This is how the car accident happened.

I had a bad car accident about 6 months ago which put me in hospital for 6 weeks and have been making me house bound for 5 months now.  I will post a daily journal about what happened in the past 6 months. As I am not very experienced driving on gravel roads, I cannot advise how similar accident can be avoided. However, this journal should shed some light on how to navigate the health system here.


This is how the car accident happened on 13 October 2011 (Thursday).


It was a dry, sunny day with clear blue sky.  We had a full breakfast at the waterfront holiday house in Arthur River.  A puppy from the neighbourhood ventured into our backyard.  Gilbert and Rebecca went outside and played with it for a while.  Then we loaded the car and set off for the day.


Exiting Arthur River, we came to a dirt road.  I told the group that this is the beginning of the “highway to nowhere”.  This term is coined by local Tasmanians as passed Arthur River, there is nothing along the road for hours except a few shack communities.  There is no petrol station, no milk bar or groceries, no electricity poles, no mobile phone coverage, nothing. If you are lucky (and we were), you may see a few cars on the road.  We didn’t see a car and got to the first shack community called Nielson Bay.  I drove there so that my friends from Hong Kong could have an idea what a shack community is.  We parked the car and got off to take some photos as it was scenic along the coast.



Then we hit the road again.  I saw the road sign pointing to Corinna and followed the sign.  I cannot remember a thing between that road sign and where the accident happened.


The next thing I knew is I was lying in a hospital bed in Burnie. Mark (my husband) was sitting next to the bed and some doctors and nurses were standing at the end of the bed.  I think the doctor said something but again I cannot recall what he said. Mark told me I had a car accident.  I asked how the others were.  He said they were all okay, but Grace has a fractured vertebra in the neck and she was in the same hospital.  He said the hospital would fly me and Grace to Hobart which I agreed was a good decision.  Sandy, Gilbert and Rebecca were cared for at Smithton and they would stay in a motel there overnight.  Mark would not go to Hobart with me but would drive to Smithton to join Sandy and the folks.


When Mark told me the car was damaged, I remember saying once “sorry, I wrecked the car”.  Mark told me afterwards that I kept telling him “I am sorry about the car”.  I will verify who has a better recall.


I was very drowsy. I remember they moved me onto a medical plinth and told me they were going to take me to Hobart.  The journey to the plane was a bit bumpy but I did not have much pain.  The last thing I can remember for the first day were they told me that we were boarding the plane.  I was so tired that I think I did not even bother to open my eyes and I have no recollection of my first night in the Royal Hobart Hospital.


Later on, they told me that the flight was a bit rough and Grace who was on the same plane threw up twice.


The memory is so sketchy now.


Postscript:
The accident happened at about 10am. Because of its remote location, by the time the ambulance reached the hospital, it was 3:30pm. They flew me and Grace to Hobart at 8:30pm when the doctor thought my condition had stabilised.

jeeze...that's the 4WD track...

Thanks God you're alright now.

So, after you guys left Nelson Bay, on the way heading to Corinna, that's where the car accident was happened...?

anyone remember how did it happen back there?

荷包蛋 发表于 2012-4-22 00:12
jeeze...that's the 4WD track...

Thanks God you're alright now.

That is not a 4WD track, just a gravel road. I will post a daily journal about what happened on that day, my days in hospitals and my rehabilitation progress in the past few months. I have short term amnesia from the accident but my friends and my husband have helped fill in the gaps of what happened on the first few days. Please keep reading my journal.

啊 开车注意安全～～！ 期待更新～！

Mao 发表于 2012-4-22 12:53
啊 开车注意安全～～！ 期待更新～！

I consider myself a safe driver. I got my driving license in 1989 and I have driven in 4 continents (more than 10 countries). In the last 23 years, I got only 1 ticket for getting into a lane which was supposed for buses only during peak hours on weekdays. That was my first time driving on that road and I was not aware of the this road arrangement.  I had 2 car accidents in total.  One was many years ago when I was driving on a German highway in the dark, hitting black ice. I got a punctured tyre and scratches on the car door but no injuries.  The second one was this one last October in Tasmania. I did nothing unsafe. What I might have done wrong could be hitting the brake when the car skidded but I cannot remember if I had stepped on the brake.

Anyway read my story.

ceciliachiu 发表于 2012-4-22 17:50
I consider myself a safe driver. I got my driving license in 1989 and I have driven in 4 continent ...

嗯嗯 我的意思是说塔州的路况不是很好，视线也不是很好，经常还有动物出没，所以开车要注意安全 {:1_1:}

Mao 发表于 2012-4-22 18:14
嗯嗯 我的意思是说塔州的路况不是很好，视线也不是很好，经常还有动物出没，所以开车要注意安全  ...

Very true.  I am still thinking how I can avoid similar accidents in future. A friend told me that he never drives on a gravel road. Another friend told me she only drives at max 40 kmh on gravel roads. These are good advice but I do not think they are practical for me.

It should be 5 continents, including Africa.  That was such a long time ago that I have forgotten.