the voice that saved my life − 1 November, 2006

after spending the last few days in las vegas meeting with my real estate agent, attorney and builder who was in the process of completing my house, i was ready to return to the bay area. the weekend was stressful, frustrating, heated and taught me the importance of doing my own due diligience. i also learned that everything is negotiable and its important to listen to your gut instincts.

since i had driven from san francisco to las vegas, i was *not* looking forward to the long drive back home. although i was planning on leaving in the morning, because of unforseeable circumstances i didn't leave las vegas to 5pm that meant that i'd be driving in the dark at night. so i bought two large cans of rock star energy drink and hit the road.

i cranked up the music and opened the window so the cold air blowing against my face would keep me awake. i was surrounded by darkness in the desert with only a few cars and truckers driving the long haul down the desolate road. i followed the faint rear lights of the vehicles ahead of me

sometime around midnight i felt myself fading, i was slipping in and out of consciousness. however i was still driving fairly fast because i was in a hurry to get back home. then i fell asleep at the wheel. suddenly i heard my friend poo's voice say, *caroline slow down. you're scaring me!* i woke up and when i looked down at my speedometer i was going 95 mph. ahead of me was a winding road. i woke up just in time before i could've gotten in a accident and at that speed it might have been fatal. after that i got the rush of adrenaline needed to drive safely back home.

Tags: poo, sleep deprivation, guardian angels

Posted on February 7, 2007. and has been viewed 650 times.

Comments:

kga245 (February 7, 2007. 04:06pm)

Another coincidence? A friend was visiting just last week and we got to talking about a road trip we'd taken together - a long drive from LA to Eugene, Oregon. He lost his contacts the night before and couldn't drive as a result. So I did the whole 18 hour drive on my own. We drove all night. I ws only 60 miles from Eugene when I hit the proverbial wall. Nothing I did could keep me awake for the short distance we had left to go. I pulled over, slept for a couple of hours. I spent the last 60 miles thinking about the stack of pancakes I was going to demolish, thankful that I hadn't totaled the car or worse. Glad you made it out alive. Sleep deprevation is deadly. But you knew that already. Thanks for sharing. :-)

vision024 (February 7, 2007. 05:45pm)

My mom was driving from San Francisco to Sacramento in the March of 2005. The same thing was happening to her as you described, slipping in and out of consciousness. She fell asleep and her car started weening towards the center divider. Once it hit that she woke up and all she saw was the bushes that separate the Eastbound and Westbound of I80 coming at her, at that point her car swerved to the opposite side of traffic and did a 180 turn. Luckily she was okay and didn't hit anyone. Her car sustained minor damages from going through the bushes but that was about it. I was actually thinking that her car probably saved her life because it was an older model Mercedes Benz and those German cars are made out of real metal not like the plastic that all the new cars are made out of.

pepero (February 7, 2007. 06:08pm)

there is nothing scarier than falling asleep at the wheel on the freeway. another time i was driving from davis to sacramento, on i80 at 2 in the morning and i fell asleep at the wheel. i was driving in the far left lane. when i woke up i was in the far right lane. i had lane changed two lanes in my sleep. amazingly i didn't hit anyone. although i'm not a religious person, i have a small stuffed angel bear and cross i got at the vatican in rome hanging on my rear view mirror. luckily i've never been in a accident while driving, a lot of very close calls but somehow i've managed to escape them. btw, i'm glad to hear your mother was saved by her mercedes. that just reminded me of another story. :-)

pepero (February 7, 2007. 06:09pm)

so many coincidences, maybe i really should read that book by koestler. ;-)

vision024 (February 7, 2007. 06:11pm)

Yeah I agree and I always believed in Guardian Angels. Which also reminds me of a story, I will post it in a bit.

pepero (February 7, 2007. 08:05pm)

i believe in guardian angels too. there have been a few times in my life that i *really* should have died, but somehow miraculously i managed to live.