Thankful

I called my friend Stephanie in the hospital this morning, to tell her that we are all thinking about her and, honestly, to make her laugh a bit. Her sister Jennifer had sent me her hospital room telephone number yesterday but I did not trust myself to call her until today. After an ordeal like hers, who needs a weepy friend on the other end of the telephone?

As I expected, she was in amazingly good spirits. Drugs, of course, have something to do with it, but as I always say, better living through pharmaceuticals! We talked very little about the accident. After all, I was not calling her to get any kind of eyewitness account or to make her dwell on the ordeal. We talked about her surgery, how she will now be the bane of airport security with a plate and matching screws in her leg, how long she will be in the hospital and how young her doctors all look.

We did, however, talk about how worse it likely would have been if she hadn't been driving a car with such strong safety features. She agrees with me that her Subaru Outback did a good job of protecting them, and they plan to replace that car with another Subaru.

We also talked about anger. Despite her outward good spirits and certainly her gratitude for what did not happen and the kindness they have experienced, Stephanie is angry...as I would be, and as I am. She is angry that this other driver chose to get behind the wheel while intoxicated and in a split second, change another family's life forever. I asked if she knew to what extent the woman would be prosecuted and at this time, she does not know. Unfortunately for the other driver, however, Stephanie has an uncle who is a former district court judge elsewhere in NC and is very well-connected in the NC legal world. He has already started actions to make sure that this woman is prosecuted to the fullest extent that is possible.

Go get 'er.