Glad you're taking the day off. It's a good thing, and there is no way you could avoid being shaken up about it.
Way back when D19 was in 7th grade, we were driving by our pool on a nice Sunday November day. I liked driving by, because it was under construction and really taking shape. It was one of those surreal moments where it was really quiet, and nobody was out walking (in my neighborhood, that's really unusual any under circumstances) except for my car and an oncoming motorcyclist.
A small CAT backhoe was backing up and I can remember that there was no beeping sound to notify (my sunroof was wide open). Another man had his back faced to the backhoe, when D19 and I both yelled out of the window at the driver - to no avail. We watched him back over the man, who I later found out was his brother-in-law. They spoke very little English and didn't understand what we were yelling. The motorcyclist, backhoe driver, 2 other construction workers and I tried to get him out from under that backhoe. D19 was very focused on the man, who was trapped, and knew the exact second he died. It was a VERY tough week for us, but primarily for me. It was an image that stayed with me. The man left behind a wife and 2 teenage daughters, and he became real to me.
So be nice to yourself, ok? It really took a good week for me to feel emotionally better. And like you, I had numerous calls from OSHA as well. Reliving it made it even harder.
BTW, the audible beep function had malfunctioned. My testimony sealed that conclusion, and apparently caused a HUGE fine for the construction company. I was glad, because they sent out a 3 man construction crew to work on the parking lot without a supervisor. Worse? Nobody spoke English. It was awful.
Take care, and big hugs from me.
Betsey
"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
