Do You Even Know My Name?

One day, after I had finally got up the courage to leave my seventeen year long abusive and toxic marriage, I was finally able to envision a future of happiness, excitement, and adventure for my son and I. Knowing that I was finally able to do anything I wanted, and go wherever I felt like going felt so freeing, and I never felt more alive. It seemed that for once, everything that I’ve been through in my life was going to be a thing of the past, and nothing mattered more to me then living the rest of our lives happy and carefree.

One morning on my way to work, sitting in the back seat wondering what’s next in life for me. So many plans, so many goals so many dreams. So excited to see where life would take us. We were sitting at a stop light and I was talking with my brother and his pregnant girlfriend whom were in the front seat, when all of a sudden there was the loudest noise I’ve ever heard, and then nothing. No thoughts, no dreams, nothing but ringing in my ears and more pain then I could imagine. We were rear-ended by a construction truck that was apparently going over 50 miles per hour the last he’d checked. When I pulled myself out of the back seat, which was now almost in the front seat, I was in such pain, yet still out of it. Forgetting about my brother and pregnant sister-in-law, all I could hear was your horn. I ran up to your truck to make sure that you were ok, and there you were, still texting. How could you?! You hit us, I’m in excruciating pain, yet am so worried because all I hear is your horn, and you’re still texting?! You never even got out and asked us if we were okay. Not one word from you. Not even an apology. Nothing.

You don’t know me. You don’t know my story, or what I’ve been through in my life. You don’t know what my dreams were, or where I was headed with my life. Nothing. I had already been through more then one person should ever have to go through, and I just did get my life back.

I don’t know you. I don’t know your story, or what you’ve been through in your life. I don’t know what your dreams are, or where you are headed with your life. Nothing. But that morning when you were driving to work in your companies construction truck, and decided that the text on your phone was more important than then road full of cars in front of you, you changed my life forever, and I’m only forty-one years old. In fact, you changed everyone’s life that was in the car that day.

Because of that text message, I’ll never work again. I’ll always rely on someone else for help. I’ll never be able to live carefree. I’ll always have to be careful so that I don’t get paralyzed. I will have to have a major surgery, one which is so dangerous that not many surgeons will even preform it. One in which I could still become paralyzed or even die. Yet, I will still always be in pain. I’ll never be able to stand in the ocean with my back to waves again, which may not sound like much to you, but the ocean is my favorite place to be. Just as I finally seen a light at the end of a long horrible tunnel, you stole it from me. One text message was all it took after all I’ve been through? You walked away with nothing but a ticket, the person that answered a text. Yet, I’ll be lucky if even I’m able walk the rest of my life, and I was just riding to work.

I can’t help but wonder how important that text message was to you that morning. Was it important enough to steal my goals and dreams? My independence? My happiness and carefree spirit I just got back? My future? Will you do it again? Will you answer another call or send another text while driving? Would you do it again if you had the chance to change it? Please think twice, because next time instead of just stealing someone’s future, you could very well steal someone’s life.

You stole my future from me that day, You stole everything that I had worked so hard to finally gain back. My life will never again be the same, but do you even know my name? Do you even care? You didn’t that morning. But you will now, It’s Cherie, I hope you remember it the next time you get in your truck and think about texting. I hope you remember it when you think about your future and how bright it is. But most of all I hope you remember it in your sleep, because that’s just one more thing that you stole from me.