The accident

We were in a car accident on the Fourth of July-- a pretty big one. We were on our way our to go camping in Michigan when it happened, on a road where the speed limit is 55mph. It totaled our car. It's downright miraculous to me that everyone is okay. There were so many little miracles along the way. 

We were meeting friends at the campground, and they drove past us about 2 minutes after the accident happened. They were there to hold a twin, help give Dorothy a blessing, and help all of us calm down. After I left with Dorothy, they were there to drive Dallin and the twins and they completely cleaned out our car before it was towed. They even found my hiding place for my spare pair of glasses! They drove us home-- a 2.5 hour drive-- that night after Dorothy was done at the hospital. And they bought and put together the most gorgeous, amazing, beautiful carseats I've ever seen. Seriously. Those things look like they will survive the apocalypse. Looking at those carseats makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a giant security blanket of love. A thousand blessings on your heads, Grahams and Johnsons. Makes me tear up. 

There was a chaplain behind us when it happened, he was a lovely calming influence to have there. 

The ambulance got there in a few minutes, they were nearby at another call that didn't end up needing them. We were worried that Dorothy had a real head injury, so it was so nice to see them pull up so quickly. 

Everyone was buckled! Everyone has bruises from their seat belts, but that's what they're there for. I have a big one on my chest, and bruises on my hips. We had just stopped to buckle everyone a few minutes earlier. We had pulled onto a dirt road that we thought was our campground, and everyone was so antsy and I thought we were there to stay, so I unbuckled them while Dallin went to talk to the park ranger. He came back and we went back on the main road, but we pulled over to buckle everyone just a few minutes before the accident.  I don't like to think about the alternative scenario there.

We're all still getting over the whiplash, but doing a-okay. And the awesomeness of that blows my mind.

Dorothy got the worst of it. She was closest to the impact and hit her head (on what, we're still not sure, the paramedics couldn't figure it out either.) She got 12 stitches. Annnnnd she got to ride in an ambulance, a fact that has suddenly made her the cool kid on the playground. 

The biggest cut went right through her eyebrow. It weirdly looks like the smaller of the two cuts now, but it had split wide open in the accident and it looked like a huge chunk of flesh had been gouged off of her face. Cue the freaking out. They had to do the stitches twice-- a brand new resident did it the first time, and then the ER  Dr came back in and decided to pull them out and do it over again. Poor kid. They gave her some anti-anxiety medication that made her so loopy, it was hilarious. She couldn't walk straight for a few hours.

We promised her that if she was brave getting her stitches, she would get a Steak'N'Shake milkshake. And she was brave. You earned it kid. 

One of Ruby's bruises

Norah's bruise

And the superstar with the stitches