We're okay

Yesterday started out really well. We slept in, made a yummy breakfast (eggs and cheese with mushrooms and asparagus--Steve had wheat toast on the side, I had half of an avocado) went to the gym, and then went to donate blood.
The last time I went to give blood, everything was cool, but the 4 times before that, my iron was just one point too low, so I couldn't give. Yesterday I was really hoping my iron would be high enough to donate, and by chance, mine was high enough, but Steve's wasn't. So I got to donate, but he didn't.
It was also cool yesterday that I was given a "one gallon" pin, because I have now donated a gallon of blood to UBS. The pin looks like the heart in the logo below, except the heart and drop are red instead of black, and the white heart at the bottom says '1 gal' inside.On our way home from giving blood, we were turning left at a light, and an idiot sped through the red light and hit us. Steve and I are both okay. We are a little bruised and whiplashed, and Steve may be going to the doctor tomorrow to get x-rays taken of his shoulder, which is really causing him a lot of pain. Steve was the passenger, so he took the brunt of the impact, and he's hurting more than I am. I'm just glad we weren't hurt worse than we were, and that we are both still alive. The car is probably totaled, but I can replace a car. I can't replace a husband or myself.
I'm just really really glad that Steve is okay. My main concern was for him, since the impact was on his side, and the guy that hit us was going so fast. (I would guess he was going between 50-60mph.) When I saw the guy coming, I knew I couldn't get out of the way in time, so I just cranked the steering wheel as sharply as I could (like I was making a U-turn instead of a left turn), hoping he'd hit the back of the car instead of the side. It sort of worked, because he hit the back door instead of the front door, which I think saved Steve from more serious injuries. When Steve saw the guy coming, he also knew we wouldn't get out of the way in time, so he focused on being as relaxed as possible, because being tense in that situation actually causes more injury. I guess we both just tried to make the best out of a bad situation.
The guy who hit us told the police officer that the light was green, and we turned in front of him and he couldn't stop in time. (The truth is, he was speeding to get through the light, and he never tried to stop at all. There were NO SKID MARKS on the street). When the cop said, "Well these two told me that the light was red and you ran it." The guy changed his story. "Well, the light was green when I entered the intersection, but then it suddenly turned red." When the cop asked him if it had really actually skipped yellow and gone straight from green to red, the guy couldn't seem to remember it ever turning yellow. He was pretty sure it had gone straight from green to red very suddenly.
As lame as his story sounded, it could have been a case of our story against his, but there were two Good Samaritans who went out of their way to help us. One man actually helped us out of the car after the accident and called the police on his cell phone. He couldn't stay, because he had to pick his son up from soccer practice, but he left us his name and number to give to the cops so that he could give a statement if they needed a witness. There was also another man who was in the car with his son when the accident happened, and he left and took his son home, but then he came back and gave a statement. It was really great for these two guys to take the time and make the effort to be helpful. I'm really grateful for that. With their statements, it was clear to the cops (if it hadn't been before) that the guy that hit us was at fault, and he was given the citation.
As often as I've complained about Orian, my stratus, because of the gas mileage, I've got to say that the old boy held up pretty well considering the velocity of the impact. Damn well. I'm very grateful for that as well. Orian did his job and protected us the best he could under the circumstances. I'm afraid that this may be the end of the road for the Orian. He's pretty badly damaged, and is probably totaled. The insurance company is sending someone out tomorrow to look at the damage and give an estimate. Here's some pictures of the damage.

I should also finish the day out by telling you that Steve and I ended up going to dinner with SSFB and Jameson (our tutor from last year), so that Jameson could give SSFB and I some advice about fourth year and residency. We went to a really great pizza place. Here's a picture of SSFB and Jameson on their hot double date with us.



So, besides the little accident in the middle, it was a pretty good day yesterday. The only thing that really matters is that we're okay, and life gets to go on. I'm really thankful for that.