Dying To Learn How To Drive

(My family lives in the middle of nowhere, and we have no nearby neighbors. My dad has been outside working on our roof, when I hear a loud thud followed by a crash. I run outside and see my dad has fallen of the roof. He is bleeding and unconscious. I grab a phone, but none of them are working, so I decide to take him to the hospital where my mom works, about an hour away. This scares me because I am still learning how to drive, and have never driven on a highway or in my dad’s manual car. When I get to the hospital, my dad is still unconscious, so I try to carry him inside, but I trip and hit my leg, so I call for help.)

Me: “Please! Help me! My dad fell and is bleeding really badly!”

Nurse #1: “Not my problem; he’s probably drunk off his a**.”

Me: “No. I mean he fell off the roof at our house.”

Nurse #2: “Kid if it was that bad, then you would have called an ambulance. We need to be here for real emergencies, and not druggies like you.”

(At this point, a police officer in uniform speaks up.)

Officer: “Look, this girl is covered in blood, and you as nurses don’t have the sense to think something is wrong! You must be f****** idiots! Sweetie, where’s your dad? I’ll help you.”

Me: “Outside on the sidewalk.”

(He helps me carry him inside. When we get there, several nurses have gathered around to see the commotion, including Nurse #3, a friend of my mom.)

Nurse #3: “[My Name], what happened?”

Me: “My dad fell and got hurt.”

Nurse #3: “No, I mean to you. You’re covered in blood and your leg looks broken. I’m surprised you can stand.”

(I look down and see my right leg bending at a weird angle. I am surprised, because it doesn’t hurt, but I still go into a room for a doctor to look at me, and sure enough it’s broken in two places. Nurse #3 and my officer friend come to check on me a little later.)

Nurse #3: “I told your mom you’re here. I thought you were still learning to drive?”

Me: “I am. I was really scared. I never drove on a highway before, or in a stick-shift.”

Officer: “Are you saying that with no experience or guide, you learned how to drive a manual well enough to drive on a highway, without getting into a crash, for the first time, and without stripping the gears?”

Me: “I… yeah. Are you going to arrest me for driving without a license?”

Officer: “No! That is one of the bravest things I ever heard! I hope you and your dad get better.”

(After I get a cast and crutches and can leave the hospital, my mom drives me to a police station after I convince her I should report myself. When we get there, I explain the situation and the officer at the front desk says because I wasn’t pulled over, it can’t be held against me. A few months later, my dad is able to leave the hospital, and now I have my license so I can legally drive him home!)