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\nIn 2012, on a Sunday afternoon, while driving along beautiful Lake Tahoe, I was hit head-on by a very drunk driver. The DUI driver, who was intoxicated more than twice the legal limit. Ironically, his last name was Paine. He certainly caused a lot pain.<\/p>\n
On impact, my airbag exploded into my face and blew my glasses lens out of the frame and into my eye socket. My car was pushed backwards and then rotated violently into the lane of oncoming traffic.<\/p>\n
It was terrifying.<\/p>\n
I suffered several injuries, including hand injuries, knee and hip injuries from impact with my dashboard, trigeminal nerve damage, soft tissue damage, and a severe concussion. The concussion, also called a traumatic brain injury, was not evident on site. The symptoms didn\u2019t start to emerge until many hours later. The head injury caused a two-year headache and hearing issues, for which I still need hearing aids. With brain swelling and the compression of my pituitary gland, I developed a concussion-related autoimmune disease, Hashimoto\u2019s. I was quite ill with a low body temperature and unnerving inflammation issues. Fortunately, the autoimmune has resolved over time, with a tremendous amount of work and support by my healthcare providers.<\/p>\n
I thought I was finally finished taking care of all the injuries, as best I could, when I began to notice major issues with my teeth. This was several years later and I didn\u2019t make the connection. My dentist did an x-ray and immediately asked me what was the trauma I experienced. I was aghast. Many teeth had cracked, on the side of my face that endured the most impact. The dentist said this timeline was to be expected, as the dental injuries would not have been detected sooner. It takes time for cracked teeth to deteriorate.\u00a0My teeth, due to the impact, had slowly started to break and fall apart.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe I was still dealing with emerging injuries, years later. On top of all the previous expenses, as the offender had been under-insured, I had to spend thousands of dollars, out of pocket, to save my teeth.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0realize I am so fortunate to live.<\/p>\n
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