Sunday, January 6, 2013

Dead Mans' Milk

I just got home from an interesting night. 

It started off by having plans for a fun night at a friends for "game night".  We were to arrive at 6pm for the festivities to begin.  I arrived early since S is like a sister to me and l had some veggies to cut up for the festivities.

After cutting the veggies we were catching up on our lives when we received a call from "the boys".  They were downstairs in the front of the building (she lives on the 7th floor in a 16 story high rise in Etobicoke, Ontario), they were standing over this man that was collapsed on the sidewalk and wanted S to call 911.  We went out to the balcony to see the boys and the man.

She quickly called 911 and gave her address and that we need an ambulance for this man.  The boys didn't call 911 because they weren't sure of S's address.  We all know how to drive there, but are all unsure of the correct number of her building.

S's apartment overlooks the parking lot where this man was collapsed,  so we could carry on a conversation with the boys on the ground.  He seemed to be breathing, barely, and wasn't responding to their prodding.

Anyways, 911 wanted to talk to the boys who were down on the sidewalk with the man.  She hung up, l ran down with a blanket for this man.

The boys noticed the man when they drove into the parking lot and also a couple of people that had walked past him laying on the ground before the boys could get over to him to see if he was alright.  He was laying on his back with his legs buckled below him.  She lives in a nice part of town.  Did they think he was drunk?  A bum?  Either way, they never gave him assistance.  Even a bum passed out on the street in the cold weather would soon parish, l guess it didn't matter to these people.

The fire trucks came first.  A station is only around the corner.  They proceeded to give him CPR and shocked him, twice.  He had no pulse.  They continued to work on him until the ambulance came.  Those guys worked on him for a while.  We all went upstairs to let them work on the guy.  We were all upset by this.

We couldn't believe that people would just walk by a guy collapsed on the sidewalk and not do anything.  What is wrong with people?

The ambulance didn't rush off.  We knew that meant he didn't make it.

Our game night was quieter then normal, and a few more adult beverages were consumed to take the edge off. 

Police called back around 9;30 pm for some more information, and confirmed that he did die, and that he lived in the building on the 5th floor.  He had almost made it home.

After the boys left, and as the girls were leaving, we noticed a bag of groceries by the door.  The boys came with bags of food and drinks when they came upstairs, stuff they had brought, and in the chaos of the commotion downstairs must have grabbed the dead mans groceries.

We had dead mans' milk. 

We don't know what condo he lived in just that he lived on the 5th floor..  Did he live alone?  Should we return his groceries to the widow?  Is there a widow?  Would a grieving loved one want the groceries returned, or would that be cruel?

We kept the groceries, put them in the fridge. I don't think they will ever be used by S, it would just be wrong.

It's amazing how things can change on a moments notice.  Who ever this man is/was, he is no longer.  I send him and his family my prayers tonight.

1 comment:

  1. Wow. I come back to catch up and this is the first post I read. I'm so sorry Tammy - for you, your friends and this man and his family. I agree - what is wrong with people?!? He had tender care at the end of his life thanks to you and your friends. That matters. HugZ to you.

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