Saving a Squirrel

On Monday, October 17, 2011 I saved the life of a squirrel.  I did this purposefully and with good intentions.  However, I also knocked down a utility pole, hit a tree head-on and totaled my car.  I was driving home from work and had just turned onto the little country road that leads to my house.  I was about a block from home.  Which, I guess, makes the squirrel one of my neighbors and helps to explain why I was so intent on saving his little life.  On this little country road, the utility poles are right up next to the road.  I assume this is because it is easier to put them there than to venture into the woods and find a spot for them.  I can probably guess what is coming...

I saw the squirrel run into the road right in front of me.  I swerved to the right to avoid the little bugger.  Now this part if complete conjecture because I can't really remember exactly what happened.  I hit the utility pole right where the right front panel meets the right headlight.  I'm assuming this slowed me down quite a bit and after tearing through the underbrush, I hit a tree head-on.  I think I was only going 15 or 20 miles per hour when I hit the tree.  I can't imagine what would happen if you were going faster.

I was wearing my seatbelt (thank God) and my air bags deployed.  I was not seriously hurt.  Now, one week later, my body is a kaleidoscope of colors when I undress.  My left leg got the worst of it.  If you recall, I'm recovering from a medial collateral ligament sprain in my right knee.  I got a huge contusion on my left leg.  So now, basically, both of my legs are out of service.  What a nightmare.

Here are some lovely pictures of my left leg a few days after the wreck:

It looks ickier now but I'll spare you the pictures.  I also found out yesterday that they have totaled my car.  I loved my car.  It was a 2009 Lexus RX 350 with 17,000 miles on it.  10,000 of those miles were put on it in a trip to and from Arizona.  This is how my car looks now:

You'll notice that I haven't posted any pictures of the squirrel.  He survived unscathed but the little bastard didn't stick around to see if I was ok.