Drunk Driving- Learning to Survive Through a Nightmare.

Imagine waking up and going to work. Then, in the middle of the workday, you get a frantic call from your cousin that you never thought you’d get. Your parents are in the ICU because they were the victims of a car crash. Your mind begins to race, and your heart beats faster and faster as minutes feel like hours. What happened? Are they okay? How could this happen? All these questions leave you fearful and hopeful for the lives of your parents.

I was living in Somerset, Pennsylvania with an ex-boyfriend at the time. My parents Donna and Kent Lalley were from Somerset, Pa. Then in 2017, they moved to St. Simon, Georgia. I hitched a ride with my aunt and uncle to Savannah, Georgia. I was nervous the entire drive, and horrified that I didn't know what I was walking into. When I got to the hospital in Savanna, Georgia, I was ushered to the ICU. I had gotten a call from my mother's friend earlier in the day. She had told me that I needed to prepare for what I was about to see. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next.

I walked into my mother's hospital room and I’ll never forget what I saw. My heart immediately sank and I dropped to the floor. The accident had left her completely unrecognizable. Her head was half shaved, her eyes were closed, and she was on life support. The room was silent aside from the sound of the doctor's voice as he told me the condition of my mother. It was so hard to see my mom in that condition. Her brain pressure was running at 180 percent. But every time I would talk to her, her brain pressure would fluctuate. She knew that I was with her the whole time.

I walked into my dad's hospital room with tears falling from my face. Every one of my dad's bones were broken aside from his right arm. Like my mom, he too was on life support. When I looked into his eyes, they were moving. He was conscious. When I would touch his fingers and toes, they would move a little bit. He looked so helpless. I wished there were something that I could have done for him. Unfortunately, the only thing I could do was be there for him.

Through the week, my brother and I waited right beside my mom and dad's room; allowing family and friends to come in and see them. We received the same news every day that their conditions were the same. By midweek, my dad went into a coma. The doctors told my brother and I that they would be performing a test on my mother to determine whether or not she had brain activity. We were also told that my dad's condition was possibly going to be the same, and that it was time to make our choice.

June 8th, 2019, my brother and I were told by the doctors that my mom had been pronounced brain dead. Later in the afternoon, my brother and I decided to take my dad off life support. There was two young woman that got behind the wheel after drinking and was speeding and slammed into my parents car. The two woman died at the scene. Looking back, that day changed my life for the better. It taught me to be strong, courageous, and that life doesn’t last forever. Life is a gift, and every moment is meant to be treasured. Do the things you want to do now and enjoy life. Live the life you want to live, because it could all be taken away in an instant. Lastly please think before you get behind the wheel when your drunk.