Angel on My Shoulder

I must write and tell you about the blessing I had yesterday. I am still thinking how lucky I was, how The Lord was with me, and how grateful I am. The Lord was definitely with me.

I told you that on Thursday night my daughter and I went to see Celine Dion in concert. It was late when we got back to her house, 1 a.m. My grandson was staying at the house, as he was in Hudson to teach his dance classes that night, and since he didn’t work the next morning, he decided to stay at his parent’s house, so that he could visit with his Grandma. He had hot chocolate waiting for us. We had such a good time visiting with him, the hours went by fast, and it was late till we got to bed.

I did sleep late the next morning, thinking I had caught up on the missing sleep. I left Hudson at 11:30 am, because Duluth was expecting a storm, and I wanted to get home before it hit.

I noticed when I was driving that I was pretty sleepy yet. So, I stopped at Forest Lake, drove through McDonald’s and got a big glass of iced coffee. Then, I stopped in Hinckley, which is the half way point. I was about 50 miles from home, and I was driving in the left lane. They say it’s dangerous to drive when you are tired, that you can fall asleep easily. Well, I found out how easily, my eyes must have closed because all at once I saw nothing but white and it seemed I was flying through the white. I guess I must have dozed off, the next thing I knew my car had landed smack dab in the middle of the highway median. Thankfully, there was a lot of snow in the middle, from last weekend’s storm, and the snow must have been soft, as the car just “plopped down”, straight upright and just stopped. How thankful I was that I did not go into the other lane of traffic, I did not hit anyone, and didn’t seem to hit anything but snow! AND, that I did not land upside down or sideways. I really believe that God was there, keeping me safe. Thank goodness for cell phones. I picked up my cell phone and called 911. I didn’t know really where I was, but the 911 operator told me the tow truck would “find me”. Soon after, a state patrol officer came by, and I asked where I was “by Mahtowa” he told me. He called the tow truck and told him where to find me. I sat there for close to an hour waiting for him to come. I thanked the Lord that I was safe. The tow truck came and I couldn’t believe how fast he was at getting the car out of there. Amazingly too, there was absolutely no damage to the car. While I was sitting there waiting for the tow truck, it had started to snow and was coming down fast. The tow truck driver thought I was going too fast and ended up in the middle, as he told me "it's slippery, must be careful driving". But, I know my eyes must have closed. By the time I got back on the road, the snow had built up on the road, and it was slippery driving. Believe me, I was wide awake for the rest of the trip, and I drove about 30 – 40 mph the whole way to Duluth, along with everyone else driving slowly. The state trooper gave me a warning for “inattentive driving”, but he sure could have given me a ticket. I was so lucky in so many ways! I am still feeling that way all day today! The more I think about what could have happened, the more thankful I am. It’s really scary thinking what could have happened! On the rest of the drive home, I saw three other cars in the median and one in the right lane ditch. I'm sure the tow trucks had a busy day!

I thank The Lord for being with me. My husband kept reminding me today “how we could have lost you”… he said it scared him thinking of that, just as I was scared when he had his heart incident last spring. Very scary!

I did some research on line about falling asleep while driving. I was amazed to find the following facts:

"According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there are approximately 100,000 crashes a year that are caused by drowsy driving. Approximately 71,000 people are injured as a result of drowsy driving. Sadly, 1,500 die.

In some respects drowsy driving is very much like drunk driving. When it comes to drunk driving, once someone has a blood alcohol level over .08, they are considered legally drunk. Studies have shown that a driver who has gone a day without sleep is very similar to a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.10%, well above the legal limit.

Most car crashes in the United States do not involve alcohol. Most people in car crashes are wearing seat belts. While awareness of the dangers of alcohol and the need to buckle-up are important, drowsy driving remains an underappreciated danger."