A Close Call

I look horrible, feel terrible! Mama said I look like a husbandless battered wife. To my 5-year-old nephew, however, I must have looked worse. He hadn't wanted to come near me especially last Friday when it all happened. Although he kept asking me while crying, "Tita, Okay ra ka, Tita? Sure ka? Okay ra jud ka?" I thought it was just a shock, until I saw myself in the mirror.

We were all excited. We had been planning the trip for a month. For the first time in years, four of us--three of my sisters and I, two nephews, and two brothers-in-law, were going to visit our original hometown--the land of my birth in Surigao del Sur.

At three o'clock early that morning, I and my older sister had been up to cook our baon and prepare the rest of the stuff we were going to bring with us.

Even before five o'clock, our departure time, my brother-in-law, drove the jeep out of the garage. A little while later, my sister peered out of the window to see if her husband, was already there. She saw him and my cousin, telling her how they had just been having their work-out pushing the jeep to start.

Then, I thought, "Uh-oh. And this is the jeep we are riding in for more than four hours." But then again I thought, "Oh, well, once it starts, we will keep on going, and everything will be all right."

We started out at 5:30. Along the way, my two nephews kept us entertained. We stopped somewhere in Mawab for breakfast. And then, off we went stopping once or twice to pee or to check the brakes. We counted the hours and the kilometers. My sister, third sister, the driver's wife, took note of the places and the number of kilometers left to our destination. Then we reached San Isidro in San Francisco Agusan Sur. We were especially excited when we noted that we had only one hour more to drive before we finally arrived. And then it happened.

We came to a double curve. We swerved left and right two or tree times after the first curve till we reached the second. And then the vehicle turned sideways to its right side, before we turned upside down and skidded five meters more before we finally stopped.

The next thing I knew, I was on all fours. The first one I saw was my eldest sister to my left, asking me in her faint voice, "Che, Kuhaang ligid." The spare tire was on her. And I couldn't do it just as yet since I was still on my knees with something heavy on my nape. I realized later it was the car seat. Then I heard one of my nephews crying, "Mommy, akong tsinelas!" I did not see him, but I was alarmed he might be hurt. I called out his name in case my second older sister was not yet with him. Then I saw to my right, my third sister and her son. She cried out to her husband, "Daddy, si D, kunin mo! May dugo!" I got really scared looking at her bloody face. I did not know how they got out but the next thing I knew, there were only me, my second sister's husband sitting immobile near the door, and my eldest sister also immobile sitting at the inner end of the upside down vehicle. I was able to push the seat off my neck, and stood up. I saw some people crazily banging the door shouting, "Ablihi ang pultahan!" which I did. And some three men pulled my bro-in-law out to safety. Then I followed and I looked back at my sister who was really weak, saying in her faint voice, "Che, tabangi ko." I stupidly responded, "Naunsa man ka Day?" And then she was helped out by some men.

My third sister was carrying her bloody son, holding his forehead, yelling to everyone, "Naa'y ospital diri?" And then someone said, "Sakay diri sa trycicle!" She rode the tricycle in barefoot. And she had no purse with her. So I went back to the vehicle to look for my wallet and her bag. My other able sister was also looking for the slippers. All the time, my nephew who was not really physically hurt kept crying, and everyone else kept yelling, "Gawas na diha! Adto na sa ospital! Biyai na na diha!" When I finally found what I was looking for, I got out. Saw my eldest sister standing up. Asked how she was. She said she was all right. My nephew was crying so loudly lifting up both of his hands. I thought he might have been sprained so I told her mother to take him to the hospital and volunteered that I stayed there to oversee everything. And then everyone said, "Oy, ikaw, adto sa ospital naunsa na nang imong ulo!" And my eldest sister looked at me and said, "Hala Che, dako kaayo bukol saimong ulo!" And then, someone said, "O niay tricycle, sakay na!" So I rode with my sister and her son. My eldest sister said, "Ako na lang bilin diri."

So, off we went. Along the way, my nephew was crying and babbling nonstop. "Mommy, sakit akong kamot." And then he would look at me and ask, tearfully, "Tita, okay ra ka Tita? Sure jud ka? Okay ra ka?"

We drove seven kilometers more to Patin-ay Provincial Hospital--the nearest medical institution. There, we saw my other sister with blood all over her face. Looking down on her bloodied son who was lying on a hospital bed. It was then that I had a clear look at this nephew and it left me cold in fear. He had a deep slanted cut on his forehead. And he wasn’t even crying. Just impatient that we had to take a detour. He was saying, “Mommy, panaginip lang ba ito?” I was a bit relieved hearing him talk. I knew he was all right then. I looked at the bloody face of my sister and thought she was injured, too. But she had no cut or visible bruises. It was the blood of her son. So I went to the comfort room and examined myself. It was then that I realized I cut my left knee and bruised the other. When I went out, I looked at myself in the mirror and understood my other nephew’s concern and the stares I received from the people I met. I was a Jimmy Neutron/Cyclops/Scarface! But I was mobile and didn't feel much pain just as yet.

My sister had to go to the comfort room so I offered to hold her son for a while. I just hoped he wouldn’t react to me the way his cousin had done. I need not have worried because his eyes were covered with a cloth. He was about to be stitched. I tried to take his mind off the process by talking about his favorite subjects. His replies were logical but later, tired of the game, he complained, “Pwede bang tumigil ka na nang katatanong?” I still babbled to keep him talking as the doctor pierced the anesthesia. It was then that he cried. I still kept talking. Until I talked myself dizzy. And I warned everybody “Kakuyapon man ko uy.” So my sister was immediately at my side holding her son after offering me a seat. I took it and waited for the blackness to come. But it didn’t. I waited for my insides to throw up but they didn’t. My vision just blurred for a couple of minutes.

And then my other brother-in-law arrived. He was so pale and took care not to move his right shoulder. He was seated. A little bit later, my eldest sister arrived walking but had a hard time breathing. My second sister was practically the only able mobile person we had. I was starting to feel drained. I thought about calling every relative and friend I knew in the vicinity but I did not bring a cell phone. Then my cousin came. And she helped. Later, my other cousin who had a motorcycle arrived, so he helped, too. My brother-in-law’s co-workers in the area also came, and we had a lot of help.

My nephew was stitched. And was given a trial dose of anti-tetanus. My brother-in-law and my eldest sister were x-rayed. My bro-in-law had a fracture in his right shoulder, but my sister’s came negative. We were all given pain reliever and antibiotics.

The NSO people took us to their office and fed us and made us comfortable. My cousin whom we were supposed to visit in Tagbina came, too.

Later, we went to the garage where our damaged vehicle was taken, thanks to the brother-in-law of my second sister’s husband. It was upright when we saw it again.

Two vehicles came to fetch us. My two sisters and their sons and my fractured brother-in-law went together and they arrived home first. The rest of us followed minutes later. I was a bit apprehensive about Mama’s seeing me first since I had the most visible injury of us all. Mama was understandably shocked to see us. And she was very much worried upon seeing my seemingly ‘armless’ brother-in-law. Plus, having been informed of my nephew being taken to the hospital. And then she saw me. But she was eventually calmed seeing that every one of us was back.

I don't know when I can go back to Tagbina, or if I could still see those people who helped us. But I hope one day, I will be able to repay them.

Yesterday, I had an x-ray which turned out to be negative, thank God!

Now, I am here on my blog, sporting two black eyes, a scraped forehead, sprained fingers, grazed and bruised knees, and sore all over. But when I think about what happened, I am still thankful that my family has survived to tell our stories.

Lessons learned:
When you travel,
Make sure that the transportation you have is very safe to travel.
Make sure that you bring cell phones fully charged and fully loaded.
Have a list of all your possible help in case you need them.
PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!