Surviving a deadly accident

In one's life journey, God gives second chances — when least expected.

The day began like any other day for Bing Elepano. It was a sunny October and she had just visited her son in Zambales. In the car with her on the way back to Manila were her sister, her younger son, and the driver.

After traveling for about an hour, upon reaching Porac, Pampanga, the weather shifted and there was a heavy downpour. Visibility was zero and the driver, on impulse, stepped on the brakes quite suddenly.

The action resulted in the vehicle (a Toyota Fortuner) hydroplaning and turning 360 degrees several times, hitting the expressway's barriers, shattering the vehicle's rear window in the process.

In a matter of seconds, Bing, who was not wearing her seatbelt at the time, was thrown out of the broken rear window, landing several meters away on the opposite lane of the expressway.

When she came to, Bing said she immediately thanked the Lord that she was alive. "Then I noticed that my head and dress were drenched in blood from a deep gash on my head. I was then rushed by an ambulance to the nearest hospital in Porac. The staff at the hospital was very helpful but was sorely lacking in facilities."

She suffered a broken wrist and a head trauma.

Her sisters then transferred her by ambulance to St. Luke's Medical Center where she received further treatment. Miraculously she had no concussion, and no other broken bones.

"I was just so very grateful to be alive. My arm was in a cast for a month, but up to this day, I still have difficulty carrying heavy things, not to mention the sporadic pain I experience. As to my head, I still feel a lack of sensation in the part I was sutured," Bing explained.

She is expected to undergo rehab and physical therapy soon. "A small price to pay for the accident. It could have been so much worse," she said.

Prior to the accident, Bing had been receiving treatment for mild depression and anxiety. "The beautiful thing is that, instead of it getting worse, the accident seemed to have helped me get better. That's another miracle," she added.

"My family was a big support and help in my physical healing. Emotionally and mentally, though, I had to cope by myself. Spiritually, it was a given that I needed no healing since I knew from the very start that God, the Supreme Being, was always with me. I will always be grateful," Bing stressed.

On her greatest lesson from her accident, Bing said she was reminded about how to be prepared to meet our Maker at all times: "This includes telling your loved ones every day how much you love them. I'm so glad that I practice this because, in the event that I did not make it, my 'I love you's' would be the last thing that my sons would remember me."

Moving forward into the new year, Bing is even more committed to continue doing good works and helping whenever she can.

"Wherever we are, with what little we have, we can always choose to make someone's life a little better. My faith has also deepened further. I never questioned why this happened to me, why He allowed the accident to happen. I'm certain the Lord has His reasons for allowing it. I'm still here, and there's still so much that I can do," said Bing.