8/2/2005 - Why he can't sleep...

Nightmares...

        Last night my 4 year old had an anxiety attack and couldn't sleep alone. What would a 4 year have to keep him from sleeping? Well a woman, a faceless woman in a black car that hit him with the mirror at 30-40 mph. This happened about 3 months ago, we were walking across the street together, I was walking behind him maybe 4 ft behind him, he was holding his Moms hand, and I was holding our daughters hand. Boys on the left girls on the right, we got about 3/4 of the way across the road when a car went by, with the green light, us with the walk signal starting to flash don't walk.  Somehow this black car came into the cross walk, I still don't understand how it missed me, and my son spun around holding his Moms hand with a loud crashing sound. Like a truck running over a milk crate.  He managed to say "It hurts"  before totally lossing control and crying nonstop.  I looked and saw a side view mirror  in the crosswalk that wasn't there before.  I scooped him up and cleared the intersection... My wife and daughter still didn't understand what had happened.  It took a little while to explain it and keep them calm.

       He stopped crying when the firetruck pulled up.  I'd have to say it was a miracle, because he didn't get more then a bump on the back of his head.  We spent that weekend with him sleeping with in our bed; then about a week with him on his nap mat beside our bed.  He'd been fine since our trip to Canada, but yesterday the DA called me and told me what this woman is facing and what she's trying to plea bargain down to.  My wife and I talked about it with our kids over dinner, a bad move I guess.  He wanted Mommy because she makes his bad dreams go away. 

I've been needing to go through this again, to tell the story again to try and get it out of me.  It's just hard sometimes