THE TUMBLE

I was about two blocks from work this morning when I was at a cross-walk. There was only two other people with me. There was a guy my age and another older gentleman. The light turned green for us so we all started walking. The older dude took off ahead of us and veered off to the right to go up the street. I guess he was in a bit of hurry. I was about halfway across the intersection when I heard a commotion up ahead and to my right. I looked over in time to see the older dude trip on the curb and smack his head with a terrible thud on the concrete sidewalk. He had two books with him that flew out of his hands.

The younger dude and I walked over to see if he was alright. When we got to him, it was clear he was not ok. He had taken the brunt of the impact just above his right eyebrow. There was a flap of skin, possibly even flesh, cut loose above his brow. He had gotten up on one knee by himself but he seemed groggy. He began to complain that it was his damn shoes that caused the fall. I noticed one of his shoes were not laced up. He started to tie them up again but his wound started to drip blood onto the sidewalk. The younger dude and I looked at each other and silently decided 911 should be called. He pulled his phone out to start dialing. I turned my attention back to the injured who had managed to tie up his laces but was still continuing to drip blood onto the sidewalk and himself. It was then I noticed he might have also scraped and cut one of his hand as well. He started to stand but I told him that wasn’t a good idea and that we were gonna get some help.

The flap by the gash on his head was bright, bloody red and I could see a bump forming above his brow. By now the younger dude was talking to a 911 dispatcher who had asked us to find something press against the wound. We didn’t really have anything clean to do that with. Fortunately, the wound had stopped dripping. The older dude wanted to get up again but I told him it’d be best if he just sat along this construction fence on the sidewalk. He wasn’t exactly with it and I wasn’t sure if that was because of the fall or because he was a bit of a street dude (which his clothes seemed to indicate). People kept walking past us, tip-toeing around the blood, gawking at the guy’s open wound. Eventually, someone else stopped to help as well, it turned out to be one of younger dude’s co-workers. He thankfully had a package of tissues handy, which he gave to me. I pulled a wad out and helped press it against the dude’s head. He was good enough to hold the pressure by himself. By now I began to hear sirens in the nearby which was amazing. It’d be less than a minute since the younger dude got off the phone from 911 and there was already emergency units in action.

Both a small firefighter truck and an ambulance rolled up at exactly the same time. The firefighter truck had two dudes, while the ambulance had three people attending. One of the ambulance dudes was dressed in green hospital scrubs which was weird for me since I’ve never seen that before. The lead ambulance lady took control of the situation called off the firefighter dudes since I guess she determined five people weren’t necessary for a fall injury. They were really nice with him, collecting his books and walking him over to the ambulance. We got the go ahead to leave and we didn’t need leave any info or give any statements.

I had originally intended to get some breakfast to go  before heading into work and even the sight of blood had not turned my appetite, so I continued on with my original plan. Upon leaving the breakfast place, I saw the ambulance heading along Robson, which probably meant they were gonna take him to St. Paul’s on Burrard as it is the closest emergency department. I really hope the dude is ok. I’m not so worried about the gash as I’m sure that was cleaned and stitched up at the hospital. I am worried about a possible concussion or other internal injuries to his brain. I’m obviously no doctor but I’m wondering if he was held for observation for some time or submitted for further testing.

In any case, remember to stay safe out there and to help those in need when you can.