Christmas & Service King Trauma

Building work is really coming along on our house now. In just 6 days, we have gone from foundation slab being poured, to framing, sheathing, roof boards, siding and windows!!! Check it out on the "New House" link! There are three pages in total and the latest work is on 2 & 3.

Christmas was good fun. The kids came over early evening on Christmas Eve, had dinner, played some with C in her room and got ready for bed. Both were excited about Santa coming and said they had only been a little bit bad this year! LOL How cute. We all watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" off TiVO and then scuttled them off to bed. Milk and crackers were left out for "Santa" who polished them off once the kids were out of sight! I duly finished wrapping C's presents up and placed them all under the tree. I kinda felt bad as we weren't able to get as much stuff for the kids as we did for C. We'd already got her present put aside on layaway before we had the accident, so that was kinda taken care of. So to then be back down to one wage and have two more to buy for was hard on the bank balance! We got them each two pairs of PJ's, a coloring board with markers, K an outfit and a leap-pad system and J a gameboy game. It didn't look very much when it was all wrapped up - 3 presents for J and 4 for K. Then there is C who had gifts from us, my parents, my aunt, my brother, E's parents....was hard. I just hope the note from "Santa" explaining that there was some presents left at their mom's house would be ok with them.

E got me the following: ALF season 2 (woo hoo), the latest Kenny Chesney CD, (woo hoo), a sweater (which I wore to the Gaylord BEFORE Christmas), a Take 5 bar (apparently to pad out the gift bag), and this really cute wallet I have had my eye on. Take a peek


This is the sweater Eric got me. This is inside the Gaylord Texan Hotel.


Hehehe, my goodies from Eric


A little bit of bling on the wallet, but not too much!


My present from the kids (totally unexpected)


The tree before the carnage!


The aftermath!

Lunch went well and despite K saying she didn't like ham, she ate it all. She even said she liked it! The thing is, she had never HAD it, so when I tried to explain it was like bacon (which she loves), she said she didn't like it and didn't want it. Come lunch time, she'd forgotten about the conversation and ate it anyway LOL. We took a few pictures after lunch. It was a really nice day with temperatures hitting 70+! ere's a pic:


K, C & J

Kids went home at 3pm and we chilled out in front of the TV for a while. I hadn't been sleeping well due to the new pills the Dr had given me and despite stopping them, they were still in my system. Hot flashes, bad dreams, insomnia, feeling jittery and legs like jello is not pleasant. The pills were supposed to HELP me to sleep better, not keep me awake. Take for example Friday Dec 23: I woke up at 3am and just laid there for two hours not knowing what to do with myself. I finally got up at 5.30 when E awoke also. I went to bed at 23.50 Christmas Eve and woke up at 3am again. It took me at LEAST an hour or so to GET to sleep in the first place, so I reckon I might have gotten 2hrs if that. So, I finally got an hour or so of sleep on the couch, but it wasn't enough and I think it was Monday Dec 26 before I actually got a half decent night's sleep! I won't be taking THOSE again in a hurry!

E went to work on Monday and grabbed a few hours overtime. When he came back, we were crazy enough to go to Best Buy and then the mall to spend some of our money we'd gotten off his parents. He got Call of Duty 2 for the Play Station and I got a cute shirt and camisole set and a skirt in Dillard's. Neither were in the sale, but it's not often I have money to spend on clothing, so I just bought what I liked as opposed to what was available in my size in the sale!

Yesterday, we had an appointment to let Service King inspect the car. This is how that went:

It started off bad. Hubs started the car, I got in, we pulled away slowly. Thump, thump, thump. Sh*t. Flat tire. On top of everything else, this crumpled up mess also has a flat. Luckily, my dad bought me an air machine a few Christmases ago and it has served us well! One inflated tire later and we pull away again.

By the time we get to the exit of the apartment complex, I am hanging on to the door handle for dear life and am crying uncontrollably. This is the first time we have used the car in over three weeks and I really thought I was getting better at going out on the roads again (even if it was just as a passenger). Memories of the accident come flooding back and once more I am lying on a spinal board with my head strapped down and a neck brace on. My pulse is 123 once more and I am "not stable enough to be moved yet". My life is flashing before me and all I can think of is "I'm going to die in the back of an ambulance".

We finally get there, go through the story of the UNDER estimate that her insurance company have offered us and ask that they check it out properly and all. WE have to call back today to schedule an appointment to drop it off. He seems to think it will be at LEAST a 14 day job. Oh well, more car rental money from them then I guess. They gave us a check for 9 days' worth and anymore than that, then we are to contact them for some more. *sigh*

I honestly cannot see myself driving anytime soon and certainly not in THAT car. It's just way too scary for me to deal with and I think we would be better off to just sell it and move on honestly.

This morning I wake up like I have had my head twisted up in a vice all night. I can't take any meds yet as it is too early and then I will not have any left by the time I need to go to bed. It's the lesser of two evils for now, but sucks big time. That reminds me, I need to get some more Darvocet off the Dr and again, he never called me back yesterday. I also need to get this physio crap scheduled. Would help if he'd called back with the name and number. Luckily hubs has located one not too far from here who is on our plan.

I haven't told you how much my little trip to the ER cost: $9351.50 (that's just for the room and SOME tests). The ER Dr then wants another $510, the path lab $48.19 and the ambulance company with their cab ride of course.....$971! Thank god we have insurance to cover this and thank god the other driver was insured also.

I guess now that I have written all of this out, I am almost at "drug time", so I will go make myself some food and get some drugs down my neck. TTFN.

Expensive Cab Ride!

This has to be the most expensive cab ride EVER!

Cost of ambulance to go to hospital after our car accident: $926.00

Cost of mileage charged (5 miles minimum we suspect as it was 3 miles away): $45

Total cost of "cab": $971

Knowing that the health insurance covers every single penny of this: PRICELESS!!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!!

Just a quickie mind

I haven't blogged for 5 days. Not through choice mind you; I just have not been able to get around to it. A brief run down of the goings on from this end:

Friday was a stressful day one way or another. The insurance/police are still messing us about big time and that is wearing us both down. The I had a fight with E over some BS on the phone and it put me in a foul mood for the rest of the afternoon. He comes home, apologizes and offers to go out to eat. I get to choose, so I chose Red Lobster (of course). WE WERE supposed to go grocery shopping afterwards, but as usual, that didn't happen.

Saturday, E goes into work to try and salvage some overtime. Things are really tight with just the one wage coming in, so he is doing what he can to get us through. We hit Walmart on the weekend before Christmas and it is totally NUTSO in there! Jeeze Louise! But at least we have some food to keep us going for a while!

Sunday, we go look at our patch of dirt. It's had the footings laid and foundation slab has been poured (at last). The sales guy R said that they should start framing this week! Woo hoo! We also went to Target and got some stuff for E's kids for Christmas. It's so hard to buy for two kids you hardly know or spend any real time with to know what they might like. We didn't get everything we wanted and still need a couple of bits.

Sunday evening, we too a drive to the Gaylord Texan Hotel to check out their lights and decorations. C loved them and I took some nice pics for the scrapbook! I may post a couple here when I get them uploaded and edited etc.

Monday, I have a bad day with my pain control. It seems nothing is working on me at the moment and I don't seem to be making any headway. My mid back area, lower back, upper back, shoulders and neck are aching like crazy. We went to see my Dr again and he agreed that things have tightened up and there are a LOT of muscle spasms going on the entire length of my spine. He gives me a nerve modulator which is also used as an anti-depressant. I always said I wasn't going near those things again, but right now, I am so desperate to get back to some kind of normalcy, I am willing to try anything. He also said I should up my Ibuprofen to 600mgs three times a day and he is going to get the name of a good psysiotherapist for me to go see.

After E chasing round and round the houses, he finally gets some answers from HER insurance company. After all the BS saying "we're not sure if we can pay out on this as we haven't established liability and the police report was incorrect", we finally got some answers!! THEY estimate the damage at $2500 which I say is total BS! The car isn't drivable and feels very unsafe. The back end loses control over the slightest bump or dip in the road and it's pulling all over the place. I knew this was going to happen and it really isn't helping matters! The next step is to wait for their estimate to come through and then take it to get it repaired. What a joke. At least we get to take it where WE want to. Hopefully, they will just tell the insurance it is a write off. I don't want the car anymore after what happened. I can't even LOOK at it without freaking out, let alone drive the thing!

This morning I awake feeling like my legs have turned to jello and feel very jittery. I didn't like the new pills the Dr gave me, but I don't know what else to do. I want my life back and this may be the only way forward. *sigh*

I just want my life back...

The past couple of days have been weird and annoying. Take Tuesday for example.

I sent E off to Walmart with layaway receipt and checkbook in hand to get C's present. I asked him to get a DVD to go with it. He comes back hissing and spitting because they would not let him PAY THE BALANCE and collect it. They said it was in MY name and I had to go get it. He tried to explain I was sick with whiplash, couldn't drive and was home looking after the child whom the present was intended for. NOPE! They would NOT budge an inch. Ok, so they wouldn't let him pay off for MY stuff and take it away. But WHY did they let someone who wasn't on the account ADD an item to it? What it's ok for someone to bump up my bill for me, but not to reduce the payments and take it home for me he asked?! Grrrrrr.

Yesterday was a very trying day indeed. We got sprung by the apartment managers for having two cats we were not supposed to have. So $600 later, we can keep them here and worry about how much of the $300 deposit we will actually get back when we leave and how we are going to replace the money to our closing costs/new furniture fund for the new house we're building. Yes, I did say only $300 was deposit, the other is payment. These cats are turning into an expensive deal all round!

Again, a trip to Walmart. We are on the last day to collect the gift. Only I have to be there to get it and he has to be there cause I cannot drive and get there without him. The kid whom the gift is for has to be there. Ok, covert operation time. "You take the kid and I'll get the "thingy" and I will put it in the trunk and meet you in the electronics dept when I am done!" I growl under my breath as we whisk across the parking lot.

I get to the counter at Layaway and start groaning about why my husband couldn't get it the day before. "Well when you signed up for layaway, you were asked if you wanted someone to be added to the account..." she spouts at me. "WHOA, wait a minute. NO-ONE asked me that. If they had of done, I would have said YES, put my husband on it!" Many apologies later and I am assigned a disgruntled employee to take it out to the car for me. He tries every which way but loose to get it into the trunk. Uh uh, it ain't going in there. So it goes on the back seat and I take off my hoodie and denim jacket (leaving me with just my jeans and t-shirt on in 45F climate) to cover it from the eyes of both C and any potential crack addicts looking for such items to steal out of cars! I whisk back inside to find E & C who are drooling over Playstation games and drag them off to the car again. "What you couldn't get it in the trunk?!" he growls and glares at me. "Ummm, do you not think I would have got it in the trunk if it fitted?!" I snapped back. MEN! Anyhoo, we got it inside without too much suspicion being aroused (she thought it was for him) and it's hidden away.

I also ordered hub's present from Ebay.com. It's the best I can do when I am housebound. I am sure he will like my choice of gift, although I am not sure if it's the first thing on his list.

Yesterday and today I have been in a lot of pain. My neck and shoulders seem to be tightening up and I have a constant ache in my left shoulder that feels like I slept funny. The pain killers don't KILL the pain, they just take the edge off of it. I don't want to be too graphic on here, but I tried to resume some normal activity last night with E and I had to give up as I had sharp pains shooting through my lower back. I just want my life back. PLEASE?

We have a personal injury lawyer meeting with us next Weds to discuss our options. Now that is not to say we are retaining him, just seeing what we can do and what will be the best solution. I don't feel like I am getting any better and I am sh*t scared that it will be lasting in some way or another. I guess I will know more after my Dr appointment on Monday. Her insurance company has STILL not gotten back to us since last week. If I call over there, I am going to get all stressed out again and I just need to be chilling right now. I really think we need a lawyer to do the legwork.

E has gone for his last class tonight and then out for a meal with the other classmates. Meanwhile, back at the batcave, C and I dined on hotdogs and cheeto puffs as there is bugger all else to eat. I had a smoothie for breakfast and skipped lunch as there was nothing but hotdogs. Another trip to the dreaded Walmart tomorrow to get some food. *sigh*

I have a banging headache which I can't take anything for (as it all clashes horribly with my existing pain meds) and I have another hour before I can take any of those. You would think with the amount of aspirin, narcotic, Ibuprofen and muscle relaxants I am taking, that SOMETHING would help me. Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. I JUST WANT MY LIFE BACK!

Gimme my meds!

Still feeling rough and in pain. The meds help somewhat, but I would just like my life back!

Her insurance assessor came to inspect my car yesterday. Could have done without that honestly as the guy was a prize A-hole! When he opened the car door and had to force it to do so, I had flashbacks of the accident and me trying to get the door open from the inside after we'd just been spun round. I couldn't help myself and the tears just started rolling down my face. Cold as a fish, he said they would be in touch with an estimate/check. Just like that. *shakes head*. Makes me so mad!

I did have a nice surprise from work though: my check came through together with a $200 bonus! I emailed R to find out why and she said it was my Christmas Bonus from the members that ALL the employees get. I'm not REALLY an employee there as I am a contractor, but I am certainly not going to turn it down! Maybe I can get E's Christmas present after all!

Now, I am going to have some more of my drugs and hope it stops my lower back and my neck hurting. I feel like ass today.

Blame it on Lou!

Seven things I hope to do before I die:
1) Swim with the dolphins.
2) Be wealthy and not scraping the coinage from the back of the sofa every time I want to buy something!
3) Have another baby.
4) Go to Las Vegas (sad, but true) and stay in a fancy hotel not just the one we can AFFORD.
5) See my children grow up healthy, happy and intelligent. (sorry, gonna "borrow this one off Lou")
6) Build my dream home to my specifications, not the builder's run of the mill pattern!
7) Own my own health club and spa with 24hr creche facilities!

Seven things I cannot do:
1) A hand stand (or head stand for that matter)
2) Go on a boat. I am terrified of them (and get really bad sea sickness too). All round scary thing.
3) Bring the dead back to life/restore ill health. This is the one thing I wish I could do.
4) Eat slimey sea food & shell fish like octopus, squid, mussels, crabs legs or anything with blood, bones and skin still attached etc Give me a skinless, boned chicken breast and I am happy! Want me to throw up? Present me with rare steak! *blurgh*
5) Give up watching British soaps!
6) Understand how people can hurt innocent children or animals.
7) Tolerate liars.

Seven things that attracted me to my spouse:
1) His big, sexy, blue eyes.
2) His sense of humor.
3) His sensitivity.
4) His cute dimples when he smiled.
5) Seeing him in his BDU's (military battle dress uniform) *growl*
6) His American accent.
7) Him calling and emailing me all through the day and night telling me how much he missed and loved me!

Seven things I say often:
1) Tabitha, idgey boo. Idgey boo Tabitha! (don't ask, seriously, DON'T ask!)
2) I love you BIG bits!
3) How much do you love me? (Right before I want him to do something for me! LOL)
4) Ow, my neck hurts!
5) You wanna watch some soaps or something off TiVO?
6) Do you wanna do rude fings?
7) DOPP!! (again, just don't ask!)

Seven books/series I love:
1) Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.
2) The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe by CS Lewis.
3) The Prison Diaries by Jeffrey Archer.
4) Princess by Jean Sassoon.
5) Nobody, Someday by Robbie Williams.
6) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
7) Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.

Seven movies I could watch over and over again:
1) Top Gun.
2) Hellboy.
3) The Lion King.
4) Finding Nemo.
5) Leon.
6) Bridget Jone's Diary (either one).
7) Wizard of Oz.

Seven people I want to join the seven sevens meme:
1) Gem. (password protected)
2) Kel.
3) Jeanne.
4) Jennie.
5) Lynn.
6) Sasoozie.
7) Jaana. (password protected)

One week on...

We drove to see our patch of dirt today. I asked Eric to take a different route as I really didn't want to go the same way as last week. The pictures of what they have done so far can be found HERE. It overflows onto a second page so don't forget to check that out too. Sorry it's not more exciting, but these things take time and inspectors are a slow as mud. :-(

The anti-inflammatories made me feel really sick, so I switched them out for good ol' reliable Ibuprofen instead. I called the pharmacy first and they said it would be fine. I must admit I am feeling a bit high today, but they may be due to going out in the fresh air and walking about as opposed to resting inside. I dunno. I am still in a lot of pain and the insurance company are really dragging their heels over this. I have called one of my clients who offered some assistance and left a message for him to call me back. He thinks he may know an attourney who can fight in our corner. Keep everything crossed for us, because I am getting mixed signals off people about this.

My back is killing me, so I am outta here!

Will it ever be the same again?

As the days go by, I wonder if it will ever be the same again. I am dosed up to the eyeballs on three different pain meds just to keep the pain somewhat under control. They help a bit, but for the most part, I am hurting 24/7. The only time I am unaware of the pain, is when I am asleep. I know when my next dose of drugs is due, as the pain starts to worsen.

I gave my statement on Tuesday and to date, they STILL have not gotten a statement off the other driver. I am fast losing my patience with this, and I really think it's time to call in the dogs (attourney). One of my clients said he would help us find one if necessary, so maybe now, we need to call that favor in. It's riddiculous - in NO way was this our fault, but we are the ones suffering because of it!

Christmas is fast approaching and we have bought NOTHING for each other and only stuff for C that my parents transferred funds for. I have one gift bought for my niece which is being shipped tomorrow and that is it. I don't have any money to buy anything for E or C and the gift we have on layaway for her needs to be collected this coming Tuesday. Luckily, we can float a check as he gets paid on Thursday. We could have done without us being down to one driver and one car in the household, medical co-pays and one wage going down the tubes. Thanks for that Ms Dodge-Grand-Caravan-Driver. I hope you have a nice Xmas!

More Drama

It seems like this is getting more stressful with each day that passes by. The police officer who wrote out the report has messed up on 4 major points:

1. C was not even listed as being in the car with us. (I guess my daughter doesn't exist and doesn't matter one bit in this accident)

2. Our address has been incorrectly reported

3. The diagram she drew was incorrect in that she had the other woman's vehicle on the wrong lane at the point of impact making it look far less serious than it was and has numbered the vehicles incorrectly.

4. She has FAILED TO GET THE INSURANCE DETAILS of the other driver!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, there was a phone number for her which I personally was not prepared to call. I knew if I called her, there would be things said in the heat of the moment. We got someone neutral to call and leave a message. Thankfully, she returned the call and gave the insurance details over. A message has been left with the loss adjuster who will call tomorrow I guess.

On top of all my other crapola I have been dealing with, today I also had bad diarrhea and stomach cramps. This could be the iodine stuff they pumped into me for the cat scan, this could be the drugs they have given me to ease my pain and suffering, or it could be the trauma finally coming to the surface. Or, ya know what? It may just be all of them combined! *sigh*

I am having a hard time being in a car right now. We had a near miss going to get C from daycare this evening. My eyes filled up and I really had to fight back the tears. Memories of Saturday afternoon came flooding back and I was visibly shaken. E feels like he is treading on egg shells and I feel like a nervous wreck.

I know it is still early days, but I just want my life back. :-(

Home Alone

E took yesterday off work and we drove to see Andrea (our Insurance lady). She was sympathetic and offered us quite a lot of advice on the matter. We cannot do anything to start the process until we have got the other driver's details. Crazy I know, but the cops wouldn't let E talk to her after they arrived so we are none the wiser as to who she is insured with. E did see a liability card so we know she IS insured at least. We contacted some people "in the know" and we got a name, address and VIN number for her vehicle. Her phone number appears to be unlisted and the van used to be registered to her husband. It's amazing what a couple of calls can come up with! As far as the rest of the stuff goes, we need that police report to be completed before we can go further with it. *sigh*

We managed to get a Dr to check us both out yesterday. He reckons I am looking at 4-6weeks, maybe longer. He prescribed some more pain pills, muscle spasm pills and some anti-inflammatories. He didn't understand why the hospital gave me such a short prescription when they should KNOW that injuries like this take a long time to recover from! He said my neck muscles were extremely tight. It hurt a lot when he was trying to move my head about. :-(

E has been advised to take some pain/anti-inflammatories for his back and neck/shoulder. He's not as bad as me, but is still in a certain amount of discomfort. He cannot take what I am taking as he would not be able to work legally for the FAA with those in his system. We really cannot afford to have BOTH of us without an income!

C went to see him today and was given the all clear. She is a bit achy and bruised, but she's a tough cookie and has come out fighting! (Thank God).

So, E took me to get my drugs at the pharmacy: they were out of stock of the anti-inflammatories and will have them in tomorrow lunchtime. He's gone to work now and I am at home bored and in pain. I may watch some TV soon as sitting here is making me hurt. *sigh*

Yesterday we got some Xmas shopping done while we still could and had dinner at Spring Creek Barbecue. It was ok, but expensive for what it was. Personally, I prefer Boston Market, but oh well.

Ok, I am out of here. Talk soon.

Today is a new day, right?

Today I woke up at about 0600 feeling like I had gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson. My neck and left shoulder REALLY ache like crazy and I have some pretty bruising starting to spring up in places I never knew got hurt. *sigh* The drugs help somewhat, but make me feel VERY dizzy and lightheaded. I guess I can't have it all. I plan to take it easy for the next week or so and get myself back on track.

C has some bruising on her leg and tummy/hip area and is complaining of her neck aching now. E says his shoulder hurts where the seat belt cut into him, but they both do not want to get checked out. *sigh*

I got the "house" photos up. Or should I say PLOT photos? If you look carefully, you can see my Sebring in its former glory in the background of the panoramic view of the back of the plot. Who would have thunk it? Not more than ten minutes later we would be in a car wreck. :-(

You can see our "house" as it goes up HERE.

I am going to chill out on the couch for a bit. Catch ya later.

T-Bone

Today, we drove over to Ft Worth to check out our dirt. They have the footboards down, so we went to check it out and take some pics.

On the way back, we have to cross at a 4 way stop sign to get back onto 35W to head home. This is what happened:

I get to the stop sign, come to a complete stop (like a good girl). Nothing coming other than a red van to my left who is about 6-8ft from the line and stop sign on her side when I pull out. She RUNS the stop sign, hits me hard on the driver's side and spins the car round TWICE almost a full 360 degrees each time.


The blue IS-35W sign and arrow is the way we were going! The grass is where we came to a stop!


A closer look at the damage to my car

Luckily, she had full insurance!

Even luckier, C and E were not injured. I however went to hospital in an ambulance with a neck brace and strapped to a spine board. We spent around 4 hrs in the ER whilst they did numerous cat scans and x-rays to give me an ok to go home. I have bruising to my shoulder where the seat belt cut into me, bruising to my right arm where the gear shift or handbrake "got me", bad bruising and swelling to my knee where it hit the steering column and bad pain in my neck from the base of my skull to between my shoulder blades and then again in my lower back. Oh and I have pain in my lower flank where my spleen and kidney is etc.

The cat scans showed no major internal organs were damaged, but I was advised to be alert if I get stomach pains in the next few days and no fractures or breaks (thank God). I have muscle spasms and a lot of pain. They gave me two types of pill to help with this that make me both dizzy and drowsy.

I cannot drive, and therefore cannot get to work. Even if I COULD get to work, I couldn't physically do the job because of all the bending and stuff. It's started to get busier for the holidays too! I think I feel a lawsuit coming on.....