THE JEEP

It's hard to believe it has been exactly one month since Jason's car accident. On February 15th Jason was driving down Rt. 85 in Frederick when a deer jumped out in front of him. He swerved and ran into an electrical pole. He up rooted the pole and snapped it in half. Jason's jeep flipped several times and he was knocked unconscious. I had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him to come home. As soon as I woke up, I knew something was wrong because it was almost midnight. I searched the house and when I couldn't find him, I went to the backdoor to see if his car was in the garage. As I reached the door, I saw Jason walking up the stairs with his friend, Scott. I asked where he had been and as soon as he told me he was in a bad car accident, I noticed the black eye, cuts and bruises all over his face. He told me he had banged up the car a little.

Jason complained of severe back pain and thought maybe he should go to the hospital, however when he called Kaiser to ask if Shady Grove was okay to go to, they told him he would have to see one of their doctor's in Falls Church. Jason's friend Scott volunteered to take him to their facility. After an hour of waiting to be seen, the nurse brought him back. She took his temperature and blood pressure and the doctor said for him to go home! Jason said the doctor literally NEVER TOUCHED HIM! I am shocked. I know my past experiences with Kaiser weren't always the best, but my husband was jostled in the car pretty good. You would think the doctor knowing Jason was knocked unconscious and complaining of severe back pain would want to examine him. He had to push them just to get a muscle relaxer and Tylenol 3. Jason came home at 4am and took a shower and went to sleep. I stayed up the rest of the night just to make sure he was breathing.

I had no idea of the severity of the accident until the next day. I really thought that there may be a chance the car could be repaired, but after seeing it in person, I knew there was no way the insurance company would even consider repairing it. So the next day, Jason and I went to the gas station where the Jeep was towed. We drove around back to where they dropped it off and I asked Jason, "where is it" and Jason said "it's right in front of you!" LOL I had no idea!!! It didn't look like what I thought it would at all. So we got out and approached the car from behind. I remember saying, alright well that's not so bad - I can see the insurance being able to fix this, however as I start walking around the vehicle, the damage got worse and worse. I was completed stunned! There was not one side that wasn't destroyed! By the time I walked around to the front, I was trembling at the idea of what could have been. The role bar that's suppose to protect you (which it did for Jason) was completely crushed on the kids car seats. Thank Heaven's they weren't in the car when the accident occurred. I told Jason, you didn't just bang up the car a little honey, you totaled it! I am so grateful my husband was able to walk away from this!

Crash Closes MD Route 85, Re-Opened After 11 a.m.

Jason was still in a lot of pain on Thursday - understandably so. He wasn't able to be seen until the next day. I made sure I was with him for that appointment and the ones that followed. I brought in pictures of the Jeep to show to the doctor that he was in a severe car accident and he needs stronger pain meds! I'm not sure if the doctor had sympathy for Jason or if he's really a good doctor, but he was thorough. He admitted that what the other doctor gave Jason for the pain would not be strong enough given his size and we got him to take x-rays of Jason's back and side because it sounded like he could have easily broken some ribs. The x-rays came back fine, but the doctor said that his ribs were probably badly bruised and it would still take at least 6 weeks to recover.

Last week Jason went back to the doctor to see if he could have a MRI (because of the back pain) and a CAT scan (for the chronic headaches). The doctor didn't see the need for a MRI. He said if something was wrong that didn't show on the x-ray he would have pain running down his legs. The doctor was concerned about the headaches. He said if there is a slow bleed, it would begin to show signs around now, one of the symptoms being chronic headaches, however Jason doesn't have other symptoms such as pupils dilated or blood in the ear. We won't know anything until the doctor calls us with the results. We are still in negotiations with the insurance company about how much the car is worth. Lucky for us, Jeeps hold there value well.

I do have a confession to make. Before the accident, most nights I would rush to get the kids in bed so I could go lay down, so I had been skipping the kids prayers. The night of the accident, Owen came out of his room after Jason left and said he heard something flying around. He refused to go back to bed, so I went in with him and I tried everything to convince him that there was nothing there, but he wouldn't let me leave. After some time had past, I asked Owen if he thought a prayer would make him feel better and he said it would. After I was done praying for Owen, I included Jason in the prayer just as I always do to protect him and bring him home safely and I think Owen added something like please watch over daddy and then Owen said he felt better so I went downstairs. The next day when I was getting Owen ready for school, I explained that Daddy was in a bad car accident, but luckily he's okay. Owen's response was, "Mommy, our prayers were answered". It was the sweetest thing to hear my son say! It still makes me tear up when I think about it. I don't know why this accident happened, but this experience has been a blessing in so many ways. It has strengthened our faith, made us realize what's important and it has made all of our testimonies stronger! Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Our family is so touched by our family and friend's generosity.