Alex and Dr. Cooper’s Car Accident Story

In July 2018 Alex and I were in a pretty bad car accident.  We were driving north on I-5 in Portland during rush hour.  If you know Portland, rush hour traffic can be very stop and go.  Well we were driving pretty fast, maybe around 50 MPH, when the cars in front of us suddenly stopped.  We had to slam on our breaks but stopped just fine.  The car behind us though was not paying attention and hit us going 50 MPH.

At the moment of impact, the first thing you feel is the car seat jamming into your lower and mid back.  And I mean HARD! It felt like being body slammed.  Immediately after that your head whips back.  Lucky for us, I had our headrests set well so our heads hit the headrest.  A split second later your body flies forward.  As the seatbelt grabs you, your head whips forward.

The craziest part of all this, is how fast it happened.  Time slowed down during the accident.  I felt every movement, I was hyper-aware.  After the accident, you replay the scenario over and over and over again.  I came to realize this whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.

What I Didn’t Know

There are a few things I didn’t know that would happen during this whole thing.  Here are some things I didn’t know or didn’t realize until actually experiencing it.

  • It’s never small damage to your car.  A “small” accident can turn into $1,000’s of repairs.
  • It’s very stressful.  Talking to insurance.  Renting a car.  Dealing with everything was stressful.
  • It takes a long time to heal.  I am a chiropractor.  I treat people with whiplash all day.  Feeling it first hand put some things into perspective.  I wanted to be better NOW!  Why am I not better NOW!  I learned a valuable lesson that whiplash is very damaging and it takes TIME to heal.
  • Insurance was up in my business all the time.  What a pain!

Big Take Aways From My Car Accident Story

Here are some simple lessons you can learn from my car accident story.

  • See a chiropractor for your pain.  Even if just to get checked, it’s worth it!
  • Don’t get stressed or anxious because your healing is going slow.  Your body takes time to heal.  Things will be alright.
  • If the insurance is being terrible, hire a lawyer.  They will deal with the insanity and your life will be much smoother.