"Don't Ever Drive When You're Sleepy..."

The title are the words that were said to me by a woman who was in a severe car accident.

Just yesterday, Thursday night, I decided to walk over to the hospital for dinner before my Physics class. As I was getting some frozen yogurt, I woman with a walker was walking towards the register when she noticed my skirt. She complimented it, and we engaged in some small talk. They lady kept insisting that I go ahead her in line, but I stood my ground that she goes before me. When she walked in front of me, I noticed that tell-tale curve in her back. She had scoliosis.

Instead of taking her food to go, she was eating there in the cafeteria. I helped her put her tray on the table and adjust her chair so she was comfortable. She thanked me profusely for my help. It's the next part that made me so sad and curious at the same time.

"Don't ever drive when you're sleepy. "She said. "This was caused me to be like this today. If you ever feel sleepy, at least take a 5 minute nap before you drive."

To be honest, I didn't know how to respond. I became incredibly sad and wanted to cry. I was able to muster up some words to express my happiness that she was able to survive that accident and my gratitude for her valuable advice.

As I walked to another table to sit down, I contemplated the encounter. How was a car accident able to cause scoliosis? Wasn't it only congenital? It turned out that it can be caused by accidents. The trauma caused from an accident can cause an injury to the spinal cord. This damages the neuromuscular interaction, resulting in the loss of muscle control. The spine then gradually curves, the formation of scoliosis.

Honestly, this encounter of histology is very sad. I just pray that this woman can at least be relieved of the pain.