You know how sometimes strange things happen, right?
Well, last night there was an episode of 20/20 or Primetime or one of those news shows on. I recorded it to watch later, and just skimmed through it. It was called "What would you do?" and featured some set up scenarios of bad situations, and filmed people as they responded to the situation. For example, one scenario they set up was a car parked on a busy street in front of a coffee shop. Inside the car was a baby (not a real baby) who'd been left unattended. They had a recording of a baby crying that was playing in the car, so, it really did look like a baby alone in a car. What would people do? Well, thankfully, most people walked by, saw the baby, and immediately tried to help by calling 911. Some looked around for the parent, (an actress played the part) and berated her when she did show up. Some just walked by without stopping, saying that they'd heard the baby, but they'd assumed there was an adult in there with the baby. The people were all told that is was a social experiment, and asked why they'd done what they'd done. It was pretty interesting.
They did the same experiment with a dog left in the car. A Golden (of course) was left in a car, windows up, but sunroof partially open. It barked and panted, (but it was safe at all times...) some people stopped, some people didn't. Again, it was very interesting. One of the people that stopped to call the police about the dog was a young teenage boy. Others had walked by, but he'd stopped. He knew that what he was seeing was wrong. He called the police (who were in on the experiment) - he'd done the RIGHT thing. Seeing this young man made me stop and remind myself to save this show to be sure to show my kids. As great as they are, I wanted to reinforce how important it is do to the RIGHT thing.
They did the same experiment with a dog left in the car. A Golden (of course) was left in a car, windows up, but sunroof partially open. It barked and panted, (but it was safe at all times...) some people stopped, some people didn't. Again, it was very interesting. One of the people that stopped to call the police about the dog was a young teenage boy. Others had walked by, but he'd stopped. He knew that what he was seeing was wrong. He called the police (who were in on the experiment) - he'd done the RIGHT thing. Seeing this young man made me stop and remind myself to save this show to be sure to show my kids. As great as they are, I wanted to reinforce how important it is do to the RIGHT thing.
Remember... this was on TV last night.
Flash forward to this morning...My Mom goes out to their garage. She closes the door from the house to the garage as she goes, and opens the large garage door. She steps to the far end of the garage and her foot catches on something. She falls down. Hard. On her left side. She can't get up. She tries to call out to my Dad, who is in the house, and can't hear her. She yells for help. Nothing. She sees a neighbor across the street sitting in his truck in front of his house. (An older man, that she doesn't know by name.) She thinks she sees him look her way. She yells again. Nothing. He sits there and ignores her. She continues to yell for help for quite some time, until, at last, a young man walks up the street. He approaches. He sees her laying there and asks if she is ok. She tells him she needs help. He helps. He asks if he can call someone for her, and he asks if she wants him to help her get up. She does. With his help, she is able to stand and make it back into her house. Her legs are ok, she thinks her arm may be broken. My Dad calls my house (I was at a doctor appointment) and gets ahold of Bear. Bear gets in the car and heads to their house (thankfully we only live 2 miles from them) - they call Urgent Care, and decided it's best to call 911 and have an ambulance come. The paramedics come, and take her to the hospital. I get there shortly after they bring her in. We wait, her arm is x-rayed, and yup, it's broken. Right up the by the shoulder, in a place they can't cast. She is in a lot of pain but will be ok. She's got a sling and some pain medicine and will need to take it really easy for a while. Thankfully that's all. It could have been so much worse.
Flash forward to this morning...My Mom goes out to their garage. She closes the door from the house to the garage as she goes, and opens the large garage door. She steps to the far end of the garage and her foot catches on something. She falls down. Hard. On her left side. She can't get up. She tries to call out to my Dad, who is in the house, and can't hear her. She yells for help. Nothing. She sees a neighbor across the street sitting in his truck in front of his house. (An older man, that she doesn't know by name.) She thinks she sees him look her way. She yells again. Nothing. He sits there and ignores her. She continues to yell for help for quite some time, until, at last, a young man walks up the street. He approaches. He sees her laying there and asks if she is ok. She tells him she needs help. He helps. He asks if he can call someone for her, and he asks if she wants him to help her get up. She does. With his help, she is able to stand and make it back into her house. Her legs are ok, she thinks her arm may be broken. My Dad calls my house (I was at a doctor appointment) and gets ahold of Bear. Bear gets in the car and heads to their house (thankfully we only live 2 miles from them) - they call Urgent Care, and decided it's best to call 911 and have an ambulance come. The paramedics come, and take her to the hospital. I get there shortly after they bring her in. We wait, her arm is x-rayed, and yup, it's broken. Right up the by the shoulder, in a place they can't cast. She is in a lot of pain but will be ok. She's got a sling and some pain medicine and will need to take it really easy for a while. Thankfully that's all. It could have been so much worse.
That young man could have not walked by. He could have walked by and ignored her like the man across the street. Thank God he didn't. Thank God he stopped, and he knew the RIGHT thing to do.
Yes, Thank God indeed...and shame on the man across the street.
You just never know when something like this will happen. Challenge yourself to do the right thing. Step up when others hesitate. Some many people out there won't. Be the person that makes a positive difference. A family somewhere will be thankful.
Mom, happy to be heading home...
7 comments:
I'm so glad that she's ok!!! God bless that young man for helping!
Wow, I'm glad the nice young man walked by and helped her. I hope your mom feels better soon - what a scary experience!
Your pal,
Joey
I was outraged at that man across the street when I read your blog. I can't believe how ignorant some people can be! I'm glad that young man did stop and your mom is okay.
What would I do? I KNOW I would do the right thing! Always.
I think someone should speak to the man across the street and see if he could see/hear your mum when she was calling for help before passing judgement. Possibly he could not ... and possibly he could and was just an ignorant jerk.
I hope your Mum is feeling OK and has some powerful pain killers for her poor arm.
I truly hope the man across the street didn't see or hear her. I'd hate to think he was just a big (insert your favorite insult here.)
Big hugs and kisses to G-Ma from our family.
Im so glad Gma is going to be ok! We love her! Hugs Valerie Joey and kealani
So sorry your mom got hurt! Glad she will be all right soon.
I make a point of knowing ALL my neighbors, and have done and had returned many favors during emergencies, from watching their kids while they took the baby to the emergency room to responding to car fires and once, my neighbor being hit in her car just after getting into it by a drunk driver. Even took care of a woman and her kids whose engine caught on fire once while she was driving by. And have bailed other neighbor's kids out of jail once... ;^)
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