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A story/rant about 3 weeks in my life...and I still love it
11 years ago
Three weeks ago I was in a car accident. It wasn't anything major.
I was on waiting at a stoplight on my way to work. BAM. Got rear-ended. Stomped on the brakes to stop my car from continuing into the guy in front of me and glanced in the rear view mirror at the car that had hit me. It was being driven by some kid who had the most dumbfounded look on his face moments before bringing his hands to cover his eyes and plant his head into the steering wheel. I got out of my car, walked up to him as he exited his, and we shook his hands. Then we embraced. I was just glad that we were both ok, and so was he.
He didn't have a license on him. His story was that he was just coming from the gym. We shook hands, swapped license plate numbers, phone numbers, names, addresses, etc. Called it good. The accident occurred in Everett but the home address he gave me was in Edmonds about 15 miles south. Long drive for a trip to the gym but I took it as is. Worst case scenario was that he was uninsured and I would never hear from him again. He told me he would call me with his driver's license info later. I told him that was cool and we parted ways.
I still made it to work on time.
Work was hell. Hardest shift I've ever had in the ER. We're expected to perform one complete exam in an hour and I ended up doing 11 in 10 hours (about 8 of them in the last 6 hours. Let that math sink in). No break time no lunch, I just worked. I spared 5 minutes to give the kid a call early into my shift when I hadn't heard from him regarding his license info. I got a voice mail, left him a message, went back to work. 15 minutes later got a call back but the guy who called sounded nothing like him and there was so much noise where he was at that I couldn't figure out a single thing he said. he then hung up.
Later in my shift I took a few more minutes to let my own insurance (USAA, an insurance agency used by military veterans) know the whole story up until then. The gal I talked to was incredibly nice and helpful and made me feel like everything was being taken care of.
I then took a call from a ER doctor who was unhappy with how long it had taken me to get to his patient and for him to get the results. To his (and my own) credit he said he was happy that my exam was as helpful as it had been (I had found numerous kidney stones lodged in a patient's ureter which prevented her from needing a costly CT to find them) but then he went on to lambast me about how long it too me to get to the patient and for him to get the results.
"I'm sorry." I replied. Remember, 11 patients in a 10hour day. I was working hard already.
"I'm sorry." I had said. Except with the crystal clear tone of "Fuck you. But I am sorry. Still FUCK YOU." Seriously fuck him I had done a damn good job, most folks don't think to check the ureters but I damn well did.
I went back to work. Finished my shift. Went home. Slept like a damn log.
This all occurred on a Friday. I made a mental note that come Monday I would likely have to face a supervisor for the delays that occurred and possibly an unhappy write-up from an irate doctor who found me to be an inadequate vent for him. (seriously, what a jackass. Also anyone who tries to vent at me will feel profoundly unsatisfied by it. Jeezus two of my drill instructors were former Marines, YELLING AT ME WILL NOT SCARE ME.)
My insurance had put me in touch with an autoshop that actually opened their doors for me that Saturday (when they were normally closed) just so I could get a quote on the repairs. The manager himself greeted me and inspect the car. He addressed me by my military rank (which hasn't happened for a few years now, I was both surprised and hugely humbled by that) and he was a lot of fun to talk to. Amazing customer service, I couldn't have been happier. If you ever use Fix-It Auto in Kenmore, WA you're going to be happy.
His quote came to over $3000 and he assumed it would be more once they started pulling fenders off and seeing the real damage underneath. I still hadn't heard from the kid who hit me so I waved good-bye to my $500 deductible and told the manager thanks for seeing me on the weekend and that I would bring the car by for repairs during their next opening which was two weeks later.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday flew by. Nothing came of the irate ER doc and there were no repercussions from my insane Friday night.
I went to Vancoufur on Thursday and had an absolute blast. Seriously the furries in the Vancouver, BC area are absolutely dedicated to their cause and they put on an amazing show. They also tolerate a lot of shit from us coming out of the states; especially those of us who show up to their con to troll their dance comps and get belligerently drunk. I love our Canadian furs and I can't talk highly enough of them. I LOVE THAT CON. I also hope that folks go easier on them in the future, especially those of us coming from the states. :P
Got back to Seattle on Monday and turned my phone on. Had two voice mails from Geico waiting for me. Apparently the kid had insurance after all and they had finally gotten back to me. The Geico rep was a gal who was even more amazing than my own insurance rep at USAA. I told her I already had a shop in mind to work on my car and a quote from about the repairs. Turns out it was a shop that Geico wasn't affiliated with but she said they would work with it anyway. That was too cool of them. She also said they would cover my costs for a rental car while my car was in the shop and that she would get me in touch with a rental agency.
10 minutes later I got a call from Hertz. They took some info from me and said they would get a car that matched the one I was putting into the shop and have it waiting there for me.
I found out the next day that our landlady hadn't received the utility bills from a roommate. Also Found out that she had apparently lost the rent check of another roommate. Both roommates are now going to move out and the rest of us have to find replacements for at least one of them.
I have an amazing girlfriend
razzy_lee who looks out for my well-being during times like this that are stressful as all hell to me. She also lets me help her out in return when her own life gets rough. It's so rewarding to help out someone I love so much and I seriously feel that together we can get each other through anything. To top it all I have some amazing friends (Ciscofur Keeko-chan stripesthedragon) living with me, some of whom are moving on but I still love them all the same.
I'm going to stop there because as you can see at any given time I have multiple story lines existing in my life and all of them have their own drama and successes associated with them. My job alone is a huge source of both stress and success to me. Just last night (another Friday ER shift, no accidents this time though :P) I scanned a pregnant gal who was admitted to the ER following a motor vehicle accident (ok so there technically was an accident...). A case like that is kind of a big fucking deal and when I get called into that situation there are a lot of eyes on me waiting to her back if I find any signs of internal bleeding in the mother or a placental abruption with the fetus. A doctor for the mother. A doctor for the fetus. A doctor to interpret my exam. 3 minds with their own questions to answer. You can't fuck up in that situation. You can't miss that internal bleeding, you can't miss that tear in the placenta. Don't. Fuck. Up.
Jeezus. Even when I say I'm going to "stop right there" I can't. There's still something going on, something to add. It doesn't end. And you know what? I'm ok with it. I can handle it.
This is what I'm here for, and I'm loving it.
See you all at BLFC!
I was on waiting at a stoplight on my way to work. BAM. Got rear-ended. Stomped on the brakes to stop my car from continuing into the guy in front of me and glanced in the rear view mirror at the car that had hit me. It was being driven by some kid who had the most dumbfounded look on his face moments before bringing his hands to cover his eyes and plant his head into the steering wheel. I got out of my car, walked up to him as he exited his, and we shook his hands. Then we embraced. I was just glad that we were both ok, and so was he.
He didn't have a license on him. His story was that he was just coming from the gym. We shook hands, swapped license plate numbers, phone numbers, names, addresses, etc. Called it good. The accident occurred in Everett but the home address he gave me was in Edmonds about 15 miles south. Long drive for a trip to the gym but I took it as is. Worst case scenario was that he was uninsured and I would never hear from him again. He told me he would call me with his driver's license info later. I told him that was cool and we parted ways.
I still made it to work on time.
Work was hell. Hardest shift I've ever had in the ER. We're expected to perform one complete exam in an hour and I ended up doing 11 in 10 hours (about 8 of them in the last 6 hours. Let that math sink in). No break time no lunch, I just worked. I spared 5 minutes to give the kid a call early into my shift when I hadn't heard from him regarding his license info. I got a voice mail, left him a message, went back to work. 15 minutes later got a call back but the guy who called sounded nothing like him and there was so much noise where he was at that I couldn't figure out a single thing he said. he then hung up.
Later in my shift I took a few more minutes to let my own insurance (USAA, an insurance agency used by military veterans) know the whole story up until then. The gal I talked to was incredibly nice and helpful and made me feel like everything was being taken care of.
I then took a call from a ER doctor who was unhappy with how long it had taken me to get to his patient and for him to get the results. To his (and my own) credit he said he was happy that my exam was as helpful as it had been (I had found numerous kidney stones lodged in a patient's ureter which prevented her from needing a costly CT to find them) but then he went on to lambast me about how long it too me to get to the patient and for him to get the results.
"I'm sorry." I replied. Remember, 11 patients in a 10hour day. I was working hard already.
"I'm sorry." I had said. Except with the crystal clear tone of "Fuck you. But I am sorry. Still FUCK YOU." Seriously fuck him I had done a damn good job, most folks don't think to check the ureters but I damn well did.
I went back to work. Finished my shift. Went home. Slept like a damn log.
This all occurred on a Friday. I made a mental note that come Monday I would likely have to face a supervisor for the delays that occurred and possibly an unhappy write-up from an irate doctor who found me to be an inadequate vent for him. (seriously, what a jackass. Also anyone who tries to vent at me will feel profoundly unsatisfied by it. Jeezus two of my drill instructors were former Marines, YELLING AT ME WILL NOT SCARE ME.)
My insurance had put me in touch with an autoshop that actually opened their doors for me that Saturday (when they were normally closed) just so I could get a quote on the repairs. The manager himself greeted me and inspect the car. He addressed me by my military rank (which hasn't happened for a few years now, I was both surprised and hugely humbled by that) and he was a lot of fun to talk to. Amazing customer service, I couldn't have been happier. If you ever use Fix-It Auto in Kenmore, WA you're going to be happy.
His quote came to over $3000 and he assumed it would be more once they started pulling fenders off and seeing the real damage underneath. I still hadn't heard from the kid who hit me so I waved good-bye to my $500 deductible and told the manager thanks for seeing me on the weekend and that I would bring the car by for repairs during their next opening which was two weeks later.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday flew by. Nothing came of the irate ER doc and there were no repercussions from my insane Friday night.
I went to Vancoufur on Thursday and had an absolute blast. Seriously the furries in the Vancouver, BC area are absolutely dedicated to their cause and they put on an amazing show. They also tolerate a lot of shit from us coming out of the states; especially those of us who show up to their con to troll their dance comps and get belligerently drunk. I love our Canadian furs and I can't talk highly enough of them. I LOVE THAT CON. I also hope that folks go easier on them in the future, especially those of us coming from the states. :P
Got back to Seattle on Monday and turned my phone on. Had two voice mails from Geico waiting for me. Apparently the kid had insurance after all and they had finally gotten back to me. The Geico rep was a gal who was even more amazing than my own insurance rep at USAA. I told her I already had a shop in mind to work on my car and a quote from about the repairs. Turns out it was a shop that Geico wasn't affiliated with but she said they would work with it anyway. That was too cool of them. She also said they would cover my costs for a rental car while my car was in the shop and that she would get me in touch with a rental agency.
10 minutes later I got a call from Hertz. They took some info from me and said they would get a car that matched the one I was putting into the shop and have it waiting there for me.
I found out the next day that our landlady hadn't received the utility bills from a roommate. Also Found out that she had apparently lost the rent check of another roommate. Both roommates are now going to move out and the rest of us have to find replacements for at least one of them.
I have an amazing girlfriend
razzy_lee who looks out for my well-being during times like this that are stressful as all hell to me. She also lets me help her out in return when her own life gets rough. It's so rewarding to help out someone I love so much and I seriously feel that together we can get each other through anything. To top it all I have some amazing friends (Ciscofur Keeko-chan stripesthedragon) living with me, some of whom are moving on but I still love them all the same. I'm going to stop there because as you can see at any given time I have multiple story lines existing in my life and all of them have their own drama and successes associated with them. My job alone is a huge source of both stress and success to me. Just last night (another Friday ER shift, no accidents this time though :P) I scanned a pregnant gal who was admitted to the ER following a motor vehicle accident (ok so there technically was an accident...). A case like that is kind of a big fucking deal and when I get called into that situation there are a lot of eyes on me waiting to her back if I find any signs of internal bleeding in the mother or a placental abruption with the fetus. A doctor for the mother. A doctor for the fetus. A doctor to interpret my exam. 3 minds with their own questions to answer. You can't fuck up in that situation. You can't miss that internal bleeding, you can't miss that tear in the placenta. Don't. Fuck. Up.
Jeezus. Even when I say I'm going to "stop right there" I can't. There's still something going on, something to add. It doesn't end. And you know what? I'm ok with it. I can handle it.
This is what I'm here for, and I'm loving it.
See you all at BLFC!
Good to hear most things worked out in the end though.
I have nothing but respect for the way you handle the things life throw at you. Good on ya' Skyan, keep on being you.
Also glad you were not injured badly as can happen with those rear-enders and whiplash.
Thanks for sharing your story man