Don't Panic!

Remember how I said that Sierra Leone had other needs that were more pressing than seatbelts? I TOTALLY TAKE THAT BACK.

Don't panic -- we're all fine -- BUT:

I'm still picking shards of glass out of my hair from a windshield.

On the way back from our lovely night in Banana Island, we were in a bad car accident. I was in the front seat sleeping (with my seatbelt on!) when the car went around a curve and was hit by another car that didn't see our cab because of a blind spot. That was the first impact. I woke up at that point with my head on the dashboard. When the other car hit our cab, we careened off the road and hit a tractor. This was the second impact, and at that point the cab was totalled. I was sandwiched between the seat and the dashboard. The impact of my head completely shattered the windshield. (Moe's sister is for once really glad that he is so hard-headed.)

The seat had broken and I was unable to get out of the car. There was a cascade effect of all of our stuff flying forward. Everyone was thrown forward, and Hawa was especially thrown into my seat; she was howling in pain and in shock. Some people passing by on motorbikes helped us all out of the car and transported us to the hospital. The only time I did start to "wig out" was when I was on the motorbike behind the driver with someone behind me making sure I didn't fall off, thinking, "Great, now I'm on a motorbike with no helmet, after sustaining a headwound!"

Here's the injury update:
Austin had cuts on his arm.
Nari has a fat lip and sprained ankle.
Brent has a headwound and concussion.
I have a headwound and concussion.
Sparrow hurt his leg and back.
Cameron has a mild concussion.
Sparrow and Hawa were badly beat up. Although again, everyone is fine.
Michael was mostly ok.

There are 30 Peace Corps volunteers in the area. When word got out that "a bunch of white kids got hurt," the Peace Corps members training at the hospital went to the hospital because they assumed that it was their fellow volunteers. They stayed to take care of us, so we got extra good care. When I first got to the hospital, they gave me a headscarf to try to stem the bloodflow from my head, and later wiped the wound with alcohol swabs, which was painful. They saw each of us one at a time but it all went very quickly. I didn't need stitches, and they put purple mercurochrome on the wound (which Moe's mom said she thought people stopped using in the 60's and was suprised to hear it is still made). (Update: the mecurochrome was kept in a plastic water bottle such as one would buy off the street. And the Sierra Leonian doctor was wearing a Sacramento Kings shirt.)

The hospital is comprised of two side rooms and one main room. Different things are done in different rooms, such as one for having temperature and blood pressure done, and another for cleaning the wound. At the end, an American doctor showed up, so again, we got plenty of care.

I feel especially bad for our cab driver. His car, which is his livlihood is completely destroyed, and he was understandably distraught. We have already committed all of our money, but I will talk to Sparrow to see if there is anything we can do. (Update: The cab driver was luckily insured. He and his boss and his boss's wife were very kind and came to visit us to make sure we were okay.)

We were very lucky because the cab driver said that if we'd been going just 5 mph faster, we'd be dead. We are also lucky because at one point we thought about putting Nari and Sparrow in the front seat -- because they are both very small, they could have been thrown completely through the windshield. The doctor also told me I was really lucky that I was asleep because I was less tense, and if I had been tense on impact, this could have been a whole lot worse (in ways his sister doesn't like to think about). So again although we're all still very sore / beat-up, not to worry, we're all fine.

I'm starting to think that I am just bad luck for the Robbies. Last summer, when I was on the St. Charles streetcar in New Orleans, the streetcar was hit by a car, which I was told never happens. Two Robertson summers and two car accidents: coincidence?

Obviously our plans have changed somewhat. We're going to stay in Bo for the next 24 hours to recuperate and be near medical care just in case anyone needs it. Because of the accident and the unexpected days in Bo, we won't have time to go to Bonthe because it is a 2-day trip to get there including 18 hours on a boat. So it looks like we'll have to forget The Land That Time Forgot. Day after tomorrow we'll go to Kenema to meet with people the villagers want us to talk to; for example, we're trying to find a vet there to help with the goat problem. The on the 17th we will head back to the village two days earlier than planned.

I must look pretty bad because everyone I pass asks me, "What happened to you??"
I reply, "If you think I look bad, you should have seen the car."

(Moe's sister would like to report that he is actually in good spirits and joking about things like "Why was there a tractor in the middle of the road? Ha Ha!" He also seemed more concerned about the Celtics beating the Lakers than this accident in which, again, his head shattered a windshield. She hopes this is due to resiliancy and a positive attitude rather than to the concussion / brain damage.)