Chapter Five: Relief and Reflection

As a family, we've been fortunate not to have to spend much time in any type of medical care. The hospital waiting process reminds me so much of the Army. There's always that hurry up and wait syndrome and a sense of foreboding becaus you are unsure of what may be next. Here, however, the waiting has been bittersweet because we are constantly finding new information about Phoebe's condition. Much of it has been very positive because, for the most part, at each possible option, she has been in better shape than what may have been expected knowing the circumstances.We've now been able to sit at her side in the intensive care facility of the trauma ward. We are waiting for X-rays and the doctors to tell us the schedule for her operations, as well as which will come first. Phoebe's vital signs have been stable - nothing short of amazing given the circumstances. She is a mess. Her face is swollen, her jaw is obviously disfigured and they've put some type of splint on her leg. Phoebe was hit in the crosswalk on her way to school. She happened to be hit by a student who didn't see her and was traveling too fast for the speed limit and conditions. The student driver is a terrific young lady who made a mistake and I know from speaking with her, that she is a mess about this. The thing is, this young lady was just one of many who, each day, travel through the school zone at too fast a rate. It happens for many reasons, people are keeping up with traffic, they are traveling the speed limit during the non-school dismissal periods, they are late to work, they are late to school, etc. The list goes on. Those of us who drive frequently travel too fast and accidents happen - they call them accidents because the situation goes from normal to catastrophic in the blink of an eye. If for nothing more than this reason, the people who use this crosswalk deserve to be protected from accidents. Whatever that may be, an additional level of crosswalk safety must be implemented. To my knowledge this is the worst accident to have occured in the crosswalk and it happened to my daughter, but my response would be the same if it were any other student lying in a damp, cold, crumpled, and broken heap on the asphalt. The fact that it is my daughter has given Phoebe, Carol, and I an opportunity to blog about it from a first-hand experience. One half step, one half step, one half step, the thoughts keep racing through my mind. Had she been only one half step earlier, the odds of having our precious daughter ever return home would be near zero.