eatdixx's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the great fall part two kneeling over her, holding her head steady mrs bristle was leaning against the cupboard with a pillow propped behind her back. as i was working out what to do, i wanted her to keep talking to me, to relax her and ward off any concussion. she's always on about her granddaughter, so i asked her some questions and immediately she became more coherent. i made her as comfortable as i could, and when she was calm went to get the phone. my hands were shaking, adrenaline rushing around my body, i looked through her address book to find her son's number. his wife is currently in hospital having treatment for her cancer, and he has two small daughters. i didn't really want to bother him, but he only lives a few minutes away and i wanted to cause as little commotion as possible. i called work, instead. I NEED HELP. ok, calm down, take a deep breath, tell me what's happened. i explained to the operator who told me to hang up and call an ambulance. i explained that her cut wasn't very deep on her head but the concussion might be dangerous, and that i didn't feel it was my decision not to call the ambulance, but that her son lived locally and perhaps we should call him. four minutes or so later, her son walks in. he watches me for a minute, sitting with his mother on the ground in the darkened sitting room, holding a cold compress against her head, stroking her cheek. RIGHT, NAN. THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO. I'M GOING TO PUT YOU IN THE CHAIR, AND WE'LL LOOK AT YOUR INJURIES AND SEE IF YOU NEED AN AMBULANCE. THEN WE'RE GOING TO PUT YOU INTO BED, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU WON'T BE DRIVING TO SYDNEY TODAY. and smiled. he lifted her off the floor and we put her in her armchair. i gently wiped away the blood from her hair to show him the wound. he didn't want to see it, said it wasn't bleeding much, she didn't need an ambulance. he took me aside. apparently this happens two or three times per year, and every time he's taken her to the hospital, they've discharged her with nothing wrong. he didn't want to spend more time there then was necessary, wanted to get back to his daughters. i said that she might have a concussion, and combined with the whiskey, i was concerned, and that perhaps i shouldn't be caring for her if i can't lift her, and started to cry. i didn't want to leave her. he smiled and put his arm around my shoulders, saying that lifting her was what he was here for, and he needed me to care for her, because he has too much on his plate already. and then he said a bunch of nice things about me being good at my job. but then he said, 'what's the worst that can happen, she doesn't sit in her chair anymore?' and looked at me, raising his eyebrows. 'if she is concussed, and she doesn't wake up in the morning, it would be a relief for her'. i swallowed back more tears and wiped my face. after we got her out of her nightie and little hospital boots off her feet, i tucked her in and finished cleaning up the blood out of her hair, and checked the bleeding. alcohol thins your blood, i was worried that she'd just continuously leak. a nurse comes every night though, to check on her at 8pm, and seeing how there's no first aid kit in the house, i was glad they'd be able to fix her up, properly. i called ding, i was already late for work there. he was cool with it. after a while sitting with her and talking, making sure she wasn't panicking or traumatised, i left a note for the nurse. i walked out of her house and sat at the tram stop, rolled a joint and cried. 4:20 p.m. - 2005-07-17 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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