Crash

This is a short personal story that I wrote for a writing class in spring 2024. 

 

Photo obtained Via Vector Stock Photos

I never really thought about death. My life had gone through many stages but no one I ever knew well really died or went through a harrowing experience as far as I knew. Death was something we would talk about, but only in conversations about the future. I never thought about what it would be like to experience a loved one almost dying. 

The drive to the hospital was one of the most harrowing of my life. It did not occur to me the ironic nature of me driving at high speeds to get to the hospital but it did not matter. The police were not specific about the nature of the crash but if I went to the hospital I knew I would be able to see the result. 

It was late and the ER was quiet except for an older couple sitting in the corner. I walked past them and made my way past a secure door where I found the person I was looking for. 

My sister was on the bed bloody and hurt badly all over her body. I had never seen someone that hurt, and especially not someone this close to me.

They say that there was a large piece of metal on the highway in the right lane. My sister was not known for speeding, but late at night coming home from the airport she couldn't see the metal piece in the middle of the highway until it was too late. 

I had tears in my eyes before I even walked into the room. This situation had never happened before and here there was only me to support her in person in her time of injury. 

Emotions in emergencies are not my strong suit. I tend to feel before I act when it's inconvenient and do the opposite when in even worse situations. 

The nervousness rose in me at that moment. How was I supposed to support someone who could not do anything when I barely took care of myself? I learned that courage comes easier with family and I was not going to let my sister deal with her injury by herself. 

The doctors decided to not keep my sister even a night despite her heavy injury and We drove home. She pained after every movement and even sitting in the car made me feel nervous to maybe trigger a memory of the crash that had happened just hours before. 

Long gashes on my sister's ankle, shoulder, and head haunted me as we drove home. I could see them while I was driving as I kept looking over to make sure she was okay. She looked almost like death and I feared the worst for our situation after that car ride.

Luckily for me, I learned that I wasn't the only family that truly cared as well. Family that long stayed quiet showed up at our door and gave their support. Friends who had not visited Texas decided to journey and made sure my sister was okay after getting out of the hospital. It was not long before my parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and even our estranged family had 

visited and attempted to support my sister in some way. 

Months past. Lawyers got involved, we discovered more things about the accident, and my sister recovered after losing her ability to walk for almost two months. 

But to this day there are still scars. My sister has wounds that will show for her entire life, and will probably have this trauma from the event that she won't be able to get over. 

I was there though. And I don't know what I would have done if I had not been.