I got a call from the insurance company yesterday, telling me that Ribena’s officially been written off. They didn’t state exactly what damages caused her to be written off–I’m sure I’ll find out eventually–but it was probably just too much to fix with her being smashed in from both ends. Plus, the assessor pointed out that I probably wanted her to be written off to begin with since she only had 92kms on the clock (and I picked her up with ~65kms!). I was really happy to hear this, since earlier in the week they called and told me she could be repaired, but after I talked to a bunch of people, I was given a list of things that needed to be double-checked before I took her back–things like the engine mounts, the seat belts, the front seats in general…The list was getting too long to remember and I really feel like I would have felt uncomfortable driving her, wondering what would happen if some other person decides that his hood really needs to be wedged under my back bumper.

Since the car has been written off, my insurance policy states that I will get a brand new car of the same make and model. This sounds easy enough, but I think it’s going to be a real hassle. I ended up in a constant back-and-forth of calls between the insurance and the bank where no one could come to any agreement. It left me nearly at the point of tears because I had to be at work on my day off, struggling to even sit in the chair to make all of these calls. I’ve faxed what I can to the insurance and they said they’d try to do their best to get things done, but it’s likely it won’t all be finished within 2 weeks so I’ll have to appoint someone to sort it out while I’m in England.

On the injury front, I’m doing okay. I’m trying to move around some rather than lying about all day, because 1) I’ll go crazy if I just sit/lie here constantly, and 2) because it can’t help my back to be completely immobile. I went back to the doctor on Thursday night for a checkup, and he said that my neck’s much improved (which I’d noticed) and my lower back’s gotten a little better. The problem area is still my upper back, which the x-rays show actually has a bit of scoliosis, which could be caused by the mangled muscles on either side pulling it back and forth. He just said that I’m lucky I’m young because this sort of injury doesn’t heal in older people, but that he really doesn’t have a timeline on when it’ll get better. He’s recommended half-days of work for next week, since neither of us thought it would really be possible for me to sit in front of a computer in a desk chair for 8 hours right away. Luckily, all of the people at work have been great and have told me that I can take as much time as I need to get over this, especially in light of the fact that I’ve been waiting for training for 4 months and absolutely must be my best to get on the plane in two weeks’ time.

Yesterday was a bit difficult, even before I went into work, because I managed to pop something in my back just trying to get out of bed. It seemed like it undid any of the good effects that resting and medicating had already done, and it took me a while to even struggle out of bed after that. It’s just tough when things seem to be getting better and then one wrong movement sends you back to square one. I’m just going to have to take things as they come and just hope for the best.

I hope that you all aren’t sick of my complaints yet, but I’m trying to be as positive as possible in the circumstances. At least I don’t have to worry about Ribena being possibly broken while I am driving, which is a definite upside. I’m just hoping that the same colour is available (which is unlikely, since I got her at an end-of-year sale when they were trying to clear the lot of the last of the ’08s) because I got a bit attached to the “misty violet”! If anything, I just really really hope I don’t get a canary yellow Jazz (one of the other 5 colors the car is made in), although at least people would be able to see me and hopefully avoid hitting me (but then again, isn’t that what brake lights are for?).

Also, thanks to all that have sent along well-wishes. It’s really helped to get a few cards in the mail and to see messages online. It’s been a difficult time out here in Perth so far and things like this make me feel even more isolated. My friends here have been fantastic and have really kept me buoyed up, but what I wouldn’t give just to get some hugs from family right now! At least I’ve got a shining light at the end of the tunnel: James will be here in a week. While we definitely won’t be doing the driving holiday weekend we planned, I still can’t wait to see him get out of that taxi cab…