I know, the image above doesn’t look great, I can tell you know it wasn’t either. That’s my car in the middle, the black Dacia Sandero. Being whipped from behind by a car travelling 45mph whilst you’re stationary isn’t pretty and it damaged me mentally having Aspergers as well as physically, but the good news, running helped me survive!

The Impact

I knew as soon as that car hit me this was going to be a challenge, having Aspergers Syndrome, I knew this was going to be difficult, all sorts questions started to buzz in my head, “How was I going to get home?”, “How was I going to get my car moved?”, “How will I get to work in the morning?”, “Do I need to pay for another car?”, “WHAT DO I DO?”. Okay, so I may be thinking these questions but what I’ve learnt from running and exercise in particular is at times of challenge, always keep calm, you can only face a challenge one step at a time whether it be a car accident or a marathon. So I did exactly that, I admit whilst battling a ton of body shock, which is only natural when a car the weight of an elephant decides to slam in your back. First thing I thought, phone my insurance, so I did that.

The Next Day

I’ve never took so many phone calls in all my life, phone call here, there and everywhere. I hate phone calls, but I know I can do them, as I’ve said #anythingispossible it’s just a matter of putting your mind to it. Now as I’ve explained before, running has given me no end of confidence and I’m pleased to say this confidence shone through in my handling of my accident. I had GAP insurance so I knew I was able to get a replacement car, it was just a matter of taking calls from Fred, George and Joe Bloggs. The first thing I had to do was get a hire car.

Getting A Hire Car

I thought it would be simple, it wasn’t, they had to talk to the third party who had to admit liability for me to get a hire car. It was Sunday afternoon, I had to go to work the next day, I needed a hire car so I could get to work but I didn’t panic. I had ran a long run the day before so I had time to reset my brain, whilst I was running I was able to draw out a plan of what I needed to do in my head that is, I didn’t physically get a pen and start drawing whilst running 20 miles, I would be skilled if I did that. Anyway, back to the story, it was Sunday afternoon so I rang the hire car people up, with luck they had confirmation from the third party they had admitted liability so I received my hire car in time!

If You Ever Have A Car Accident

If you ever have the misfortune of a car accident, my advise to you is to get out the car first, then be as cool and calm as you can. As well as physical damage, mentally it can be extremely tough especially if you have a mental disability already. Running really helped me get through, it allowed me to process how I was going to handle the challenge. My advise to you is to take up a form of running or exercise, this will give you the belief you need to beat the challenge.

I’m glad to say that nearly 10 months on I know have my car back, annoyingly I’m still having to go through my insurance to get my excess back but soon enough that will be completed. Anyway, over and out, I’m off for a run…