OMG, I had not seen your message until now! I'm sooo very sorry you went through such horrible and scary experience. I know exactly how you feel, but I'm so glad God and your guardian angels were in the look out! you're blessed....I will be praying for your fast recovery and I am very happy that it was nothing major.
Take good care of yourself amiga (friend)

WOW... so glad you're all okay!! How scary... I hate that feeling in the pit of your stomach when dealing with your kids and wanting to be able to protect them from any and every thing on earth!! Can't even imagine something like that... shoot, I hate when they get a scrape on their knee! Take care and hopefully you have some time to take it easy!!

Hi everyone! We managed to make it home with little to no 'incident'. We stopped and cleaned out the last vestiges of our personal effects from the van. I am saddened by that, as it was SO nice, and we've only had it since February. Alas, I know that's not the important part. Vans come and go! (But man, it's going to be hard to find a good deal like we got on that one!!)

I am going to try and get in to the Doctor tomorrow now that we're home since I am so sore. Just need something to help me through the worst of it. I usually just need something to help me at night when I am hurting.

Mari, I am thrilled that you 'came out of hiding' here to say hello. I appreciate your well wishes, as I appreciate everyones sentiments!! You are all the best. I hope you'll pop in and out a little more Mari!

The boys seem to be blissfully unaware of any trouble that we've had. They've moved on. I am so pleased that there haven't been any nightmares or anything for the 3.5 year old. I was concerned about that... you know, hanging upside down, etc. can have a bad effect, even if it doesn't come out while they're awake, sometimes while they're sleeping it can get to them.

Anyway, I am anxious to curl up in my own bed tonight and hopefully I'll be able to sleep instead of stare at the ceiling. I just have so much on my mind, and I'm trying not to talk about it too much to DH because he is already kicking his own butt for this happening. I would not want to point out to him that this was kind of a stupid mistake... he already knows that... so I've been nothing but reassuring and supportive. He broke my heart a little while ago when he looked at me with that hang dog expression and said, "When am I going to stop feeling like a failure?" I wish I could answer that, but unfortunately I am pretty sure he'll continue to punish himself mentally for quite a while.

Thanks everyone... I'll keep in touch!!

Ok, here's a few pix of my poor deceased van! They hit us so low, I am sure that's why we rolled, but again, it was good for us, as we didn't take as much of the hit!

The other car was taken somewhere else, unfortunately. I'd have like to get a pic of that too, as it was crushed in pretty severely. (they were head-on). It doesn't look 'that' bad I guess in these pix, but there was some other damage that I didn't get in these shots!

THAT bad! Gasp!! That is Bad!! Wow! Take care & try to get yourself comfy. Perhaps one of those air-line neck-cozy pillows can help keep your head steady during sleep. I have a couple of down pillows that we call "squishy" 'cause we can 'squish' them however we want!

Take care & get rest. Glad to hear your older boy is not having any problems. Reassure the hubby! You guys will all be fine and pull thru this whole ordeal.

Wishful prayers on another DEAL of a VAN!! With better cupholders than the last one!

So glad your family is ok! Very scary!!! I have had accidents and hubby had a pretty bad one but luckily our dd wasn't in there her car seat was destroyed which just wanted to remind you have the insurance co. replace your car seats!

Kelley

OMG!!! Mel thats pretty bad!
Your all lucky to not have been hurt bad!
Is that Your little man standing at the front of the car in that 1st pic ??
Be safe today as you go on that rd trip for a new car !

Mel, I'm so sorry this happened to you but thrilled that no one was hurt other than the soreness, etc.

I'm glad everyone is okay Mel! And hopefully you have gotten into the DR for a good checkup and relief! Tell DH that we are all human and everyone has their lapses. I'm sure you all were talking and visiting when the accident happened -- and luckily -- you can still do the same - talk and visit! The rest of it will be taken care of by the insurance company - that's why we pay them SSOOOO much money!!!

Give everyone a hug and give a special thanks this Thanksgiving for all that is good in your life!

Suze

Mel I'm so sorry all this has happened. I would have replied before now but haven't been able to get on until today. Give the boys and yourself and hubby a big hug from Meemaw and I hope everything goes better now that your home.

Love,
Meemaw

Wow you really did some rollin' there!! Hope you are all ok with no lasting effects.
Did you make it to the dr??

Wow you really did some rollin' there!! Hope you are all ok with no lasting effects.
Did you make it to the dr??

I'm so glad that you are all ok. That was a pretty bad wreck. You are truly lucky and blessed. Make sure to go to the doc. though if you are still hurting. ((HUG))

I'm so glad that you are all ok. That was a pretty bad wreck. You are truly lucky and blessed. Make sure to go to the doc. though if you are still hurting. ((HUG))

Quick update, everyone is still ok, I haven't gotten to the Doc yet because we spent the day today getting a replacement van. It's the same year, make, and model as the one we wrecked, but it's a LOT nicer! There's the silver lining on that cloud, eh? It was even a little less money than what we spent on the one we had!! (They were having a great sale!!) Anyway, it's silver instead of black (I really did like the black!) but it's got leather interior, GPS, DVD, heated seats... all those fancy things! (For those of you who know the Town & Country series, our old one was the Touring model, this is the Limited... the 'top tier')

So, while I am neither happy that this happened, nor glad to see my other van go bye-bye, I am pleased that we were able to find a good replacement at an even better price!!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and thoughtfulness! Your kindness will not be forgotten!! HUGS ALL!!!

The insurance companies should replace it if they give you a hassle the car seat mfg will help you out . Call your insurance company also even if it's not going through yours. I'd have to see if I can find that law it's been almost 3 yrs ago. It's an insurance law in IL & CA. It may be standard now actually and another time I had a car seat in my sister's car and she hit a deer and at first her insurance company wasn't going to replace it but I called my insurance co. and hers ended up replacing it even though it wasn't a high impact crash. Doesn't matter if the child wasn't in it or not as there may not visible damage but the seat could fail which is why the replacement is necessary. If you have difficulty in getting cooperation with insurance co ask for a document stating they will assume all responsibility & liabilty that the seat is safe.I'm so happy your family is OK! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Kelley

Oh Mel, I haven't been able to get on to CC until today, partly due to weekeend, partly due to CC being down, but to come on and hear about this jsut stopped my heart for a moment!! I know it is silly to get teary eyed over someone you have never actually met, but I know we all love you on here and your family too!! I am glad to know that everyone is ok and hope you get feeling better soon!! By the way, glad to know that you got a better deal on the new van.

Dawn

Mel, I'll have my hubby e-mail you later, he knows a lot about the insurance stuff from being a po, I really hate to open my mouth and say something before I get to talk to him, he'll be home later tonight.

Mel, I just found this thread, hence the delayed comment. I am so happy that you and your family are doing well. What a scary wreck. There was definetly someone watching out for your family that day.

Thanks all of you, you know I love you guys too!!

Dawn, I am the same way... I am emotionally invested in you guys! If you hurt, I hurt, if you're angry, I'm angry, if you're fat, I'm happy. Hehehehehe.

Chass, thank you, I'd appreciate any and all input on the situation. Even though the fault was technically my husband's, I still want to be sure we get everything we're entitled to. I mean, we've been paying our insurance bills without fail for years, so, come on!

I don't want to be a downer, because I'm so glad you are all okay and I want you to get all the settlement money you can!

But, GENERALLY speaking, your insurance policy covers the vehicle identified by your 17 digit VIN. If you make any changes or alterations to your vehicle that you want covered, you have to add that to your policy (and pay for that change). Now, new tires are common, but a very expensive tire? You'll have to find out. But upgrades that are not standard to what you are paying for would generally not be covered.

Items inside your vehicle generally fall under the category of your homeowner's insurance (and unfortunately, its deductible). However, it could well be that car seats are an exception.

And, if the accident wasn't your fault...everything I've said here goes out the window. Their liability covers the damage they've done.

I hope you get all the money you wish for here, but I felt like I had to give you (and everyone else, for their own sakes) a heads up as to what could happen.

Stay well!

. . . glad to hear you are all okay . . . . . . another silver lining to your "silver" vehicle (so you don't feel bad about losing the black one) . . . silver doesn't show the dirt the way a black one does . . . you won't have to wash it as frequently . . . . . . the glass is half full . . .

. . . but seriously . . . so glad to hear you are all okay . . .

I don't know about tires but you could remove your remote start we we didn't get a chance to wish I could have instead of getting a new one. I will not give up my remote start it's a necessity in my book especially after last winter! I agree silver is a great color just think all that salt won't show in the winter as bad!

Kelley

Mel,

Thank God that you and your wonderful family are safe. This is one more thing to be thankful for. My family and I will keep you and your family in our prayers. I haven't been able to get on CC for a while now so I didn't know anything about this until now. Better late than never. Please take care and know that you are loved.

May God Bless,
LadyMike

Thank you so much ladymike! That was so sweet of you!

We got a settlement for the vehicle which didn't quite cover what is owed on it (We only bought it this year!) fortunately, we have GAP insurance which covers the difference, so we are not out any money. They did up the value very slightly for the new tires and autostart system. It wasn't a ton of money, but it was a little. Of course, it doesn't go to us, it goes to the loan holder which ticked me off because they didn't pay for those things, we did. So, in my opinion, let the GAP insurance pay for it. Kind of irked me, but oh well.

Hope everyone had a great holiday. I'm not looking to next month when we have to travel again. (The same route we got in the accident.)

I just say this thread Mel....

I thank God that you, your DH, your beautiful boys and the folks in the other vehicle were not seriously hurt. I hope your feeling better and I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get all the money back that you had put into your van but of course the most important thing is that you are all alright. My thoughts and prayers are with you Mel.....