Tincanfireman
Airfield Operations
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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.