May 14 was the 20th anniversary of my crash date. I was looking through my e-mails and I received one from an old friend.  When I finally moved down to the fourth floor from ICU, I learned that I had been run over by an intoxicated driver.  Although I’d visited by the police they hadn’t told me that detail about the crash.  When I found out that I was the victim of an intoxicated driver I ordered my mother to hand me the phone book.  I looked up Mother’s Against Drunk Driving and called.

“Hello, this is MADD,” the voice on the other end informed me.

“My name is Tiana Tozer and I would like to speak to the president,” I said.

“This is the president,” the voice on the other end informed me.

“I just found out that I was run over by a drunk driver and I want to do something about this problem,” I informed her.

I don’t actually remember this conversation, but Barb, who was in 1988 the president of the Eugene Chapter of MADD, told this story to me years later.  I sent her a Christmas letter in 2007 and recently when I was cleaning out my inbox I ran into the e-mail she sent in response.

“I am proud of what you are doing and am beginning to believe in miracles when I remember meeting you that day in your hospital bed and wondering if you would ever walk again, then learning all you have done (more than most of us).”

I hope that all the people who helped me through what can only be termed as a very dark period in my life are proud of the life they saved and the person that I have become.

But enough sentimentality if I were home I would have thrown a crash party after all 20 years of survival is something to celebrate.

Please join me in commemorating 20 years of life.  May 14, 1988 was the day I became disabled, I have now spent half my life in a wheelchair.  It’s good to be alive!

So please help me celebrate by doing something fun that doesn’t involve alcohol. Please remember to wear your seatbelt and don’t drink and drive! You only have one body and once it’s broken it never really works the same.

One American is killed every 22 minutes by an intoxicated driver.  What is really interesting to me is that Americans are so attuned to the number of military deaths in Iraq, but during 2008 alone we will lose more Americans to intoxicated driving than we will ever lose in the war even if it continues for 5 more years. Where are our priorities?

This message has been brought to you by someone who cares. Our regularly scheduled sarcastic, irreverant blog posts will now resume.

On May 11, 2008 I was interviewed by Adaora Udoji and John Hockenberry. To listen to the interview click on the link http://www.thetakeaway.org/archives/2008/05/12/4.

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