Distracted Driving Awareness Hits Home

Smack dab in the middle of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, I was hit by a distracted driver. The details are simple: me and my daughters waited at a stop light to make a left-hand turn when out of the blue we were rear-ended by another vehicle. No squealing of tires interrupted our conversation about the ice cream sundaes we were going to make when we got home. The plan was swiftly shot down the moment metal crushed metal.

Thankfully, my daughters walked away from the accident with no physical injuries, just scared and shaken. I, on the other hand, sustained a cut to my head and a severe concussion. “Take it easy,” the ER doctor said. “Rest, stare out into space, and rest.”

I laughed at the recommendation. “Can somebody tell my kids that mom needs to rest?” I thought.

A few days later, I visited my primary doctor, who ordered me to abstain from screens for two weeks, and as the thought of a purposeful social detox excited me, I felt overwhelmed when I considered my job; 99.99 percent of what I do involves a screen or device of some kind. As anxiety washed over me and my head throbbed through the vise-like grip on my brain grew tighter a quiet voice whispered in my heart.

“But you’re alive.”