No small miracle

Saturday February 9th, 2013 started off as a typical Saturday in the Wycoff household. Tyler had a basketball game in Longmont and since it was likely going to be the only game Shawn would get to attend I sent him to watch Tyler while I went to pick up Ashlie and Baylie from their mom's house in Commerce City. The trip was uneventful until we were about 5 miles from home... We were driving north down CR19 when I saw a large pickup truck pull up to the stop sign going east at the intersection of RD18. At almost the same time another large pickup truck pulled up on the opposite side of the road heading west. I slowed down a bit (the speed limit is 55 on this road) because you never know what somebody is going to do when they come to a stop sign. Both trucks came to a complete stop so I continued on thinking all was well. All of a sudden the truck going west pulled out right in front of me! There was literally nowhere to go! I slammed on the break and the horn (not sure why I did that, there was no time for him to react anyway) and BAM!!! It was just like in the movies when they are driving along and out of the blue CRASH!!! Then everything was all chaos- the girls were screaming bloody murder, the smoke and powder from the airbags was suffocating us and I was really dazed. It felt very surreal. I was thankful to know the girls were still alive by all of the screaming, but seriously, NO ONE should ever have to hear their children screaming in such terror! I asked them if they were hurt or bleeding- they screamed "no" and then kept on screaming. I felt like screaming too but I knew I had to hold it together or it would make things worse for them. Luckily I had my cell phone in my jacket pocket so I took it out and called 911. The operator and I had a hard time hearing each other because of all the screaming but the point got across and they sent help immediately. I called in at 10:35 and hung up 5 minutes later. I then tried to call Shawn but when he didn't answer I knew he either couldn't hear the phone because of the game or he had no service. Within a few minutes I had the girls somewhat calmed down and the police, firemen and paramedics arrived. I thought it was a pretty quick response and was grateful. I saw the older gentleman that pulled out in front of us out walking around so I figured he must have been ok. I could see he was very distraught though and I know he felt awful. The guys in the other truck had checked on us and made sure I was on the phone with 911. I was glad no one left the scene. I was so grateful to the first responders who were working so hard to calm the girls down and make sure no one was seriously injured. Baylie kept telling them she just wanted to go home. I said I did too and Ashlie agreed. It was so sad. My neck was really hurting, especially when I tried turning it so they put a c-collar on me and put me on the backboard and loaded me into the ambulance. My right hand was also scraped up and bleeding with burns on my wrist- I'm sure it was from the airbag. I kept hearing them talking about the power pole and getting it turned off but I didn't realize then that the force of the hit had rammed the truck into the power pole and it was hanging there by a thread! I'm kinda glad I didn't know what was going on, that's all I needed was more worry!  They transported the girls and I to the hospital and we were seen in the ER. On the way there Ashlie was crying and saying she just wanted her dad. ME TOO I thought! I had her try calling him again and this time he heard the phone. Of course, as soon as she heard Shawn's voice she started crying more and all Shawn heard was "we were in an accident". She handed the phone to the paramedic who told him that we were okay and where we were going. I then talked to him for a minute too and thankfully he held it together and was strong for me. I didn't realize until he got to the ER how shaken up he really was. It really makes you realize how quickly those you love can be taken from you. It makes you appreciate each other more, that's for sure! While Shawn and Tyler were bookin' it to the hospital, they had called Roxy who was at home and told her to call our friends the Steins and to go stay with them. Of course, being the great friends that they are, they quickly picked her up and headed up to the hospital so she could be with the family. I so love having the kind of friends who you can count on in any situation! (Thank you Steiners- we LOVE you!) In the ER the not-so-kind nurses and doctors did a quick exam and then ordered xrays of my chest, neck and back. They then checked out the girls and Ashlie had an xray of her shoulder as well. Thankfully the girls hadn't seen the accident coming so they didn't have as much of a chance to tense up as I did and I think that saved them from being even more hurt. Shawn's Sgt, J.R. came up to check on us- the state patrol was covering the wreck which was nice for Shawn to have that support behind him. The ER doc's name was Rhett Butler... I can tell you, he was no Rhett Butler... just sayin.... We were finally released after a few hours with orders for pain killers, ibuprofen and ice. On the way home the girls wouldn't even sit in the front of the truck- they were too scared after our ordeal. We drove back down CR19 to go home because Shawn wanted to see the scene and get some pictures. When we got there Ashlie started crying again. I felt like it too. The power company was there trying to fix the power pole that the truck was still bracing up... If you drive down CR19 you will see "our" pole is now braced with another one... The trooper that covered the accident stopped by the house later to return my driver's license and give Shawn a preliminary report of the accident. He had taken pictures of the car and offered to show Shawn but he declined because he was not ready to face it. I completely understood. I wouldn't have been ready to see it then either. It took me a couple of days to be able to handle it without crying. The trooper also told Shawn that the man that pulled out in front of us wasn't hurt so I was glad to hear that. He also told him what the witnesses told him had happened - apparently the truck heading east was going to turn and the truck going west was going straight. The guy going east motioned for the guy going straight to "go ahead and go" and so he went. Right in front of us. Sigh. No one in either vehicle checked to even see if anyone was coming. Glad they were honest though. Later on when we got ahold of the other driver's insurance they said that he had already contacted them and took full responsibility for the accident. That was so nice to hear in this day and age when there is not alot of that going around. I am thankful for that! So now, we are in the process of seeing our doctors, slowly healing and looking for a new car. I want another Fusion. The one I had did exactly what it was supposed to when we wrecked. And I'm sure the angels in the car with us didn't hurt either. I know we were protected! To me we were surrounded by miracles that day and I am so thankful to my Father in Heaven that no one was seriously hurt!