A text or call could wreck it all

A Text or Call Could Wreck It All

Katherine Gerard

In simple terms, I live everyday with an extremely intense and debilitating headache associated with memory loss, sensitivity to light and sound and insomnia. I lost the ability to participate in school normally, play a sport that I love, spend time with friends and family and work a job. The back of my head was shaved at the age of 16. This all began in the beginning of 2019, It is now almost 2021.

My name is Katherine Gerard and I was involved in a motor vehicle accident that changed my life in every way possible. I along with my mom, aunt and younger cousin were hit three times by a distracted driver when I was a sophomore in high school. The driver was texting and driving and with that one bad choice, I was stuck with things that would affect me for the rest of my life.

I have been diagnosed with Occipital, Temporal, Supraorbital and Trigeminal Neuralgia due to the rough and intense impact caused to my head and neck in the accident. I have had neurological surgery and more facial injections than I can count. Painful and non successful treatments that above all are scary as hell for 17 year olds.

I have always preached safe driving to friends and family, I knew that being safe on the road is the most important thing for any driver to keep in mind no matter the age. Speeding is never worth it. Just sending that one text is not worth it. Jamming out to a catchy song? Not worth it. As a teenager I am the ultimate witness to others driving recklessly.I never want someone to experience what I go through everyday.

The “need for speed”, needs to be eliminated. In my school’s driver education class we were shown videos of families who have lost someone to a car crash. This idea is smart however showing it one time and then never doing it again does nothing. We need to keep doing driving exams at the DMV. Just because you passed at 16 does not mean you still remember the rules and safety guidelines at age 48. We as people are going down a bad path, while technology is awesome and has helped our society greatly, we cannot be known as the people who created their own path to death.

While I am driving I am always ensuring that I do not let simple anger take over me. I always let the person cut me off, change lanes last minute or speed around me. I always remember that no matter where I am going, nothing is more important than someone’s life especially not mine. My two golden rules are this; always wait five seconds after the other light turns red before emerging into the road in case someone is running a red light and always let that person or car come around you, it’s not worth you or anyone else’s life.