Another Piece

This morning I woke up around two with a sharp pain in my chest. It went away, but I was also remembering something, almost like a dream, but I think it's real.

Previously I had several missing hours around the time of my car wreck. I remember getting onto the freeway and the car making a weird noise when I turned right coming onto the freeway. I remember driving a bit, slowly, and decided the car was all right and I know I moved over to the number two lane. That would be my usual lane, but I don't remember anything much past entering the freeway.

The next thing I recall is a one second glance to my right and the realization that I was in an accident. I recall seeing the car to my right and thinking I was going to hit it (and may have already hit something or someone), and I'm pretty sure I swerved to avoid hitting him.

Then, waking up in the MRI machine, hearing a voice tell me not to move around. I remember the stripes of light on the semi-circle over my head, moving either my eyes or my head from side to side to see what was going on, then falling asleep (or lapsing back into unconsciousness).

Then, talking to a cop and asking how much trouble I was in. I think he told me not to worry about that, then I asked about messing up traffic and he told me not to worry about that, either.

Then, waking up for good, some three or four hours after the wreck.

This morning I woke up and in addition to the pain in my chest I recalled being strapped to the back board and either in the ambulance or being loaded into it. I felt an overwhelming and thorough sense of panic, frightened to my core and unable to be rational. Also, the following exchange:
Me: Where the fuck am I? -or- "What the fuck is going on?"
[ I recall swearing, though I may not have done so. I can remember swearing a lot, mostly because I needed to get someone's attention]
Some guy: You were in an accident
Me: An accident?
[I remember being incredulous, if that's the word I want]
I look around in a panic, may have been crying, and I recall this horrible, deep and solitary, sense of fear. Then, nothing.

I think it's real. Also, it explains why my brain is reluctant to subject itself to *that* again!