A day to forget

I wasn't sure whether to blog about this, but today my dad seems to have found a glimpse of humor in everything that happened to us and said "write about it; after all it's not everyday you are detained by the police in Mexico". Can't argue with that.

So, here I am. Trying to somehow put into words how we spent the last four days.

It all started on Friday morning, when we decided to drive to the mall to buy Matt a new guayabera (shirt) for Regina's wedding. Matt and I were in the front and my grandma in the back, when a white Chevy hit us and crashed into two huge telephone poles. After the impact, I turned to check on my grandma and her face was covered in blood. It was getting onto her lovely, yellow striped shirt, clean and perfectly pressed pants and the back seat. It took me a few seconds to wrap my mind around what happened and decide where to even begin, check on my grandma, make sure Matt is alright, call an ambulance, try to stop the bleeding, call the insurance, call a family member...

A man appeared, grabbed some tissues and started applying pressure to my grandma's cut. Who was he? The police arrived. How did they get here so fast? I didn't know if we could trust them. They told me to grab my purse, so it wasn't stolen. They called an ambulance. I called my aunt Vero. She was on her way. My grandma was screaming, her leg hurt. I looked down and it was black and blue, swollen, the size of a grapefruit. Was it broken? I told her not to move it. Seven or eight police now surrounded us. They took my driver's license. Asked if I had called the car insurance. I hadn't. The glove compartment was locked. Where are the keys? Unlocked it. So many papers, my hands were shaking. Where is the number? Thinking: Please let there be credit on my grandma's cell phone. It rang, they were on their way. The ambulance took 40 minutes to arrive. My grandma asks me if she lost her eye. I assure her she didn't, but her cut does not stop bleeding. The insurance agent arrives. Everyone is asking questions. She keeps yelling, she's in pain. Wants me to not leave her side. Vero arrives, says that my aunt Ale is on the way. The paramedics put my grandma in a neck brace, cut her pants, say her leg might be fractured, put her on a stretcher. She loses a shoe. They ask me over and over again what hospital I want them to take her to. We chose one, Vero gets in the ambulance with her. Ale arrives. I have to stay with the police. Bloody tissues are everywhere. Matt is with me the whole time. He doesn't understand the language, I don't understand the process.

The guy that hit us is ok. His car is not. A tow truck arrives. 800 pesos. The police says we need to hurry and leave. Why are they in such a hurry? The insurance agents are arguing. I'm asked to check if my grandma's car still works. It does. But, I'm told to make sure it does not overheat. They want me to drive it to the police station. There is no way I can drive. A cop agrees to drive it for us. We have to take it to the pound. It does not overheat. We walk to the police station. Paperwork, testimonies, arguing. The car insurance lawyers arrive. Why can't we leave? Process is delayed, because the guy who hit us says that he was hit by a truck, which consequently made him swerve into our lane. His insurance does not want to take responsibility, now that they heard a third party was also involved. The guy took full responsibility for the accident from the beginning, but his agent is not listening. They claim to be worried that my grandma will die. My aunt assures him that my grandma is not in critical condition. The agent does not want to pay. A doctor examines me to make sure I'm not hurt. Count down from ten to one. They take my picture up against the wall. The guard is distracted by the TV show "Cheaters" blasting in the background. It's dubbed. Yuck. One of the cops keeps asking me for a bribe. I'm confused, scared, hungry. Ale calls someone who can help, three private lawyers arrive to help us. The police wants my grandma to come to the station and give a statement. We keep telling them that she can't. They need to know what condition she's in. The insurance companies cannot agree, so now the public prosecutor has to determine who is at fault. They give my aunt all of my belongings: purse and earrings. They take the guy's socks and shoe laces. Where are we going? They detain us both in a tiny room with three other men. There is a toilet, sink, broken door, no mirror, no soap, no paper towels. I'm terrified and sobbing. Under lock for over four hours. The men are nice to me, respectful. Thank God. No one understands why I'm being held. A lawyer brings me chips and a coke zero. He is not allowed in. I try not to drink too much, I don't want to have to go to the bathroom. But, I'm thirsty. I can't believe this is happening. The floor is dirty, there are only three uncomfortable, plastic chairs, all connected to one another. I can't stop looking out the window, to see if I see anyone, anything. The lawyer says Ale and Matt went to find my birth certificate. I'm terrified they won't find it.  Police want to prove I'm my grandma's granddaughter. Time is passing slowly, no one appears to be doing anything.

I can't find a comfortable position, my back, neck and legs hurt. My head throbs. My lips have never felt more chapped, they burn. A guard says cinco minutos mas. I'm hopeful, can't wait to be out of there. It's dirty. Someone wrote "I'm innocent" on the wall. Five minutes turn into about fifty minutes. I'm worried he lied. We finally hear the keys in the lock, the lawyer says to follow him. I feel like I can breathe again. Matt and my aunts are there, waiting. I follow the lawyer to the back, we sit down with someone who appears to be the person in charge. She types up my testimony again, makes me sign a lot of papers. Her computer is so slow, she does not seem to know how to use it properly. She has to go upstairs to get to a printer. She walks so slowly. She's finally done, it's pitch black outside. The accident happened at 10:40am. Words cannot describe how glad I am to be outside.

We go to the hospital, it's raining, the traffic is horrible. My grandma's leg was not fractured, but her face is black and blue. I'm so glad and relieved to see her. Her leg is swollen, she can't walk yet. My uncle is with her. We cannot stay long. The lawyer called, we have to meet him to get the car out of the pound. It's past midnight. The police are on there way to get her testimony. They want to ask her if she wants to press charges against me. She gives me her jello, it's mandarin orange flavored. We get the car and park it in my grandma's spot, under the bugambilia flowers. We eat some cold ride. I talk to my dad. Regina's wedding is tomorrow, he says we should go. My grandma needs rest, she is well taken care of. I'm exhausted, but can't sleep.

~~~

It was a horrible day, but my grandma is doing much better now! Her leg is not broken, she's in good spirits, walking and was even discharged this evening. Yesterday, she was joking that her bruises make her look like a raccoon. I think she is the cutest raccoon I've ever seen :)