Sara Fairbank
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| Sara and Trenton are pictured with their daughter. |
As I write this blog, my family and I have just celebrated
our beautiful baby girl’s first birthday. She is the sweetest little girl and
can light up any room with her smile. She has blessed our family in more ways
than I can easily explain. As I experience these special moments with my
family, I feel so blessed to be alive. This story could have been so much
different if my husband and I had not been wearing our seat belts four years
ago.
In July of 2014, my husband and I were traveling to the
lake in our four-door sedan. We were looking forward to a weekend with family.
However, we never made it to our destination. At an intersection on the
highway, my husband and I were stopped at a stoplight. We heard tires squeal
behind us and saw a black SUV moving to get out of their stopped position from
behind us. As we were sidetracked watching this SUV, we were rear ended by a
tow truck traveling at highway speeds. Neither of us saw it coming.
Our car was pushed over 150 feet through the intersection
and the frame of our vehicle was inches from our heads. We both lost
consciousness, endured numerous cuts and bruises, experienced terrible whiplash
and concussions, and had severely sore muscles. We were taken by life flight to the
nearest hospital while the driver of the tow truck walked away from the
accident.
After nearly one year of vestibular rehab and physical
therapy, we were able to settle into our new normal. Even four years later, we
still have certain struggles that we deal with daily. These include short-term
memory problems, aches/pains and emotional anxiety particularly while driving.
However, we feel blessed to be alive. The driver of the tow truck stated he had
been distracted while driving. He was fatigued and adjusting his air
conditioner when he realized he was unable to stop his vehicle at the
stoplight.
To all drivers, we urge you to pay attention while you are
driving. No text or distraction is worth causing an accident and potentially taking
yours or someone else’s life. To everyone, we urge you to wear your seat belt.
Our seat belts prevented further injury that July day and we are so thankful we
took those extra couple of seconds to buckle up! Had we not done so, we may not
be here celebrating our baby girl’s first birthday.
Sara Fairbank is an Assistant
Controller for a venture capitalist firm and Trenton Fairbank is a
former engineer. The couple currently lives in Cimarron.
Sara, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. I'm so glad that you and Trenton are still here! That crash sounds really terrifying and I cannot imagine all that you have had to go through to heal from it. As you mentioned, distracted driving comes in many forms. Your story is a great reminder that when it comes to driving, our only job should be to focus on the road. Bad things can happen so quickly and we all have a better chance of surviving and avoiding them if we just pay attention. I am so glad that you both had on your seat belts!
ReplyDeleteThanks again for sharing your story with us, I know it will save lives.
More proof that wearing seat belts saves lives. Many, many people still believe they don’t need seat belts. How can they continue to hold on to their misguided beliefs? Thanks for sharing, Sara. Hopefully the non-believers will see it and buckle up. Your story could save someone’s life.
ReplyDeleteSo thankful you were wearing your seat belts!! Thank you for sharing two messages here! Wear your seat belts and any distraction can cause an accident. Happy birthday to your sweet baby girl!
ReplyDeleteSuch an amazing testimony! So glad you are all here to celebrate such a victory!
ReplyDeleteSara,
ReplyDeleteI know that the crash was a traumatic event that still has an impact but it's nice that you and your husband have moved forward and enriched your lives -- your baby is beautiful!