Intuition / Rescue

[qos]

This evening I spent several hours helping a friend pack boxes for a move. My GPS takes me by back roads to get to her place, and would have taken me home the same way, but I felt a strong impulse to go the longer but more direct route. At the time, I thought it was simply because it's a dark, rainy evening and the direct route would be an easier drive.

I was halfway up the hill to my apartment, going more than thirty miles an hour, when I saw -- just for a moment -- a figure on all fours next to a mailbox on the side of the road. He wasn't moving. I got a few hundred feet beyond him, all my mother's warnings about Stranger Danger loud in my head -- when I realized that I couldn't just go on. I pulled a u-turn and went back. The figure hadn't moved. I called out and asked if he needed help. I honestly don't know what he said, but I was certain he did.

Fortunately he was next to a long, wide driveway, and I was able to easily pull my car into it so I wasn't at risk of being hit by traffic. I turned my flashers on and went over to him. He was an elderly gentleman -- his little bit of hair white -- dressed in shorts, a flannel shirt, and slippers. One of his knees had a very bloody scrape and he couldn't stand up straight, even with my help.

I got the thick blanket from my trunk, wrapped it around his shoulders, and started calling 911. About that time another car slowed down and someone called out asking if we needed help. I said yes we did. The car pulled over and a man and woman got out and hurried across the street, then another man showed up. While I talked to 911 the two men helped the old gentleman to his feet, supporting his weight entirely, as far as I could tell, and started walking him back to the house. Still on the phone with 911, I pulled my car forward so I wasn't blocking the driveway.

When I rejoined the group, I discovered that the second man who had joined the rescue was my nextdoor neighbor, the person who helped me get my current temp job. He later said that he'd seen me on the side of the road and had stopped because he was afraid I'd been in an accident.

We'd just gotten the old man into the house when the EMT's arrived. They asked us a few questions, but there wasn't much to tell. The three of us were leaving when two older women came running up asking what was wrong. We told them the old gentleman was okay, he'd fallen but there was help there. It turns out that he has dementia. One of the women was his wife, one (I think) his daughter. They were tearfully grateful to us, and very upset at themselves for having left him alone. Evidently they'd put him to bed before going out for a little while. During that time he'd decided he needed to get the mail.

I feel so fortunate to have been able to help, and grateful for the nudge that put me in the right place at the right time.

Comments

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Yes. . . Being in a situation like that and being able to help is an honor.

[lupagreenwolf.livejournal.com]

Wow--I'm glad you were there to help him!

Awesome

[purplevenus.livejournal.com]

Lovely story, thanks for sharing.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Well done.

[oakmouse]

Go you! I used to work in a nursing home with dementia patients who were positive wizards at getting away and getting into hot water before they were found. Many of them were rescued by compassionate passers-by. What you did was very important. *hugs*

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

When my maternal grandmother was living with us (my high school years) she had a steadily worsening case of Alzheimer's. One night we'd thought she'd gone to bed and then got a phone call from the police asking if [her name] lived here. It turns out that she had wandered out ("going home") and someone saw her walking on the side of a busy street "looking confused" and called the police.

My poor mother was terribly upset that she hadn't even realized her mom was gone.

As a teenager, I didn't have the slightest idea how to handle my grandmother's condition, and I was no help at all to my mother. I did everything I could to avoid interacting with my grandmother because I was intimidated by her condition and afraid of it. It was only after I read your comment that I had the sense of having been given the opportunity to make karmic amends for that.

[oakmouse]

*nods* This is cool.

[stiobhanrune.livejournal.com]

*hugs you* I love you, girl. See, it's people like you that give me hope for this species. Watching the nihilistic behavior of the people around me tends to make me jaded and bitter. It's nice to know there are folk who still do things like this. :)

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Rune.

You know: I had to consciously overcome all my "don't risk getting involved" programming. My paranoid mother's voice was telling me it was a trap. I told myself he was probably actually okay. . . I'm glad I was able to get past all that, but it wasn't an automatic thing.

[stiobhanrune.livejournal.com]

*nods* That's sort of what makes it remarkable, really. I think that part of our brains has existed forever, really. We glossed over it in the '50s, and by the 70's, we were starting to come back to our senses, but really... caution is a part of human existence.

The fact that you made such a brave choice, even despite the worries you had, shows a great deal of strength of character, if you ask me. :)

[sekhmetkare.livejournal.com]

Wonderful story! I'd have done the same thing, especially if that 'little voice in my head' told me to. It's so sad that this world is a dangerous place where good people are afraid to offer to help others because it might be a trap intended to harm them. I'm glad you were able to listen to your intuition and go back to help him.