• When I experience great pain, it was from a car accident. It happened nine years ago; March 12, 1999. It was a cold day and it had snowed, a light coat of snow. Whoever thought that snow and ice could cause pain. Well it did, cause pain. Pain that I wouldn’t wish on anybody. This great pain changed my life, and it will keep changing my life. This is a pain that I chose to share with people, for them to know more about me. About this pain, that I will forever be with, and the scars will also be with me forever.
    Before it happened my mom was taking me to my aunts house. Do to the fact my little sister had to go to St. Peters for tubes so they could be put into her ears. My sister was three at the time. On the way to my aunt’s house my mom and me went over this piece of black ice. Later that spot would play a part in my great pain. My mom dropped me off and I waited for two of my three cousins to get on the bus, when it arrived. And then my aunt, her youngest and I where off to Gloversville. At that time I went to school in Gloversville.
    Black ice is what caused us to crash. We weren’t that far from the house when it happened. We hit the ice and the van began to spin, and my aunt couldn’t regain control . My three year old cousin unbuckled his seatbelt in order to clime into the front seat. As we continued to lose control, my cousin was out of sight. Then we all blacked out.
    We came back to, and saw that we had crashed into a brick building. I did a quick look around, and I saw that the air bag did deploy, and my aunt looked okay. I looked around for my cousin, and I couldn’t see him. Then I looked down at me, and I saw that the dashboard was up an my lap. There was this yellow liquid on my left leg, but I wasn’t worried about me nor my aunt. I was more worried about my cousin. So I opened the door, and slid out of the van. Once my feet hit that frozen ground, I experienced that great pain. That pain cause me to cry out for my mom. My aunt got herself out of the van, to try to get me back into the van. However, she didn’t get to far, for she couldn’t walk as well. She got back into the van and I waited.
    A white car came up to us, and the driver came down to where we were. He asked if we need help, and my aunt said yes. He ran back to his car, and called 911. It felt like forever waiting for the help to come. Then the help came, there was a plow and slat trucks in front of the two ambulances. And they also had my uncle with them, I don’t remember what happened next. I do remember that they put me back into the van so I could be put on to the backboard. They put me in the same ambulance as my aunt, and I had paramedics that were with me, knew my mom. My uncle rode with my cousin, I wished that my mom was there.

    They took us too Nathan Litteaur Hospital first. The nurses and doctors where on me. Cutting my clothing off of me, asking me where my mom was. People where saying that she took Emily to St. Peters. I kept saying yes that’s where she is. After all of the questioning, I think that I went to X-rays next. It’s a blur at times. Finally my mom, grandma and my mom’s boyfriend came. After much talking saying that I had, a serious problem. My whole left leg was broken, and I had to be sent to Albany Med, for surgery.
    Once there, more doctors where poking at me. I was not a happy nine year old, but a tired one. I had an aunt and uncle drive up to see me from New Jersey. They had to leave the next day for since my uncle was in the Navy. After so much waiting the real doctor came in, and I was off to surgery. I guess I was in surgery for like three hours.
    I was in the hospital for like a week. My left leg was in a cast, up in traction, and I had this metal rod in my femur. And that rod caused the pain that I never want again. It left holes in my thigh, that I am sad for having it. I also have pins in my left ankle. The week went in a blur for me because I was in and out, mainly sleeping. The night that I got to go home, the doctors wanted me to walk on crutches out of there. But I the pain was to much, I was wheeled out to the van that was taking me home.
    How I am today. I am walking again, but with a limp. I have had three more surgeries after the whole thing. The last one was to remove my right knee growth plate to make me stop growing. So yes I had to stay back in forth grade, but it’s all right now. I made a lot of new friends, yet I lost good friends when I moved. I have lots of pain in both legs, and I can live with that. I now understand pain, and it will still bother me. I still have pins in my left ankle and they will always will be there till I die. Yes, I am better no more seeing the doctor. I am a happy 19 year old, and fine. I’ve changed, that accident put me into a depression, and I got out of it. In a way I did change because I experienced pain. And through all of that my mother took of from work. Six months off of work, because that is how long I was in a wheel chair.