A Reminder

This weekend Kenny and I drove down to New Orleans for a wedding he was standing in. The weather was beautiful, the friends were great, and the parties were a blast.


Saturday afternoon, I took a street car (trolley) into the French Quarter and decided to take a scenic walk and do a little window shopping by myself before I got dressed for the wedding. I strolled down the sidewalk and enjoyed the sounds and sights of New Orleans. There's alot to see, especially Halloween weekend.
As I was approaching a girl squatting next to a car, I noticed she had just finished changing a tire. A guy jumped into the car to test drive it, and she stood up to walk onto the sidewalk. Thoughts started streaming through my head....'she's awfully close to that car, he needs to stop rolling, she needs to get on the sidewalk, I should tell her something'......too late. Instantly, he knocked her onto the front of the car. I instantly thought she had a broken leg. In about 5 seconds, he lost control of the car, ran it up onto the sidewalk, and slammed into a column that was holding up a beautiful Louisiana porch. She was still on the front of the car. Smashed in between the car and the column. The metal column came crashing down.
Chaos ensued. People began running to the scene, neighbors running from their houses with towels, ice, anything. I stepped back two steps and immediately called 911. I reacted quickly, thank God. No answer. NO ANSWER?? The lady next to me did the same but got no answer either. HOW CAN 911 NOT ANSWER? Call again. Call again. Finally- a voice on the other end. Gave her street address & emphasized "immediately".
People are screaming for doctors, nurses, anyone who can help. They pull her away from the car and lay her on the concrete. There is blood everywhere.
I am sweating, panting, and shaking- barely able to breath but my adrenaline is booming. I yell that an ambulance is on the way. A few seconds later, I hear the sirens. Luckily, they were just down the street, prepared for whatever might happen on a busy Halloween weekend (festivals, parades, drunks, parties, etc).

I can't say that she passed away, but I can say that if she did not, she will probably be paralyzed or go through extreme surgeries to keep her alive. I have been frantically pouring over news articles trying to find a report about it. I feel terrible. It took hours (and a glass of wine) to stop shaking. I feel bad for the guy driving the car, too.

This weekend I was slapped in the face with a reminder of how short life can be. A reminder of how you should live like every day is your last, because when you least expect it, it may be over. That girl was probably no older than myself, and I was standing right next to her.

 
Now, this post may not be a typical Lauren/Daily Dose post at all- but I  I realized that I am a big proponent of living until you are old and having a brief period of being ill or no period of being ill, and then gently passing away in your sleep. Well of course I am. Aren't we all? I endorse good eating, living healthy and treating yourself well....so that you can live until you are old and stay well enough to enjoy it.  I never realized how partial I was to that idea, and how very little consideration I had put into unexpected death.
I will never be the same.