Today I left work at noon to run a couple of errands then come home to pack for my trip tomorrow to Philly. Yes, tomorrow I get to see my beautiful kids and meet my future son-in-law! I wanted to get a head start on my day, because as Tyler puts it, I’m leaving at the ass-crack of dawn for the airport.
Have you ever known that you were supposed to be in a certain place at a certain time for a reason? Today that happened. I stopped at Nordstrom’s to say hello to a woman I know who works at the Estee counter and is a genuine sweetheart. I then started to walk down Yamhill toward Pioneer Place Mall when I crossed paths with another genuine sweetheart. Right in front of me a young woman was riding her bike and the tire caught in the MAX track and she took a spill onto the pavement, hitting her head on the curb. Several of us ran to her to help. A young man, who I later learned is a nice guy by the name of Ian and is a musician, got to her first. I asked him if she was ok and he looked up and said “no”. We got her, her bike, and her belongings off the street. Before we could even get her up off the ground, she’s holding her ear with blood pouring into her hand and she said “who needs an ear anyway?”
The people of Portland are incredible. I’ve always known that, but today was another proven example of just how wonderful they are. The top portion of her ear was torn almost all the way off and was bleeding a lot. I asked if anyone had a cloth or something to hold against it and one woman offered her sweatshirt that was in her bag. That’s amazing. I told her no, that I would run across the street to the Ben & Jerry’s to get something. As I ran in, another woman was asking for ice. The people at Ben & Jerry’s gave her a bag full of ice and a clean, white towel. The girl on the bike, Erica, refused to go to the hospital or to have an ambulance called, no matter how many of us told her she really needs to go. The reason she wouldn’t go to the hospital is that she doesn’t have any health insurance. This country is so fucked up when a 25-year-old girl rips off the top of her ear and her very first reaction is “I don’t have insurance”. She told me later that that was her very first thought when she fell. That’s unacceptable to me. We saw a police officer on his bike, flagged him over, asked him to help out. He said he couldn’t, that he’s just a bike patrol officer. I tried convincing him to please call the department and see if an officer would drive her to the emergency room, that none of us had a car. He again said he couldn’t do anything. Erica asked if there was a free clinic. Finally, something that officer could do….radio whomever and ask for the address of the nearest free clinic. Wow. I called the police non-emergency number and explained the situation only to be cutoff and told I needed to call 911. So, that’s what I did. And guess what I get? That damned automated voice that said, “if this is a 911 emergency please say 911 after the beep”. A woman standing there just laughed, she was as astounded as I was. I explained the situation and the operator was very helpful; she said she would send the fire department to look at Erica. What showed up were four of the hottest firefighters I’ve ever seen. And one of them was the tallest guy I’ve seen in a really long time. When I say they were hot, I mean they were HOT. Oh to be in my 20’s again. And they were quite smitten with Erica. Who wouldn’t be, she’s such a sweet girl and all through this, she was so strong and had us laughing. As Ian said, you know the true person when you see how they react to situations like this.
Ian was so nice, he poured water from one of the water bottles that the firefighters gave Erica onto the towel and proceeded to wash the blood off her hand, arm and face. It was very touching to watch him. He told us he was “kind of drunk” and that made us laugh. I asked him what he was like sober if he was this nice when drunk. His answer…”I’m even nicer”. Ian and I sat with Erica until her friend came to pick her up and take her to the hospital. Yes, we, along with the hot firefighters, convinced her that she needed to get to the hospital. While waiting we exchanged phone numbers, Ian’s MySpace address, and Erica and my blog URL’s. Erica smiled that wonderful smile of hers and said “now we’re all friends!”
She just called me to let me know she’s home from the hospital, they were able to save her ear by stitching it back into place. And the plastic surgeon that was there for her is the best ear doc in town, that he’s the one people call when they need work on their ears. And that’s good because Erica said “and I had such cute ears!” Now she will continue to have cute ears.
This incident today has two lessons: 1) wear a bike helmet, and 2) elect politicians who will actually make it possible for everyone, no matter how much or how little they have, to be blessed with having the very best healthcare in the world. Because it pisses me off that the first thought in someone’s head when they’re hurting is “I don’t have healthcare”.
But today also showed the level of concern and caring of people and what they will do for a stranger. And that makes me all warm inside.
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