Thursday, July 28, 2011

Do what I say!

Just a short post but one everyone ought to read for your own safety. So Saturday night I'm coming home from my gig. The bus screeches to a halt - there's been a road traffic accident. A man is lying unconscious in the road in a pool of blood. Various bystanders are trying to help.

Now partly because I was a good girl guide and partly because I have witnessed several similar accidents I know what to do. So I get off the bus and since it's a long straight road and the traffic has stopped in both directions and an ambulance been called I say "Don't move him - he might have a spinal injury - don't move him, don't touch him". Now I am not lacking in a clear audible tone of voice - really - everyone hears me and everyone knows I'm serious.

Immediately a big bloke jumps in and starts moving the guy around. I shout at him to stop, that it's not safe to move him around. He replies "It's alright, love, I know him". Ah yes, the well known spinal injury preventing force field of previous acquaintance... Amazing it's not discussed in medical text books more. I explain again. "I hear you love, I hear ya" he says before grabbing the guy's head and lifting him up six inches by it. Yes he lifted the unconscious bleeding guy up by his head. "What are you doing?" I ask. "Chill out love, I'm not going to move him, I'm just putting a jacket under his head as a pillow" is the angry response.

It would be one thing if the big bloke had asked me to explain further or explained what he thought was a good idea. I would have been all up for explaining my point or asking the 999-ambulance operator for advice. But no, he heard me loud and clear and decided to just wade in and do what he (on the basis of clearly no medical knowledge whatsoever) thought was a good idea. Well if his friend never walks again all I can say is: blame the patriarchy.

3 comments:

Sam said...

I was scared of being hit by a bus before but now I think I have to start worrying about who tends to me after the bus has departed. I might start wearing a customised badge on my lapel: "Hands off & feck off if you've no common sense"

*sunday* said...

its ridiculous how ignorant some people are

Cruella said...

Comment sent through by email:

Hi Cruella-blog,

What a crazy thing to do. Hope the guy was ok, but if he is it will be no thanks to his buddy.

I had similar, not so life and death incident a few months ago. Traffic wasn't moving as I headed home. I could see that a Sainsbury's van had crashed/got blocked in. Our bus driver just needed to reverse but wasn't being helped to. I jumped off bus, spoke to driver and said I'd assist guiding her in reversing (very rare you see a bus reverse isn't it?). She did so, but then no further.

I stopped traffic on one side of road (me in civvy clothes, drivers must have thought who is this guy stopping traffic !!).

Having successfully and carefully reversed back she wasn't willing to take a "wrong" drive around the mini- roundabout to bypass the van (apparently HQ on the phone said she can't, so that was that). Eventually a group of men pushed the Sainsbury’s van aside and we could get going again. An hour long journey that normally takes 15mins. Not your everyday journey home, so quite exciting really, but what a palaver.

Tiemo Talk
www.tiemotalkofthetown.wordpress.com