Crunch. “Damn,” I muttered. I waved the universal “follow me” beckoning sign to the guy. He was driving the car that had just crashed into mine. I had safely traversed treacherous city streets, slightly slippery highway, and had cautiously exited the off ramp near my office. The ramp slopes downward so I drove slowly. I still slid a bit at the end but managed to stop at the yield sign. Patiently waited for traffic to clear before I could merge. Alas, the young man behind me did not practice such caution. I was beginning to exit when I glanced in the rearview mirror and felt dread. His car was traveling too fast and I couldn’t get traction to move out of the way. A percussive thud was the result. At least I didn’t hit anyone as he slammed into my car.
We pulled into a parking lot and he was immediately apologetic. I asked if he had insurance and felt relieved when he replied in the affirmative. I have indemnity coverage so we swapped information. The back of my aged car, 13 years old, is cracked and a large chunk is missing from the center. The offending auto didn’t have a ding. My Toyota Camry now shutters a bit so it probably got knocked out of alignment, too. The break indicator light keeps turning on so a wire must have been affected. The car is drivable. I don’t have money to replace it.
The pain was instantaneous. My neck and back began to ache. Thankfully the other driver, we’ll call him Jin, said that he felt okay. He is a college student and it was his first mishap. Alas, I have been in several vehicular collisions. After swapping information, I slowly made my way to work. I called my insurance company’s claims office and they quickly assigned me to an adjustor, Ellen. I told her that I wasn’t feeling well and she added on a medical adjustor. Both adjustors are located in the Twin Cities and they were very friendly. With the support of Aspirin, I foolishly worked a full day, which I will refer to as Day Zero.
No sick leave or PTO and no medical or benefits of any kind is offered to me since I am a part time employee. I had the next day (aka Day 1) off and decided that I should seek medical assistance. I researched and located a chiropractor. She was lacking in bedside manner and the office cramped but the acupuncture and ultrasound permitted me to move my head more freely. It is too soon to do adjustments. Dr. Lily (not her real name). She noted that the pain would probably get worse before I would begin to heal. How disheartening.
The next day I had to work for a half day (Day 2). Lily prescribed a message after work. The therapist, Sally, was gentle but I felt wretched that night and all of Day 3. My left leg sciatic nerve and mid-back are at 9 on the pain level scale with 10 being the highest. Perhaps I should have waited a week before seeking treatment. Aspirin isn’t strong enough and I hesitate consuming very much because it can lead to other problems. I can’t use Ibuprophen because it irritates my kidneys.
Pain in the neck.
© 2013 Ima B. Musing
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