My mom started drinking after my dad passed away very quickly from cancer in 2016. She was drinking a little before, but it only got worse.

Since then, she has been arrested and in several car accidents (driving while intoxicated), even where she stopped and didn’t know why or where she was going.

Fast forward to April 26, 2023… we thought sooner or later, she would hit rock bottom and finally decide to try and quit. We all know it’s a serious disease and would be hard. She already had her drivers license taken and was not allowed to get it back unless she had a breathalyzer installed in her car. I guess she would rather walk than have that installed for a second time.

She walked to a nearby gas station, already slightly intoxicated, and purchased more alcohol. She started walking back to her house and stopped to rest and drink a little more. She must have passed out, and a front-load tractor came by and crushed her legs. She was not on the street; it was a ditch bank that lots of people used for running or walking to school. Nothing bad ever happened there.

Thank God that a lady was driving on the same path after picking up her kids from the middle school nearby. She found my mom and called 911, thinking she was dead at the sight of her. She was taken to a trauma 1 hospital in Albuquerque where they rushed her to surgery and took her left leg. We didn’t know anything until a social worker found my sister’s phone number in my mom’s phone. Her right leg was so torn up, but the doctors were able to save it after many extensive surgeries. She now uses a wheelchair, and we had to redo her house so she could get around. It’s still hard to believe when I see her sitting in the wheelchair. She was very energetic and loved walking, eating, shopping, and all the fun things. I know her life isn’t over, but it will be different.

Had it not been for the addiction, she would have heard that huge tractor coming and moved out of the way. Thanks for reading, and maybe this will help someone going through the same thing.