Amy's grand day out!

I got a call this morning around 1030 announcing that Amy had been in a multi-vehicle accident an hour or so before. She was transported to St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Amy's health
Amy is in stable condition, very sore, scratched and bruised all over with particular trauma to her knees and chest. It's like someone beat her mercilessly with a rubber hose in a dark alley. She has two cracked ribs. By all rights, those should have broken and punctured her heart or lungs. She has been able to get up more or less by herself to shower, so that's a good sign, right?

Details of the accident
It happened on Interstate 80 south of Shelton, Nebraska, about 25 miles west of Grand Island. She came upon a car that was stopped, veered to avoid it, then found herself embedded in an 18-wheeler. She crossed the median into the truck hitting it more or less head-on. She had to be cut out of her vehicle. She was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu belonging to her employer, KHAS-TV, a television station.

Her boss and one or two coworkers went to the scene soon after the accident and described the vehicle to Julene as "little left to show it had been a car," so that fact and given the apparent little injury to Amy, it is nothing short of a miracle. It was probably a very good thing this happened in KHAS-TV's vehicle instead of hers. And not just because hers would be gone. The station's vehicle was newer, safer and probably bigger.

Julene's trip out
Coincidentally, Julene had planned a trip out there next week; those plans were accelerated a few days. We looked for flights, but from Salt Lake, it's literally impossible to reach Amy faster than it takes just to drive it. So, even if we'd bought a ticket, she couldn't possibly have reached Amy until Saturday evening.

From Provo to Grand Island is 800 miles and dust, 95% of it on Interstate 80. Google Maps says about 13 hours. The major points of itinerary are Evanston, Rock Springs, Rawlins. Laramie, Cheyenne, North Platte, then Grand Island. She took a Garmin GPS, her cell phone and my iPod. She drove our little Mitsubishi Galant, which recently passed inspection, an oil change today, new tires and windshield a month ago.

Saturday, 4 September
Julene reached St. Francis Medical Center in Grand Island around 1400 Central. (I've updated Amy's health higher up.) Julene tells me that everyone acquainted with the details of the accident says nobody survives that sort of thing. It is being proclaimed a miracle.

Everyone from her work is sending her flowers and stuffed animals. Her room is full of them.

Sunday, 5 September
Amy was released today. Julene will be staying with her a few days while she gets better.