Darrell Slaughter

All,
It has been a while since I have published a post. Life is moving fast. Work is busy. I just finished another class, only 2 to go for my masters degree!

I want to take a moment to reflect on lunch last Thursday.

What many people do not know, my son, Allen, was involved in a minor car accident on his way to school last Tuesday. I was happy to be able to be there and make sure he was OK. As the police officer was writing Allen's citation for "following too close" I took the opportunity to see if he knew Cpl Slaughter. He did and I offered him my phone number. Later that morning, Darrell Slaughter called me and we scheduled a lunch meeting on Thursday.

Darrell Slaughter was the policeman who responded to my motorcycle wreck. He is also a motorcycle operator. Not only did he handle the scene at the accident, but even after the dust settled, he went to the hospital multiple times to check my condition. When he heard I was being flown to Tulsa, he called my father to make sure things were OK. In my opinion, Darrell went well beyond the call of duty. He could have written the police report, sent me off in the ambulance and never looked back. My deepest respect and gratitude for Darrell's actions during, but mostly following the accident will never be properly expressed. It upsets me a little that he recently retired from the force. He would say that he does not need it, but if he was still on the force, I would like to reach out to his supervisor and let him know all of the actions that he did on his own to check on my recovery.

We had a great lunch. It meant so much for me to meet him in person. I hope he understood my gratitude and appreciation. Darrell was also in a motorcycle accident on the job which ultimately lead to his retirement. He is a genuine sincere man, husband and father with great integrity. One of the first things he told me was that there was nothing I could have done to avoid being hit. I had heard this many times, but it was more assuring to hear it from a motorcycle policeman who has been intensely trained in motorcycle safety. He described the accident in more detail than I had ever heard it and let me know more about the condition I was in at the scene. We have exchanged e-mail addresses. I told him about this blog and how it helped us so much through the recovery. The Fayetteville Police Department has lost a very valuable member of their team. I hope we stay in touch for years to come. Darrell is another person that I thank for saving my life that day and he even admits he did not think I would make it.

The actual events during the accident:
The driver was driving her friend's car because he was visiting from out of town and was not familiar with Fayetteville. She noticed after it was too late that she was going to hit the car in front of her. She swerved to the right to avoid hitting the car. As she did, the car struck the curb on the right side of the road and veered back left. Intending to hit the brakes, she hit the accelerator pedal instead. This sent her accelerating directly at me. Darrell said initially I would not have seen her because she was shielded from the car she avoided. Then as she swerved to the left after hitting the curb, if I saw anything I would have thought she was getting in the left turn lane. There was simply nothing I could have done.

My condition at the scene:
I write this because I feel it is important with how I conclude this post.
Darrell told me that my feet were pointing in the wrong direction and it appeared that both of my hips were severely dis-located. I had never heard this. I knew my left hip was shattered, but little has been said about my right hip. I have said before that I had developed heterotopic bone growth in both hips. This is hard to explain especially in my right hip. Maybe this growth was due to the dis-location.
I have not been very patient with my recent surgeries from Dr. Norris in Tulsa. After this past lunch, I feel guilty for being so critical. Dr. Norris and Dr. Stafford will get nothing but praise from me from now on. As far as I am concerned, they performed a miracle to get me to where I am today.

I go back to Tulsa on the 22nd to get x-rays following my most recent surgery. I am optimistic that they will allow me to start putting weight on my left leg. I will post an update after that trip. The battle is far behind me, the wounds continue to heal. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I thank everyone for being there for me.

Darrell, Thank You!!!

J