I came to, looked around, aware that I had just been hit by a car, but not completely sure what had happened either. I was sitting in the middle of an intersection and when I turned to my right I saw a car with a shattered windshield. I got up and walked over to the sidewalk in utter shock of what had just happened. I had been hit by a car and was still alive.
Let’s backtrack a bit…
It was a typical Monday afternoon in Romania. My teammate and I were heading out together to our ministry host’s house.
We made it to the main street and got to the intersection. We needed to cross over in order to be going in the correct direction to catch a taxi. We made it to the middle of the street and saw that the light was still red and thought crossing would be fine since all of the cars were stopped.
We began to walk. We crossed the car in the first lane of traffic. We crossed the bus in the second lane. As soon as we crossed the bus, I looked to my right and saw a car coming at 30-40 m.p.h.
I don’t really remember thinking a ton.
Next thing I knew I was down…literally down on the ground.
The car tried to break and tires were screeching. I had no thoughts except I am about to get hit. It hit me on my right side. I hit the hood of the car and proceeded to hit the windshield with my head, shattering the glass. Then I was flung into the street.
I came to and walked over to the sidewalk. Shoes still on, purse still around me, the only thing out of place were my glasses that were sitting in the intersection. A nice man picked them up for me, no scratches and still wearable.
My body had no scratches, I wasn’t bleeding, and no bones were visibly broken.
I got up and told Ashley, “I think I am good.” That is when I lost my hearing. Then my vision began to go in and out. Then the nausea hit. I was a little freaked out at this point, not going to lie. After a bit of time though, things returned to normal.
I walked into the hospital, and they couldn’t believe I had been hit by a car. They did an ultrasound to check for internal bleeding. They did X-Rays to make sure I hadn’t fractured my tail bone or another body parts. They did a CT Scan to check for brain bleeds.
All came back completely clear and clean. The doctor released me telling me I had a pretty bad concussion, a bruised tailbone, and that I would be really sore.
Shock…pure shock. I had just gotten hit by a car and was still alive.
All I can say is that the Lord is good. He had His hand of protection on me that day and I am walking, talking, and alive because of Him. I was full of gratitude while waiting for eight hours in that hospital. I sat with my neck brace on waiting for results for what seemed like forever just singing praises to the Father. I talked with several people that were in and out of the hospital and got to share how the Lord had saved me and share the Gospel.
I am not going to say that the following couple of weeks after weren’t hard or that I didn’t struggle because boy let me tell you I did. I was in quite a bit of pain. I had a bruise the size of Texas on my left butt cheek with several huge knots. Sitting was hard, laying was hard, getting up and down was hard. Life was hard. I felt useless because I was stuck in an apartment while my team was out doing ministry. I was slower. I would be at the back of my team walking, trying to catch up but physically couldn’t. I remember trying to walk up stairs and tears falling down my face because I knew I had to make it to my bed, but wasn’t sure if I could.
So no it wasn’t all daisies and roses…..there were times when I wanted to give up. There were times when I told my mom that I wanted to go home.
I clung to the Lord though, and He is who got me through this. He didn’t just save me and protect me that day. He has walked through this entire journey with me. He is the one that was right there beside me when that car hit me. He was the one walking beside me when I was too slow to walk with my team mates. He was the one who got me up those stairs when I didn’t think I could.
I am in awe of what has happened. I am beyond thankful for how good our Father is. I have a new perspective on how to give thanks and what it looks like to truly be dependent on God. You know you hear about these crazy things that happen and are just like wow. I never thought that I would be someone that could say I survived this huge thing, and I am a miracle.
Let me say that again, I am a miracle, and I am beyond blessed to be telling you this part of my story right now.
