Brandi, I'm glad your OK! Holy Scary!
Just remember, a gun is only as good as the operator, spend a lot of time shooting with Matt(yea that's so hard to stomach right? LOL), and with someone close to home with experience.
Don't even bother with the "What Gun/Caliber Should I Get" question yet. Get yourself acclimated to shooting, try different guns, different calibers.
If your going to carry for protection (obviously), you need to decide if you want to carry on your person or in your bag, I prefer on person, that is where I'm going to train Kel to carry (she hates guns, but shes coming around), your purse can get left, lost, or even stolen, so IMHO body carry is best.