Thank you seatbelt

So yesterday I was traveling to Lusaka to go on a short holiday...however on the way a small incident happened. I was in the cab of a pickup truck and we were traveling over the speed limit, like all drivers, there was another car trying to change lanes that did not see us coming. We hit them and spun around. There car spun and flipped over into the median. Thankfully everyone was alright in both cars. I had my seat belt on and there was no one in the bed of the truck. The driver had refused a few people who wanted to hitch to the next city from getting in the back of the truck.

After the incident I called PCMO (the peace corps doctor) and was asked to come to Lusaka for a check up. I was feeling fine but they wanted to just make sure. A little while later my chest and neck were sore. My chest from the seat belt, my neck from the impact. I finally arrived in Lusaka just before the PCMO was supposed to knock off, but thankfully she saw me. Everything was okay I received some ibuprofen and was asked to stay within the PC compound so I could be seen in the morning.

So today I went in the morning..there is some swelling but nothing to serious. I got x-rays taken no fractures seen in my neck from the inital examination, a more specialized doctor is going to look at them later. I have to wear a soft neck brace and take some anti inflammatory and pain medicine for the next few days. But i was so pleased with the way that I was taken care of. It definitely makes me trust in the doctors here and I do know that if something serious was to happen I would be well taken care of.

This accident has definitely made me think more carefully about the hitches I take. Sometimes after you have been standing on the road for 4 hours without a ride you will take just about anything. I am so lucky that i was sitting in the cab of this truck with a seat belt, it was probably one of my safer hitches. You never can predict when a car accident is going to happen and I will be more conscientious of this now.

I am grateful that Leanne was already in Lusaka so she could come and take care of me, I am even more grateful she was not in the pick up truck traveling with me, and I am even more grateful that I can leave for holiday this afternoon.

Cheers to holiday! Hope you all are finding this well.