What Do You Do When a Stranger Need Your Help??
What do you do when you are confronted by something out of the norm? What type of person are you when faced with something unexpected? I was
walking the other day and decided for no reason other than having a change to walk along a different route. I had never been down that route and I am not sure what took me there on this very occasion. I put in my headphones and prepared for a relaxing hour of power walking.
I hadn’ t gone very far when as I was a passing the local skate park, a few young boys came out and asked if I had any tissues. It was a strange request from young lads but there was an urgency in their asking as they explained that their friend was hurt in the skate park and bleeding and they were trying to stem the bleed.
They asked me to come and see.
A part of me hesitated.
What if… What if this was a ploy.
A Ploy to get me there and then there were bigger lads ready to attack me. Fear first hit and then compassion. What if there is a little boy who has been hurt. I cannot pass by and do nothing.
I’ m just not that type of person.
So I muster all my courage and feel alignment with the lion from the Wizard of Oz.
What I see makes me gasp for a moment.
There is a boy aged about 8 years old, lying on the concrete skate park with blood gushing out of his nose and mouth. He is distressed and crying and trying to move but is clearly in pain.
My maternal instincts kick in and I am the only adult around, I need to take control. I need to calm the situation, I tell myself. I talk to him gently, ask his name tell him to lay still. Not to move. He touches his face and blood stains his hand and he screams out in hysterics. I tell him it’ s not so bad, it’ s a white lie and I don’ t know if it’ s the truth all I know is I need to keep him calm and stop him from moving.
One of the older girls is on the phone to the ambulance control who tell us not to move him, touch him or remove any of the blood. The younger boys who were milling around anxiously step back as I sit calmly on the outside talking to David.
Inside my head is thinking why can’ t I remember any of the first aid, what should I do. One of the boys tells me that someone has gone to find David’ s parents and I hope that they won’ t be long so that they can take over.
Soon the parents arrive, the mother comes rushing up to the area and when she sees David, I am not prepared for her actions.
She bursts into tears and has to walk away and compose herself.
The father comes over and instead of offering his son support he starts to give him a running commentary of the swollen lip, the bloody nose and face, and the missing teeth.
David returns to his earlier state of hysteria and I decide to override the ignorant father’ s views.
I tell David it’ s not so bad.
I tell him it will all be aright, I am still crouched down next to him.
The father standing and berating that the ambulance will not be here for 45 minutes and how awful that it, does nothing to calm the already charged situation.
I amazed at how little empathy they have for their son, how little they have tried to calm him and be a parent at a time of distress.
It’ s during distress that a child needs their parents comfort more than ever.
With relief the mother has now composed herself and comes to David, she takes control and advises the ambulance control that David has allergies and his lips are swollen in the hope that they will despatch a vehicle quicker.
She takes my position and starts talking to him.
She has got over her shock and now she is ready to be a mother again.
There is nothing for me to do, it is now up to the parents and I leave the scene with it’ s chaos. My part over and I wonder how I did.
What if I had walked on by?
What if I had become upset — hell I hate the sight of blood!
What if …
There are so many what if’ s in life and so many choices that are made on a daily basis. Each choice takes you to a new path.
Each choice leads you somewhere different.
How strange I think that today that choice took me down that road, down that path, was I meant to be there and if so why?
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