the administered meds.  I went through phases of hot- and cold-flashes where I seemed to lose control of my flopping arms and legs.

The final, and amazing, diagnosis: concussion, multiple superficial abrasions, cervical strain, multiple contusions, knee injury, and motor vehicle accident (duh!).  In other words: I'm still alive, and sustained no broken bones.

The glass where my head impaled the windshield.  It was raised a good two inches.

My accident elicited the most astounding supportive response from people I love, and with whom I associate.  The overwhelming kindness has blocked out most of the other faint memories and pain.  I felt over and over again that I was in the care of angels.  D&C 84:88,

"I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your heats, and mine angels round about you to bear you up."

I am grateful beyond measure for the attentive kindness given by so many.  I was protected and blessed at every turn.  I even had loved ones watch me while I slept.  I am so grateful.  I am so very grateful.

I have learned that  pure care for another person can be transmitted very easily without words, or obvious communication.  A presence, a pat on the forehead, an appearance, can provide bounding solace.  Through the kindness of others I was given every spiritual comfort for which I could ask.  My pain was depressed in proportion to the love manifest by others.  My lesson from this experience is that the service of others is indispensable in bringing peace to those in need.  I am so grateful.

J's attempt to console my obliterated hiking weekend, and persuade me to consider relaxation.

J brought over a reclining chair so I could relax comfortably.  The non-smile isn't thankless, it's simply drug-induced.

Pampered, pampered, pampered!

I felt I learned a great deal (and will continue to learn!) through this accident.  I am reminded of  an excerpt from President Eyring's October 2010 General Conference Address, "Serve with the Spirit," 

We need not worry about knowing the right thing to say or do when we get [to a bedside]. The love of God and the Holy Spirit may be enough. When I was a young man I feared that I would not know what to do or to say to people in great need.

Once I was at the hospital bedside of my father as he seemed near death. I heard a commotion among the nurses in the hallway. Suddenly, President Spencer W. Kimball walked into the room and sat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed from me. I thought to myself, “Now here is my chance to watch and listen to a master at going to those in pain and suffering.”

President Kimball said a few words of greeting, asked my father if he had received a priesthood blessing, and then, when Dad said that he had, the prophet sat back in his chair.

I waited for a demonstration of the comforting skills I felt I lacked and so much needed. After perhaps five minutes of watching the two of them simply smiling silently at each other, I saw President Kimball rise and say, “Henry, I think I’ll go before we tire you.”

I thought I had missed the lesson, but it came later. In a quiet moment with Dad after he recovered enough to go home, our conversation turned to the visit by President Kimball. Dad said quietly, “Of all the visits I had, that visit I had from him lifted my spirits the most.”

President Kimball didn’t speak many words of comfort, at least that I could hear, but he went with the Spirit of the Lord as his companion to give the comfort.