What is happening to society?

I must confess to being shocked by the total lack of chivalry in society when I rejoined the world of public transport this year. Mostly because my husband who is allergic to bus travel wouldn’t dream of comfortably sitting on his ass whilst a lady stood. But today took the cake.

Whilst I was sitting in a busy food court I heard hysteric squeals of  “Are you OK? Oh my god, are you OK?”. At first I couldn’t see the person who was squealing or why. But the scenario quickly unraveled and I was shocked and appalled by how society acted as a whole.

The squeals came from a young lady who was on her way down an escalator and witnessed a man going up the escalator trip and smack his face on the stair. My hat goes off to the young lady who ran the wrong way up the escalator to assist this man. She then turned grey and went completely hysterical when she saw this man’s nose and the amount of blood pouring from his head.

As she ran off to get napkins, waving her arms in the air, many people walked past this man, stared and then kept going on their merry way. Again, society shame. Not having a first aid kit, there was very little I could do to help this gentleman. I encouraged him to hold the napkins firmly on the wound, and stopped the hysterical girl and security guard from encouraging the ‘patient’ to remove bloodied napkins to put fresh ones one. Rule number one in blood and first aid, keep applying pressure and just whack more dressings on top of the old ones until the paramedics come.

Assume Nothing of Others, Just Do Your Best

Yes, I called the ambulance on first sight of the mans gashed nose. Which is lucky because the security guards at the shopping center had no idea about the severity of the wound or how to apply general first aid for that matter. When out in society I guess we can’t assume that the security/safety people are really equipped to help.

Another important thing to keep in mind when you are assisting an injured person is to keep calm. TAFE first aid taught me that shock is enough to kill a person. It is important to keep the patient calm and reassured. Which is what I did.

When the paramedics arrived and assessed the wound cosmetic surgery was mentioned. The hysterical girl who had first came to the gentleman’s aid was still grey and now shacking in shock. So I walked her back to her workplace and let her boss know what had happened.

There are two things that have me in shock from this experience. And no, the litres of blood and deep gash I saw on this man’s face aren’t either of them. A clumsy husband and strong family members that have experienced all sorts of medical wonders have prepared me for images like that.

What Shocked Me About Society

The first thing that shocked me was that so many people did stop, stare and then kept walking. They were aware of another human in need of help, yet did nothing.

Did these people even consider stopping to help for a split second? They need to realise that one day they may need first aid from a stranger.

The second thing that shocked me was when I asked this gentleman if I could call anyone for him. He said work. I’m grateful that my first point of call in such a situation would be someone that loves me. And I hope that now the gentleman has been cared for, and his shock has calmed down, he is with someone that loves him and is taking care of him.

Seriously society, slow down for a second and take care of each other!

…..I need to update my first aid knowledge…..

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