A little bit ago, I typed a blog post about when I was rear-ended in the Fort McHenry Tunnel. This incident happened while I was on my way home from my job in Laurel on November 17th, 2020. Today marks one year since everything reversed.
Today is a big day. One year since my car accident. For one year, I have been struggling with severe PTSD and anxiety when driving or in a car, as well as increased symptoms and a reversal of improvements from surgery I had in January 2020. Someone decided to text and drive in the tunnel that day, which resulted in a massive backslide in my health journey.
November 16, 2020
This was my last “normal” day before all of the symptoms began. I went to work as usual, drove home without incident, and medicated the way I normally would at home. At this time, my tolerance was a lot lower as my pain levels had decreased after surgery. I was doing a lot better – only 2-3 migraines per week (if that) and I wasn’t having any auras. I was getting back into doing mini workouts at home as I had been afraid previously. I could actually drive at night without worrying about not being able to see because of the lights from other cars. This is all progress that I saw until November 17th.
November 17, 2020
We jumped out of our cars in the tunnel and I told him we couldn’t hold up traffic – we needed to meet after the tunnel. I took a picture of his license plate and told him to meet me. Thankfully, he did. He was super flustered. When we got past the tunnel, a trooper met us but said he couldn’t write a report since it happened in the tunnel, which is not in his jurisdiction. The man who hit me was frantically looking for his phone, saying it was on his lap when he jumped out of his car after hitting me – a clear indication that my observation of him on his phone was accurate. He finally found that it had slipped between his seat and the center console. We took pictures of the vehicles – my entire bumper would have to be replaced. He just needed to replace a light bulb.
Thankfully, he filed the insurance report before I did and his insurance company called me on the way home to confirm some details. I missed two days of work and started the never-ending process of getting my car fixed. This accident should have totaled my car, but the shop kept fixing individual things. After those repairs, the engine went up and had to be replaced under warranty by Hyundai. I didn’t have a car for over a month. NONE of this would have happened if this man had chosen to follow the law and not text and drive. Now I pay every day, through my pain and my wallet, and will continue to do so until I find relief.
November 17, 2021
I am not going to lie and say that I am over the event and that I have moved on. I definitely haven’t. I still hold anger for this man who couldn’t put his phone aside while in one of the most dangerous tunnels in Maryland. I have struggled with PTSD for a year now, something that is very new to me. I have had an increased amount of panic attacks and anxious habits including picking at my skin, rubbing or scratching my hands & face, tapping, etc. There have been incidents where I have screamed in a car while driving as a passenger because another car got too close or pulled a dangerous move. This is going to take time to get over for sure.
If anyone has suggestions about how to handle post-accident PTSD, please feel free to share your methods with me. I appreciate any feedback that can be provided. Please feel free to message me if you have struggled with this and need someone to talk to about it. This is something that I work on every day and every time I am in a car. One day I will be able to say that I have beaten the PTSD. You will too.
Thank you for reading if you have made it to this point! I will post some pictures from after the accident. I no longer have this car as there were too many issues following the accident. The framework was damaged, but they did not total the car. A big part of addressing my PTSD was getting rid of the car that it happened in. I no longer own that vehicle, so I am one step closer in the battle!
Bluntly Bookish in Baltimore 