trouble is a friend

it was a weird morning.  rainy and humid and oddly warm for october.  i was chatting with my nurse friend and drinking coffee.  we were on the way to church.  i was driving.  i don't remember what was on the radio, i don't remember what we were talking about.  i also don't remember seeing the red car in front of us spin out, and i don't know how i managed to slam on my brakes fast enough to avoid hitting anyone.

somehow i ended up on the side of the road.  we went to go see if everyone was alright.  another driver pulled over too, and called 911.  the driver of the red car was gushing blood from his head.  seriously, it was like Carrie.  i grabbed a pair of gloves from the glove compartment of my car.  my first aid kit had a 2x2 gauze in it...which was sad and useless.  i grabbed the only other thing i could find (a blue isolation gown), and held pressure to the driver's head.

for the record, blue isolation gowns are water-repellant and worthless for gushing head wounds.

my nurse friend found some rags in the back of my car, so we switched to that.  much better.  the bleeding slowed.  no LOC, no dizziness, no lightheadedness, and pretty darn calm for someone with blood pouring down his face.  "please tell me you're a nurse", he said.  why as a matter of fact...

we waited for the ambulance.  FOREVER, it felt like, but probably less than 10 minutes.  we were on the highway, an overpass just past a big curve.  not the best spot to be, but definitely could have been worse.

THANK GOD the pouring rain had stopped.  THANK GOD the shoulder was big enough for us to work on.  THANK GOD the car wasn't going faster and didn't go over the cement barricade of the overpass.  THANK GOD i was with one of my nurse friends.

i have never been so relieved to see a fire truck in all my life.    they took over, and our merry band of first responders went on our way.  when we left the driver looked pretty good.  my guess is a few head staples and he'll be on his way.

and i'm a little emotionally scarred, but no worse for wear.  the more i find myself in these kinds of situations, the less shaken i am by them.

that being said, i could go for a quiet weekend every once in awhile.

just saying.