FIL
My father-in-law phoned me to come pick him up this evening. He had fallen asleep at the wheel, hit the median, and tore a tire off the rim. The tow truck driver was supposed to take the vehicle to the Collision Reporting Centre, but took it to the dealership instead. When I finally caught up with them, the guy said he didn't want my FIL to have to go through the cops.
Three years ago my FIL rear-ended a van. My two kids and my mother-in-law were in the car with him. He ended up with a broken sternum, my kids with minor bruising, but my beloved MIL died of internal bleeding a few hours later. He had to take a driving test after that, but he was cleared to remain a driver, so he continues to drive every day. We hope he only hurts himself, since there is nothing we can legally do to stop him from driving. Oh, and he recently bought an RV.
The slightly hypocritical part is that I depend on narcotics to get me through my days. I have Ehlers-Danlos, a connective tissue disorder that causes my ligaments and tendons to tear and my joints to dislocate on a regular basis. By regular I mean daily. Until about 2 years ago I was managing, but then I started having increasingly more injuries. A year ago I finally totalled my left foot and have since been on codeine and percocets just to function. I drive on codeine, but not the percs. About a month ago, my FIL called me on his cell to ask me if he should drive after taking a Tylenol 3, so of course I adamantly said no and offered to drive for him. I had just popped a T4. You see the apparent hypocrisy. Then again, I haven't ever had an at-fault car crash, or any crash at all in the past 8 years.
So the hard part is that after I picked him up tonight, I couldn't help being totally pissed that he did this, that he continues to drive when he should never get behind the wheel (he hit my car in the driveway 2 nights ago), that he's putting everyone at risk. At the same time I trying very hard to not appear mad, because I know he's thinking about the crash that led to his wife's death. By the time I got home my foot was pounding, as was my head. So it was time to Perc Up.
Three years ago my FIL rear-ended a van. My two kids and my mother-in-law were in the car with him. He ended up with a broken sternum, my kids with minor bruising, but my beloved MIL died of internal bleeding a few hours later. He had to take a driving test after that, but he was cleared to remain a driver, so he continues to drive every day. We hope he only hurts himself, since there is nothing we can legally do to stop him from driving. Oh, and he recently bought an RV.
The slightly hypocritical part is that I depend on narcotics to get me through my days. I have Ehlers-Danlos, a connective tissue disorder that causes my ligaments and tendons to tear and my joints to dislocate on a regular basis. By regular I mean daily. Until about 2 years ago I was managing, but then I started having increasingly more injuries. A year ago I finally totalled my left foot and have since been on codeine and percocets just to function. I drive on codeine, but not the percs. About a month ago, my FIL called me on his cell to ask me if he should drive after taking a Tylenol 3, so of course I adamantly said no and offered to drive for him. I had just popped a T4. You see the apparent hypocrisy. Then again, I haven't ever had an at-fault car crash, or any crash at all in the past 8 years.
So the hard part is that after I picked him up tonight, I couldn't help being totally pissed that he did this, that he continues to drive when he should never get behind the wheel (he hit my car in the driveway 2 nights ago), that he's putting everyone at risk. At the same time I trying very hard to not appear mad, because I know he's thinking about the crash that led to his wife's death. By the time I got home my foot was pounding, as was my head. So it was time to Perc Up.
posted by LastHope at 5:36 PM
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