I am a believer in fate. I believe that what's meant to be, will be. I believe as well that one is never in a situation that one can't handle, that its all about how you handle it.
On the 16th of December, I experienced what is by far the worst night of my life in the 22 years of my existence on this earth.
My best friend and I had no move, which we thought was ridiculous, two young fine things like us, on the 16th...no move? Hai bo. We called around, and the general direction seemed to be to "Mansion", or "WhoZoo", and I wasn't feeling like driving a long distance, and neither was she, so we decided to park our cars in the garages, lock them, and forget about going out. And thats exactly what we did, or atleast what I did.
I changed into my pyjamas, and sat with my mom on the couch, chatting about this and that, and at around 10pm, I get a call from a private number. The person on the other end of the line is hysterical, I cant hear properly, but i make out the words, "you friend has been in an accident, can you hear her screams in the background?". I literally froze, to a point where my mom took the phone from me, and got the details. My best friend had been in an accident on Heidelburg road. The severity? Unknown.
My mother rushed to her house to fetch her mom, while I took the car out. On the way to the scene,(which is about 5 mins away), I was shaking, in disbelief. I was just talking to her, not long ago, we had agreed we weren't going out. What happened?
Soon enough, we saw a lot of flashing lights, none of them an ambulance or police. When I got out of the car, I saw her, just lying there, she was calling out my name. It was unreal. There people there ask where I am since she's calling out for me, and mine was the only number she could recall from the top of her head. I bent down, and she was crying, she was saying it hurts, and I was crying, it was unreal.
She had left with her boyfriend who had come to fetch her earlier since we had decided not to go out. There was a pool of water, he lost control of the car, it rolled, throwing him out, and because she had a seat belt on, she remained stuck, while it rolled down with her, into the reeds by the side of the road, further down below the surface of the road.
Looking at the car, its a miracle she survived. He boyfriend was lying somewher in the distance, but I couldn't see him as I couldn't leave her side. After a while, paramedics arrived, and because she has no medical aid, she'd be taken to the nearest public hospital...Natalspruit Hospital. If I thought the night had been bad, what was to come, was a sheer nightmare.
We left the scene in the ambulance, the boyfriend was to be taken to a private hospital as he had medical aid. On arrival, I was told to push her into Room 1, for admission, as they had no one to push her. I did so, and we waited about an hour, with her in pain, for her to be admitted. All the while, patients are walking in, spilling blood all over the floor, its the 16th of December eLokshin remember, most are stab wound victims, some where in fights, one was bitten by a dog.
Finally, she was admitted, and I was told to push her to the X-ray, where they said she had broken her right collar bone. We were then sent to Room 2, where we were approximately 30th in line. The people before us where a sight, never have I seen so much blood in one place. Some where still fighting, others fighting with security guards. It was a sight.
After about 3 hours, we went in, and all they did, was put a bandage around her neck, so her hand would be kept in place, and she was given Panado, and told to come back on the 18th(today), to begin her therapy. We waited 3 hours to be told that.
We left the hospital, and went to the private hospital where the boyfriend was, and the difference between the two hospitals felt like a stab wound in my heart. Does it really have to be like this? Does it really? Or maybe the public hospital was that bad coz it was the 16th?
Anyway, we couldn't see the boyfriend because he was in ICU. His family was there as well, it truly was the worst thing I've ever seen.
Today, the boyfriend is stable, my best friend is still in pain, she can't do anything on her own, but she will heal in time. We are all just grateful they are both alive.
I decide to write this because I thought maybe I'll feel better after "talking" about it. I was so scared, and for a long time, I was alone with her at the hospital, as our moms had gone back home to get warm stuff.
Also, I thought someone could convince me that our public hospitals aren't all bad. I dont know.
And so, as i believe in fate, i believe that she was meant to live, and I am so grateful, I cannot imagine life without her.