From time to time things will happen to and with us and though we are absolutely given a choice, most of the time we choose to help or assist if we can. I am so proud of my kids for always (and I do mean always) stepping up when called upon to do so. They are first responders! It just warms a mother's heart to see things that remind us how short life can be, and how well prepared our kids are in crisis situations.
Today, I was walking Ginger around the complex while Laura was doing her laundry. We don't have a washer and dryer in the unit (don't get me started) so we have to take the laundry for a little stroll down the sidewalk to the community laundromat on the premises. There, Laura was just adding the detergent packs when she heard the distinct sound of an older man screaming as if he were in trouble. Like a dart, without even thinking about it, Laura flew from the small room to the exterior of the building to indeed find a gentleman well into his 80s, who had fallen just about 100 feet from where she was.
Right outside the laundromat is a sidewalk, then a blacktop parking lot, but then a rather steep easement of about 5-6 feet wide that angles up to another parking lot for the medical centers that we gaze at when we look out from our windows! It's the not best scenery, but they are nice buildings with modern designs, bigger windows, and lighting. At the base of the easement lay the man Laura heard, and the man she would then be assisting up to his feet. As she helped him another man came around the corner in an SUV, and he seemed to have been watching the older man for a while. The man in the SUV (Pat) quickly assisted Laura and the older man. We found out the older man is named Lonnie. Lonnie is, as I stated, well over the age of 80, probably much closer to 90 years.
Laura asked Pat where he had come from since she knew that neither he nor Lonnie lived in the complex. While the medical centers are to the north of our complex, there is another nice office building to the west. Pat is a CPA and was working a little over the weekend. He glanced out his window and actually saw Lonnie fall. Getting into his SUV he drove around to help. I hadn't come across either of them at this point, but as I walked Ginger around the corner and saw them I was a bit taken back. It's not every day I see my daughter propping up an older man in the parking lot! Naturally, I decided to assist as well. Since no one had had the time to call 9-1-1, I did that!
They walked Lonnie to the complex, to the apartment next to the laundry. A friend lives there, another older gentleman, but he was out this morning as it is Sunday and he had driven himself to church. Thankfully, he had left his gate unlocked and we were able to help Lonnie sit on the bench Charlie has outside on the porch. With Pat and Laura watching Lonnie, I stood guard in the parking lot waiting for the ambulance. Instead of an ambulance, the City sent the rescue fire engine that has a couple of paramedics on board. They were able to stabilize Lonnie long enough to gather all the necessary information they needed, and they went ahead and called for an ambo or bus.
I was at first a bit upset that the entire thing seemed to take much longer than I thought was considered a good response time. From the time I called to the time the firemen arrived, it was a good nine minutes. I didn't ask any questions, I was quite grateful they had arrived. Later I called the non-emergency number and found out that the way I had initially answered questions about Lonnie led the dispatch to not add urgency to the call since Lonnie wasn't unconscious and he was mobile even with assistance. I was not quite happy about it, as he could have struck his head! It could have been that he was ambling about but without knowledge. Next time I'll ask them to put in an urgent call - - gosh, I hope there's not a next time!
All in all six able-bodied handsome and completely professional firemen came to assist Lonnie, and then two EMSA or ambo crewmen came as well. He was 100% in good company with people helping to get him loaded onto the gurney, answering questions, and being able to find out as much as they could about how it came to be that he ended up on the concrete outside the complex when he doesn't live there, and the medical buildings are closed on Sunday! Seems Lonnie thought today was Monday. That makes sense. He had been fasting too; so he was tired and he was a bit disoriented. The one thing I found incredibly scary about it all was that Lonnie drove himself from about 15-20 miles north to be at the clinic today! If he had been driving on a Monday it would have or could have been so much worse because of the amount of traffic! He was dehydrated and hungry and nearly 90 years old!
After they took Lonnie away I cleaned up the paper tid-bit trash left on Charlie's porch from the firemen. There were pads that had wrapping and bandage coverings. Laura had brought Lonnie some bottled water, and I didn't want Charlie to come home from church and wonder what had happened in and to his pristine porch! I was just so thankful that Charlie hadn't locked the gate! When she picked up her laundry a bit later, Laura ran into Charlie. She told him all about the morning's excitement on and around his porch! How wonderful to think that by not locking the gate (on accident) that the Lord was able to use the area at a time when He knew Lonnie would be driving from Edmond, Pat would be working from the office, Laura would be doing her laundry, and I would be walking the dog. God knows.
As they wheeled Lonnie to the ambo, I told him I was going to pray for him. He put his hands up in the "prayer" gesture and nodded. He said, "Oh, thank you. I need that". It's great to see and know that God has so many angels in this world and around each of us; we're never alone. Laura said Lonnie reminded her of Pop and she would have done anything for him. Somewhere out there, there are grandkids of Lonnie who may never meet Laura, but they'll know she was there for their Pop! It's a good day when God is praised.
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