I’d set off for my first day at work. But it was about to be challenging in a way I could never have imagined. By Collette Hinchcliffe, 31
As my alarm beeped, I reached out a hand to silence it. It was just before 6am.
I peeled myself out of bed, padded towards the bedroom window and pulled back the curtains.
It was winter and, aside from the dim glow of streetlights, it was pitch-black outside and the wind was howling.
The country was grappling with Storm Franklin, and I felt anxious about the day ahead.
I turned to my boyfriend Luke.
‘It doesn’t sound very nice, does it?’ I said.
‘You’ll be all right,’ he replied.
As a student mental health nurse, I worked on various placements at different hospitals, and was about start my first day of a one-week stint at an A&E department.
Despite Luke’s reassurances, I didn’t feel comfortable driving in the storm.
But I pushed my fears to the back of my mind.
A short time later, I pulled off the driveway and followed my route through residential streets.
Branches and wheelie bins lay strewn across the pavements.
Then I turned my Renault Kangoo on to a long, winding road.
I was about 10 minutes into my journey when I saw lots of branches in the road and drove slowly around them.
But a moment later, I heard a loud thud and my car shook.
Then everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I was covered in glass.
The winds had brought a tree down and a thick branch had landed on the roof and bonnet of my car, shattering the windscreen.
Smaller branches and twigs reached across the dashboard.
I unclicked my seatbelt. But part of the tree blocked the driver’s side door, and I was unable to push it open.
So, I crawled across the seats and climbed out through the passenger door.
Staggering from the wreckage in shock, I pulled out my phone and called the police.
‘I’ve been in a car crash,’ I told the operator.
Then, I gave my location.
As I waited for help to arrive, I phoned the hospital where they were expecting me to show up for work.
‘I don’t think I’ll be coming
in today,’ I said. ‘I’ve been in a car crash.’
‘Don’t worry,’ my manager replied. ‘The most important thing is that you’re OK.’
Another driver pulled up.
‘Are you OK?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine,’ I replied. ‘But I could do with a cup of tea.’
The kind stranger drove me back to my home in Grange, Cumbria.
There, I told Luke what had happened.
‘A crash?’ he said.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘I think it was a bad one too.’
It was difficult for him to believe it was a serious crash, as I hadn’t suffered any cuts and wasn’t bleeding.
Then, as I sipped my tea to steady my nerves, my phone buzzed.
It was the police.
Luke drove me back
to the scene of the accident.
When he saw the
mangled car encased in branches, he gasped.
A police officer turned to me.
‘Is this your car?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I replied.
‘Are you hurt?’ he went on.
I explained I’d blacked out momentarily and that my head, neck and back ached.
‘You need to go to A&E,’ he told me.
Luke drove me to the hospital where I was supposed to have been starting work, and I walked up to the front desk.
‘I’m the student nurse who should have started her placement today, but I’ve been in a car crash,’ I told the receptionist.
I was examined by a doctor and my neck was put in a brace. Then I was sent for a CT scan.
Thankfully, I hadn’t suffered any serious head injuries.
But in the weeks that followed, I needed physiotherapy to treat my whiplash.
My car was a write-off.
Worse, the damage wasn’t covered by my insurance.
I felt upset, as I’d only bought it a month earlier as a treat to myself for working hard throughout the pandemic.
Now, it’s been three months since my accident.
I’m still undergoing physio, and therapy to help my eye movement too.
But I know I’m lucky to be alive.
I set off for my first day of work in casualty, but ended up being a patient instead!