Doe - Yep! - A Deer...

Well, on Monday I left home at 6:30 in the morning for my work placement. It was cold and dark as I drove along the highway listening to the radio. I noticed some faint strips of colour in the sky just before 7:00 and was looking forward to seeing some sunshine for my 2 hour drive. Sunday night I was mentioning to my husband that part of me just did not want to go in the morning. The weekends are just way to short and I am really missing the kids. In a week I will be starting my 4 week placement and I plan on commuting so that I can be home every night. It is just so important to me to be home and tuck in the kids!

Anyway, I’m moving down the highway when suddenly in a flash I see the head of a deer in front of me. It all happened so quickly I had no time to react so the deer hit the front right corner of my car. I don’t think I swerved or even hit the breaks – it all happened in an instant. Of course, after that the panic set in.
I continued to drive my car because I didn’t want to pull over in the dark, I didn’t want to see the deer, and I didn’t know what to do! As my husband tried to calm me down on the cell phone (hands free, yes) I noticed that there was a new sound coming from the front wheel that shouldn’t be there. I began to realize that maybe there was some damage to my car. I suppose that happens when a deer collides with your vehicle traveling at 80 kph. At the next town I pulled over to discover that the hood, grill, passenger door and right fender were all damaged. Then the shock probably kicked in a bit more!

I phoned CAA (finally get to use them!) and the woman on the phone was really nice. She asked if I was ok and notified the police. She talked with me for a while to keep my company and I know she was trying to ease my mind with idle chatter. I appreciated it. After that I waited for the police to complete the report and eventually was driven back home with the tow truck.

What an ordeal! I have never had an experience like that and hope I never do again. It was very frightening.

So, this morning I had to leave the house at 5:00 and drive back to the city. I was a little reluctant to leave the house and was very nervous as I drove down the same black highway. I think I breathed a sigh of relief as I passed the dreaded spot but I still had both hands on the wheel and my eyes constantly checked the shoulders!
It could have been much worse. I had some specials angels watching out for me. But it does make you realize how a life can change drastically in the blink of an eye – actually, shorter than that. I think I’ll drive a bit slower from now on…