The Accident

“Kent, call Tina on her cell phone and see where she is,” my mom said to my dad late on February 16, 2004. They were exhausted after a long day at the cabin in Island Park, with a snowmobile ride and packing up and coming back from the cabin, and taking Princess, our golden retriever that we had as a family pet to the veterinarian to put to sleep.

            My friend and roommate at the time, Angela, answered the phone. When she and dad figured out who the other person was, Angela let him know that we had been in a serious car accident and were in the hospital in Tremonton, Idaho. At first, Dad thought she was kidding. She was not. When Dad asked how we were, she said that I was a lot worse than she was. I was in and out of consciousness, combative, and talked to her briefly. She said that AirMed had been called to come get me from the hospital and fly me to the University of Utah.

            My parents talked to a nurse at the hospital, and gave them my dad’s cell phone number. They said that they would be on their way to the University of Utah immediately. As soon as they hung up, my parents knelt in prayer together.

            They called my brother, Colby, who was in high school and studying at a friend’s house. He knew that something was very bad immediately. My parents were thinking at first that they would leave my brothers at home while they went to the hospital, but Colby informed them that they would be coming as well. My brothers Carter and Casey were woken up and told that they would be coming to Utah.

            Everyone threw three days worth of clothing into bags and piled into the suburban, heading towards Utah with a big snowstorm between them and me.