First Responders

What is your first thought or reaction to an unusual or scary situation?  What would you do if you saw an old person driving a motorized chair down the middle of your road?  Is your first thought, "He shore nuff looks funny, I wonder if everything is OK?"  Would you assume all is well, or would you know something is wrong and stop and find out directly?

This happened to us the other night on the way home from school.  Laife was driving and unaware of the oddness of the situation.  He was concentrating on going around the man cautiously, while me, the worried mother, was looking at the chair, the catheter bag hanging off the side, and the drowsy look on the face of the driver of the chair.

We turned the corner next to our home, unloaded the car, and began to settle in for the evening.  I went down and started a load of laundry and when I came back up, I happened to glance out the living room window to see the man in the motorized chair going round and round in the middle of the street.  Again, I only thought thoughts like: that looks goofy, and I wonder if something is wrong?  Honestly... it takes some people much much time to figure things out.

Next, I decided it was more urgent to use the restroom, but while I was in there, I did a little praying.  I said, " God, why do I not know what the right thing to do is naturally?  Why do I balk and wonder if kindness is the right way to go?"  Ashamed of myself, I finished up business and almost ran out to the street.

Two things happened as I approached the street.  The driver of the motorized chair, dropped the boxes he was holding in his lap and a blue suburban stopped in the street.  A man, reeking of cigarette smoke jumped out and reached the twirling chair just before I did. The man from the suburban bent and picked up the boxes while I asked the elderly man, in the chair if he needed help getting home.

It was fairly obvious that all was not right for the man in the chair, yet he made sense and was able to answer the questions posed.  No, he did not need help. He was almost back to where he belonged, which was just down the hill to the Restorium, a nursing home, the next street over from my house.  He was fine, he thought, just a little dizzy and he kept falling asleep. I offered to walk with him.   He did not think that was necessary.

He took off in a straight line with all of us, the helpers, standing and watching him go.  The man in the suburban said, "He looks like he escaped from the nursing home.  If you call The Restorium, I will follow him till he arrives safely. "  We agreed to this arrangement and followed through with our plan. The Restorium said, "Yes, he is ours" and " we will go out and meet him."

So, this is what has been haunting me.  My husband, who at the time was working at the hospital,  would've known what to do.  He probably would have known there was something wrong when we first spotted the man as we drove around him.

 I have friends who are naturals in emergencies.  They don't question if something doesn't look right. They just respond and don't waste time thinking about whether or not they are being intrusive.  I suppose, that is why EMT's are often called First Responders.

 I'm not so good at responding like some are, but I recognize this and am challenged by the thought to be a better first responder in the line of duty to my Heavenly Father in whatever incident presenting  itself.  Hopefully, I will notice the times I am needed and do what Jesus would do without hesitation.

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On a lighter note...I recently read something like this: Anybody can handle a crisis; it's this day to day stuff that wears you out.

Quote of the Day:  "I feel like a big box of Nerds."
 - Toria- from the backseat of the car.
- I figured out she was speaking of candy, not an actual feeling.