So, I guess I'll share my story of our 2013 accident as my tale of gratitude for first responders.
It was supposed to be a magical day. We woke up super early and had surprised our girls with a trip to WDW for Halloween festivities. They woke up to the Boo to You music and had all kinds of goodies like mouse ear pumpkin themed shirts, new Disney themed suitcases, and a bunch of other fun things for their trip. Everyone got dressed, we loaded up my SUV, and started to make our way to the airport. About 2 miles from our house, we got caught at a red light and had to wait to get on the highway. It was a weekday, so there was all kinds of traffic. While we were fully stopped in the left turn lane for the light to turn green, an SUV plowed into the back of my vehicle. The force of the impact slammed us into the truck stopped in front of us at the light. Based on the damage, it was estimated that she was traveling at least 75mph when she hit us. Miraculously, everyone in our vehicle walked away with nothing more than some relatively minor bumps and bruises, as well as some nasty whiplash.
Within minutes, we were surrounded by police, EMTs, and firefighters. My older one was 7 at the time and the younger one was 4...almost 5. DH and I were in shock while the girls were sobbing hysterically. It was all kind of a blur, but I remember people from the various responder groups securing the area to minimize the risk of being hit by traffic, they assessed each of us health-wise and helped calm down the girls, and I distinctly remember two of them embracing me and telling me that we were good, that I did nothing wrong, and that I picked a really good SUV (truck based BOF model) because we probably wouldn't have been walking away if it were something less sturdy. In fact, they did such a good job of securing things and helping me find peace that (while at the accident scene) I was able to rebook our flight to later in the day, change my check in details at WDW and cancel some of the dining reservations we wouldn't be able to make due to our change in flight plans. On top of that, their detailed accident report...which put the other driver fully at fault...helped when it came time to tell my story to the insurance company. I think I was the most obviously banged up... a couple of cuts and a bump on my head from where I hit the steering wheel, but they took such good care of us. Aside from the other driver being underinsured and causing a huge headache, she lied and claimed I swerved in front of her, causing her to hit me. That didn't work out too well for her when all of the first responder reports showed my vehicle and the one in front of me were fully stopped in the turn lane at time of impact. In any event, a lot of people helped us that morning. It wasn't exactly our most magical trip but we lived to tell the tale.
because I just like them and I’m grateful I have them
