Lj Idol, Week 14 Cracks
It was raining as if something had broken loose in the sky allowing water to pour down, sounding like a thousand little drummers. It was also pitch black, because our walks to work had been occurring earlier due to a changed bus schedule. I walked in front with Fargo, my faithful guide dog, and Nancy, baxaphobia, walked behind with her cane. She had left her dog home because she was planning on attending a concert later that night. Her plans would soon change though, but as we walked we had no idea. We complained about the rain and as we walked I pulled ahead as she struggled to follow the grass line with her cane.
We were almost to the bus stop when I heard a scream, then another scream, then another. I stopped and turned around, walking back up the hill, calling out to her to see if she was okay.
Finally I reached her and she was sitting near a house that had a stairway going down. She was breathing heavily, in pain I guessed.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“I don’t know.”
“Can you stand up?”
“I don’t know.”
I pictured helping her limp to the bus stop to catch the bus to the hospital’s emergency room if necessary.
“No, I definitely can’t stand up,” she decided.
“What do we do then?”
I stood confused. I hadn’t bent to touch her or help her in any way. I stood letting the rain run down my face, wondering what to do. We were only around the corner from the hospital but how to get her there? My brain couldn’t come up with a plan and all the while she was breathing strangely, distracting me, but probably suffering.
“You’re sure you can’t stand?”
I tried to reason with her knowing her pain tolerance was not very good but if we could just get her standing things would be better.
“No, my leg is all weird.”
“Your leg not your ankle?”
I was thinking a twisted ankle, she could just hobble along on that.
“My leg. I think I need an ambulance.”
Her leg was probably broken if it didn’t feel right. An ambulance could take her to the hospital. It was a good idea.
“Good idea,” I said confidently.
I remained standing watching her sit on the cold wet ground. I still had no idea what to do, and now we needed an ambulance.
Suddenly she whipped out her cell phone and dialed herself an ambulance. They asked her questions about what was wrong and she answered them, and I just stood letting the rain flow over me.
Then a neighbor appeared. He had heard the screaming, gotten dressed, and come to see what was wrong. Now he stood poised holding an umbrella over Nancy’s head, trying to help keep her dry. It was a comical situation, Nancy suffering on the ground with an umbrella over her head, the neighbor half awake but wanting to be helpful, and me, standing there, doing nothing.
We waited for the ambulance. She kept telling me how I could go catch the bus but I kept imagining her going into shock or something and didn’t think she should be alone. The neighbor didn’t count, we didn’t know him and I wasn’t sure how useful he was. Not that I was useful, because if she had gone into shock I wasn’t sure if I could help her at all.
Finally the ambulance arrived. I felt like I could go then and leave her in safe hands. I walked all the way down town in attempt to catch the bus I had now missed. I did catch it. As for Nancy though, she wound up in surgery for a severe spiral fracture that needed to be fixed.
The lesson in this story is not to rely on me in an emergency. It’s a perfect example of how I think differently from other people. I didn’t freeze out of fear or a lack of understanding of the situation. I wasn’t afraid at all, and I knew the situation was serious and needing help, I just didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t had a similar situation to learn from. Now that I’ve been through this emergency situation I think I’ll do better if it happens again because I have the experience. I’ll know the right actions to plug into the situation. I’ll know to pick up my own cell phone to make that important call.
Nancy still loves me, despite my lack of helpfulness. Besides now she has a great story to tell and everyone can laugh at my inaction.
We were almost to the bus stop when I heard a scream, then another scream, then another. I stopped and turned around, walking back up the hill, calling out to her to see if she was okay.
Finally I reached her and she was sitting near a house that had a stairway going down. She was breathing heavily, in pain I guessed.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“I don’t know.”
“Can you stand up?”
“I don’t know.”
I pictured helping her limp to the bus stop to catch the bus to the hospital’s emergency room if necessary.
“No, I definitely can’t stand up,” she decided.
“What do we do then?”
I stood confused. I hadn’t bent to touch her or help her in any way. I stood letting the rain run down my face, wondering what to do. We were only around the corner from the hospital but how to get her there? My brain couldn’t come up with a plan and all the while she was breathing strangely, distracting me, but probably suffering.
“You’re sure you can’t stand?”
I tried to reason with her knowing her pain tolerance was not very good but if we could just get her standing things would be better.
“No, my leg is all weird.”
“Your leg not your ankle?”
I was thinking a twisted ankle, she could just hobble along on that.
“My leg. I think I need an ambulance.”
Her leg was probably broken if it didn’t feel right. An ambulance could take her to the hospital. It was a good idea.
“Good idea,” I said confidently.
I remained standing watching her sit on the cold wet ground. I still had no idea what to do, and now we needed an ambulance.
Suddenly she whipped out her cell phone and dialed herself an ambulance. They asked her questions about what was wrong and she answered them, and I just stood letting the rain flow over me.
Then a neighbor appeared. He had heard the screaming, gotten dressed, and come to see what was wrong. Now he stood poised holding an umbrella over Nancy’s head, trying to help keep her dry. It was a comical situation, Nancy suffering on the ground with an umbrella over her head, the neighbor half awake but wanting to be helpful, and me, standing there, doing nothing.
We waited for the ambulance. She kept telling me how I could go catch the bus but I kept imagining her going into shock or something and didn’t think she should be alone. The neighbor didn’t count, we didn’t know him and I wasn’t sure how useful he was. Not that I was useful, because if she had gone into shock I wasn’t sure if I could help her at all.
Finally the ambulance arrived. I felt like I could go then and leave her in safe hands. I walked all the way down town in attempt to catch the bus I had now missed. I did catch it. As for Nancy though, she wound up in surgery for a severe spiral fracture that needed to be fixed.
The lesson in this story is not to rely on me in an emergency. It’s a perfect example of how I think differently from other people. I didn’t freeze out of fear or a lack of understanding of the situation. I wasn’t afraid at all, and I knew the situation was serious and needing help, I just didn’t know what to do. I hadn’t had a similar situation to learn from. Now that I’ve been through this emergency situation I think I’ll do better if it happens again because I have the experience. I’ll know the right actions to plug into the situation. I’ll know to pick up my own cell phone to make that important call.
Nancy still loves me, despite my lack of helpfulness. Besides now she has a great story to tell and everyone can laugh at my inaction.