Don’t Panic; Help Is On The Way

I have an anxiety disorder, and while it’s normally manageable, I do get the occasional panic attack. Normally, I can work through them and function like normal while my brain and body are throwing a fit. Today, however, I had a panic attack out of the blue while driving on the most infamously dangerous highway in my area.

My vision was starting to white out, my hands were shaking too much to steer, and my legs were shaking too much to work the pedals, so I pulled over onto the shoulder and put my hazards on while I tried to calm down. In the time I took to try to calm down, I was nearly hit by another car four times, which only made the situation worse.

I finally called my insurance to request a tow truck to get me safely off the road. They said they could get a truck to me in about an hour — an hour of being stuck on the side of the highway, with my life in immediate danger.

Not five minutes later, a tow truck pulled onto the shoulder. The driver was from an unaffiliated company, but he could get me home immediately. Scared for my life, I accepted his services, and he helped me out of my car — I was shaking too badly to walk normally — and into his truck. He then hooked up my car and took me home.

On the way home, he told me he was waiving all the fees except the car hookup fee, which he had to charge. Mileage fees? Waived. When we got to my home, he even gave me some paperwork to submit to my insurance company to try to recoup my losses from the fee he charged me. He asked me repeatedly if I needed to go to the hospital — I didn’t, panic attacks can be handled at home — and even talked to my best friend on the phone to confirm. Still, he waited outside my building until I got inside before driving off.

He got me home safely, he probably saved my life, and he didn’t have to do any of that. Sometimes I wonder about humanity, but with all the good he did for me, he restored my hope!