Last night as I was getting ready to write my journal entry, the phone rang. Rebecca was staying at a friend's house, and she occasionally calls to say goodnight when she's away, so I assumed it would be her. Instead, the voice on the phone was saying words that every parent dreads hearing.

"Are you Rebecca's mother? This is the hospital and she was just brought in. She's been in a car accident and we need authorization to treat her."

The drive to the hospital, less than 15 minutes away, was accompanied by torrential rain and driving winds, with a backdrop of thunder and lightning. After we got through the registration process - they weren't able to tell us her condition until we were done with that - we were buzzed into the ER just as Becca was being wheeled out to be x-rayed. She was shaking and crying and covered with blood, but not seriously injured.

We spent til 2:30 AM waiting for the results of the x-rays and two CT scans, to learn that, in addition to a lot of bruising and scrapes, she has a broken finger, a broken nose, and the possibility of a broken bone under her eye.

She was in a car with three friends, and the driver lost control while going around a sharp turn in the rain. The most amazing fact about the accident is that there were four teenagers in the car, and all of them were wearing seatbelts. The two in the front seat were hit by the airbags, and one has burns across her face from the propellant along with a horribly swollen eye. Becca was in the back and apparently lost consciousness for a few minutes after the accident. It seems that she slid under the seatbelt and hit her face on the front seat. The worst bruising she has is across her shoulder and arm where the seatbelt caught her. The boy in the backseat ended up with 30 stitches in his face and ears. He dragged Becca out of the car when she wouldn't respond after the crash.

All four kids will recover, as will all of the parents. And we'll all hope we never get one of those phone calls again.