P Ellis, Johannesburg, South Africa, 01 August 2011

by Liesl
(Johannesburg, South Africa)

....its 18:00 already and my husband was supposed to pick me up from work... I phoned him - no answer, I managed to get another way of getting home and sent him an sms stating that I am on my way home... he replied that he was running late but that he will see me at home... I got home just before 20:00. I then phoned him to try and find out if he is ok, seen that he was still not home... and this is when it all started...

His phone was ringing for a long time before it was answered by a woman called Karin... I asked who she was and she then tried to confirm if my husband drives a blue Golf, after confirming that it was my husbands phone she calmly told me that she is a paramedic and that my husband was in a car accident.......the rest of the conversation is very vague in my memory but I remember her saying that they are busy cutting him out of the car but that he will be fine....

i scattered to get my 4 kids - 8months old, 2 year old , 5 year old and thank goodness for my very mature 16 year old son - sorted as calmly as possible ...phoned a friend that I know work for Netcaree 911 afterhours to take me to the accident scene- hoping that i will be in time to see my husband...

Our friend raced over, left his wife with my kids and we rushed to the accident scene which was 30 km away from my house. the only thing I could do in this time was pray and cry... and cry some more.... We got to the accident scene just as after the ambulance left - the first thing I saw was the wreck of a car that used to be our one and only family car....my first thought was - the state of my husband if this is the state of the car ????

We found out from the paramedics and the people still on the scene that the golf drove into the back of a still standing truck... spun around and was bumped by another vehicle...."please God let him be alive - I cannot do this alone!!!

Arriving at the hospital was as much a shock as it was arriving at the accicent scene.... seeing that we did not have a medical aid at the time of the accident - my husband had to be taken to a government hospital where he was waiting on a stretcher in a queue... he was screaming and moaning and reaked of alcohol so badly that I did not know whether to be angry at him or whether to cry for him.... I had to leave the room for I felt sick to my stomach... anger, pain, recentment, love, worry and anxiety - all these emotions at once .... what was I to do to help him???

I had to leave the hospital that night - not knowing if he would survive, had to get to my kids - they needed me now more than ever....I had to be strong!!!

long story short... my husband survived- HE GOT ANOTHER CHANCE - nobody else got injured - he was in hospital flat on his back for an entire month... will have to get a hip replacement in less than 5 years... but he is alive and he has not touched alcohol for 42 days now...

me on the other hand ....fighting emotions all the time.. getting angry at times...from feeling loving and caring at times to beeing angry and furious at other times.... I will be seeing a psyciatrist one of these days ....

HE DEALT WITH THE PHYSICAL PAIN AND I AM STILL DEALING WITH THE EMOTIONAL PAIN -

DONT EVER BE SELFISH - DONT DRINK AND DRIVE- NOBODY IS SUPER HUMAN!!!