A few days ago while walking through downtown on the way to a summer festival with my family we spotted a young man of about 25 having a hard time making it across the street. By the time the signals changed he had reached the curb but couldn't quite lift his feet high enough to clear it. As traffic approached he stumbled backwards as my brother and I reached for him. We got ahold of him and helped him to lie down in the sidewalk. By this point he was convulsing and his breathing was erratic. His eyes were closed and he was unresponsive. My brother supported his head while I held his legs as the convulsions subsided. We then rolled him into the recovery position in case he decided to vomit. My brother asked another bystander to call 911. Now part of our impromptu first response team she became our liaison with the dispatch officer. We stayed with the man for about 30 min. waiting for an ambulance to arrive. While we were waiting a student nurse on the way from her 12 hour shift at a nearby hospital stopped to help. Eventually the police arrived and somewhat reluctantly took charge relievied us. If I had to guess I'd say more than half the people who passed offered help or inquired about whether An ambulance was en route.
If you ask me now "who cares?" I can answer. The people of Vancouver do. My brother does. I do.
Do you care?
Have you ever assisted a stranger? Have you had first aid training?
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