MY STORY

On July 22, 2020, I turned 11 years old, and one day later I almost died. Not to be overdramatic or anything, but it’s true. I almost died. Let’s cut back to the day before, my birthday. I had a great birthday and received an electric scooter that was white with chrome accents from my mom. I was happy that I got an electric scooter for my b-day even though I didn’t ask for one. I was also excited about riding it! I took it for a few rides up and down my street. It was so much fun! The next day, my friend came over to swim and ride the scooter. I took the first turn (even though I was still in my swimsuit and a little wet) and hopped on the scooter. I rode down the street past the stop sign, to a nearby church to turn around. Upon coming to the crossroad, I slowed down but didn't see any cars coming, so I sped up and tried to cross the street. I looked to the right and saw a red van. But it was already too late. BOOM! I got hit by a car. Everything went black. I don’t remember how long I was out, but it didn’t feel very long. I awoke and started limping/walking somewhere, and then I saw a nice, old man. He was asking my name, age, and address to see if I could remember them. I was crying and trying to tell the old man the answers to the questions. My friend went and got my Aunt Carolyn when he saw me get hit by the car. She came running out of the house (losing both her shoes in the process) and called 911. The police, ambulance, and firetruck all showed up very quickly. The Firer men took my blood pressure, and my vitals. The ambulance people put a neck brace on me and put me on a stretcher. I was taken to the hospital in the ambulance with my Aunt Carolyn. My Aunt stayed with me in the hospital, until my mom showed up. There were lots of different nurses and doctors all around me talking about and to me. They were nice and didn’t cut off the pretty mermaid swimsuit I was wearing. They ran a lot of tests on me. I got X-rayed, CAT scanned, and even an IV drip. I had to wear the neckbrace until the results came back saying it was ok. I wasn't scared at all, well not at that moment. I was talking a lot when they were taking me to different places. I was saying things like “This is the first time I’ve been in the ER”, and “I never got a CAT scan before”. Luckily, I didn’t break any bones. I had a lot of road rash, cuts, bruises, and a slight concussion. They had to clean my wounds. I screamed very loudly because it hurt. There were rocks and other pieces of the road embedded in my skin. My mom let me squeeze her hand when I felt pain. I squeezed her hand a lot. They wrapped up all of my cuts and rashes to the point where I looked like a mummy. I didn’t have any clothes to go home in, so they gave me scrubs to wear. They also gave me a lot of popsicles to make me feel better. The bruises became darker and more apparent over the next few days. I was very sore. I had to change my dressings every day. The first day I changed my head wrap, I discovered that I had lost most of an eyebrow! My mom thought it was funny, but I didn’t It didn’t take but a week or two before I felt all better again. I still miss my scooter and I never got a new one. So now I’ll definitely stop and look both ways before crossing the street from now on.