Alright, I'll start off my story by saying two things: Always work on a car w/ a friend (even oil changes) and Always use jack stands.

Yesterday I decided to change the oil on the Element. Of course, I used jack stands and the usual. 15 minutes later I decided to peak under the civic and make sure everything was ok....I jacked it up w/ my mini floor jack and got on the creaper to just peek under. At that point I saw a little leak around the tranny (needs to be replaced still) and scooted under to see where it came from. Well, i must have kicked the jack or something, but it released, lowering the Civic onto my chest. After several minutes, I could no longer breathe or scream and nobody was helping me. I did everything in my power but the car wasn't moving.....I started to pass out.

At that point, I had a glimpse of my son Bradley. My exact thoughts were "I'm not going out like this! I've gotta see Bradley again! I don't care if I rip my face off!." I did all i could to take a deep breath, pushed up with my legs and one arm, grabbed with my other arm and yanked myself out from under the car... I don't know how I did it, but I got out.

After a few minutes, I got up and walked upstairs to my apartment. As I walk in the door, Jenna says to me "Whats wrong? Bradley woke up screaming and for some reason, I asked him if you were ok. I was about to go check on you...he's never acted like that before."

Needless to say, we went to the ER. After CAT scans and exrays, the doctors decided 1. that I had no major injuries outside of bruises, cuts and scrapes (and a really odd imprint still on my chest today) and 2. that i'm one of the luckiest people they've ever seen.

In the end, they told me it must have been determination and unheard of strength that saved me. Keep in mind, I'm a really thin guy. I have to say I'm so lucky to be alive, and more than ever realize how fragile life is.

Sorry to ramble, but I wanted to share. We've all done things before where we didn't grab the jack stands....hopefully this will remind everyone how important they are.

Scott
(pardon poor english...Percocet warps minds)