Nowhere else to go

[Tincanfireman]

This is very much a "Christmas Spirit" kind of call, but it left an impression so I thought I'd share. We responded to a "woman feeling dizzy" in our terminal today, called in by the PD. On arrival, we found a woman in a wheelchair, just sitting and staring out the window at the cars passing by the terminal. Assessment revealed she was CAO x 4, no apparent distress, no SOB, etc. As is normal with people like this, I asked her if someone was picking her up or meeting her. "No, no one" she replied "I don't know a soul in your city, I just flew in this morning" (it was after 3 pm by this time). She was very calm, almost serene in her replies. Just a little confused, I continued to question her and the story slowly emerged. She was a middle aged, physically disabled woman who had no husband and a daughter living in a major East Coast city. My patient lived out West, but was unable to care for herself due to multiple ailments (HTN, IDDM, CHF, recurrent A-Fib, etc.) She had been living with her daughter, but had a falling out after her disability checks were stolen recently and she was left nearly broke. Essentially, she was homeless. With her medications gone, (she had taken no meds for nearly a week and couldn't afford to get more) nowhere to live and no one who would look out for her, she used the very last of her money to buy a plane ticket to our city. Once she arrived, she had no money for food, a taxi, a room, or even a snack. So, she just sat in baggage claim and looked out the window until one of the cops started talking to her. She said that she heard that the care in Southern nursing homes (she had insurance, at least) was better than up North and it was warmer most of the time. Not knowing what else to do, he bought her a pack of cheese and crackers and a soda and called us. We figured she was probably dizzy due to either no meds or pure hunger, so we called for a unit to transport. Before they arrived, she told me that she had just run out of options and hope and all she wanted was a bed and a meal. As we returned to the station, I pondered on how desperate a person must be to just buy a plane ticket to a distant city and hope to find compassionate strangers at the other end of her trip. I simply can't fathom ever thinking of doing something so desperate and final, and I hope I never can. We don't have a lot of fancy and expensive in our household, but we are probably considered unbelievably wealthy so some who have so little. My pastor once told me that the good Lord puts angels in our path every day, just to see how we treat those who need help in it's purest form, be it changing a tire, holding a door, or even finding a crippled older person a warm bed to sleep in that night. I'll probably never find out what happened to her, but I have a feeling that I will remember her for a long time after she has forgotten me. Merry Christmas to all, and please take a minute to count *your* blessings tonight before you go to sleep.

 

[BossyCow]

I experienced a similar non-EMS story. The office where I work my day-job has a small rental house behind it. It was recently rented by a family. They rented it for their sister and her family. She was living in a severely economically depressed area, husband and her both out of work and a disabled child. Her family rented the house and paid to have her moved back. Bear in mind, none of her family members are wealthy, they just all scrimped and saved and came up with the money it would take to help their sister and bring her home to the love and support of an extended family.

Yesterday, the woman's godmother came into our office and paid her rent for the month. She didn't want the renter to know where the rent came from, but told us, when they came in to pay the rent, to tell them it was paid and to use their rent money for Christmas.

What impressed me was the love this woman had and how it became actual actions instead of feelings.

 

[Littlebit]

no where else to go

I'm touched by your story. It's amazing how we fret and complain about the little setbacks in our day- which mine are pretty minor after reading your post.

 

[firetender]

You, in your particular way, connected with that woman's story. You interpreted it through your heart. You experienced compassion (def: Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.)

Somewhere, deep inside, you CAN picture what it would take to put yourself on a plane into the unknown out of desperation. You do know what "Nowhere else to go" feels like. You couldn't have written this otherwise.

Another medic - even your partner on that very call - could have just as easily turned her story into an object of ridicule.

The only difference is in the choice. She would still be the same woman under the same circumstances. You've made a choice to interpret that woman's experience of being a human as something useful as a lesson to yourself and others.

The truth is, you're just admitting that it lives inside you. It lives inside all of us. She could not do what she did if it did not. It's a very human thing that she did. It's called a "Geographic" better known as "the grass is always greener on the other side" syndrome

The lesson here is that you are modeling how it works to let an experience get in to you on an emotional level, and still get back and do the work. You are also offering your experience to us as a reminder that we're all in this together. Lastly, you are showing how compassion can enhance the work we do, rather than be something we must guard against.

By letting her in and sharing your experience with us you have helped HER life become a bit more useful, too.

See how it works?

Many thanks for your gift to us, and her, this season.

 

[MMiz]

Great story. Those are the reasons I worked in EMS and go to work each day. Though I'm not sure I've had a profound impact on any of my patients or students, I can only hope that I make their life just a bit better than it was before they met me.