Not feeling so nice today
I’ve got a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head today. I still haven’t sorted them out. Something happened this morning that is making me feel ashamed of myself. I expect I’ll be wrestling with this for a while.
I was awakend this morning at about 6:00 by a sound. I didn’t know what it was when I woke up, but a moment later I heard it again. For a second I thought it was a cat on the ground outside my apartment. Then I heard a woman’s voice call out “please help me!”
It didn’t register for a minute. I was still in that just-woke-up-too-soon fugue. The voice kept moaning intermittently, punctuated with “someone call 911″ and “please help me”. I gradually woke up and realized that yes, someone was actually wandering around outside calling for help.
My first reaction was to rationalize it and think that she was drunk or high and was really okay.
But after going outside and trying to locate the source of the voice, I realized that she wasn’t outside. The voice was coming from the open window of an apartment in an adjacent building. I called for an ambulance, which showed up about ten minutes later. I pointed the paramedics to the apartment and they went to it. I went back inside my apartment, made coffee, and looked out the window to see what was going on.
Two police cars showed up. A few minutes later they left just as a fire engine pulled up. A little while after that, a couple of firemen helped the paramedics bring a woman down from the apartment, swaddled in a yellow blanket and strapped to a gurney. She was sitting up (the backboard of the gurney was elevated) and appeared to be awake.
I haven’t had a first aid course since I was in high school, but I know enough to apply direct pressure to a wound. I just feel like I should have personally checked on the woman instead of waiting for the paramedics to show up. If I was hurt and unable to dial 911, I think I’d want one of my neighbors to come in and check on me.
I’m not sure how I’m going to resolve this in my head yet.
March 10th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
I found your blog off another SA knitster…don’t beat yourself up - you did help. Who knows how long she was in need. If you hadn’t called 911 but rather rolled over & ignored her plea then feeling ashamed might be warranted. Remember, hindsight is always 20/20 - focus on knowing you did a “good deed” today!
March 10th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Please! Don’t beat yourself up!
Try to think of it this way…if you heard her, chances are at least one other person did too…you don’t mention anyone else out on the street looking for the voice…pointing the way for the paramedics…just you. You.
Thank-goodness for you - caring neighbor!!
March 10th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
I was a city girl, so I think you did exactly the right thing. If she was being attacked, you would have put yourself at risk if you went to investigate. She could have been high and thinking she was being attacked, then attack you instead when your head morphed into the anti-christ. And your first impulse was that is was a drunk…best to let the cops handle it. If you knew the neighbor personally, I would say yes you should have gone over, but you did not so who knows what the scenario could have been. And they send everybody when you call 911, I should know my ex-neighbors placed a lot of those middle of the night calls (otherwise known as domestic violence).
You can stop in and see her when she gets back from the hospital. I am sure she will be grateful that you called.
March 10th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
If I was the woman in that apartment I would consider you a hero for calling 911 and getting help. I’m with Stacey - you don’t know what the situation was, it could have put you at risk too. You did good!
March 10th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
You did the right thing. When I was being beaten by my soon to be ex husband, no one called 911, even though I was screaming at the top of my lungs. So I’ll say thank you on behalf of the woman you helped. At least you got involved in a way that was also safe for you.
March 11th, 2006 at 1:56 am
Just want to agree with everyone else: don’t beat yourself up over this. Not only did you get her assistance, just how would you have helped her in person? I mean, could you have easily figured out which apartment was hers once you got into her building (as opposed to figuring out the window from outside)? And how would you open her apartment door which, at that time of the morning was most likely locked? Assuming you could do both those things, how is this woman going to respond to a stranger breaking into her home when she is already in need of some help. I’m sure you could have quickly calmed her down, but I bet the sight of men in uniform was exactly what she needed to see instead. Plus, they are trained to deal with a wide variety of situations.
And, as others pointed out, this way there was only 1 person in need of help instead of you too.
You should be commended for being the person to call 911 and point out her window when help arrived. People have a greater tendency to ignore pleas for help and come running to the scene of fires and accidents where they watch and can do no good.
March 11th, 2006 at 6:21 am
Dude…you called 911 to help someone in distress. YOU MIGHT HAVE SAVED HER LIFE!!!!! You’re an absolute star, don’t beat yourself up for not doing more!! xx
March 11th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
What everyone else has said. You did the right thing. I’m proud of you.
x
March 11th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
I agree, you did the right thing and helped this woman. Stop this “could ‘a,’ would ‘a,’ should ‘a” stuff. How many of her neighbors simply turned over and went back to sleep? You are my hero today.
Missed you at the YB today.
March 12th, 2006 at 12:01 am
Yeah, everyone pretty much said it already, but you absolutely did the right thing. You have nothing to feel bad about. You called the people whose job it is to help, who know how to handle anything that might have been going on.
You are sweet to care so much about doing right by your neighbor.
xxPxx
March 13th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
Well, you should feel good. You helped. AND all before coffee. That’s the really amazing part,
March 13th, 2006 at 8:10 pm
I’ve been in a similar situation. A friend’s, in the apartment complex, patio door was open for days and I hadn’t seen her. I called the cops, because I wasn’t sure about going into the apartment. They showed up quite quickly and searched the place. Turns out she was out of town for the holiday and accidently left the door open.
But I wasn’t willing to go in and see what was inside.
After it was all said and done, she was happy that someone checked it.