If you didn't know, I do food deliveries in the morning for my step-dad's business. Almost all of the people I deliver to are old or near it. So on Monday I go to one of my stops and the door opens, as usual. As I hand the bag of food over to my customer, I noticed her breathing heavily as she asked me to come in and help her with her husband. I come to find out he had fallen off his bed in his sleep and he couldn't get up. His wife tried to get him back up but she couldn't because of his weight. Not that the guy was hefty or anything, but she just didn't have the strength for it, which is what caused her to breath heavily.
I go into the house not knowing what to expect and as I approached him in his bedroom, he was on the floor bleeding at the top of his forehead and laying on what I imagine was his urine. His pants and the floor he was laying on was wet including the aroma that emanated from the floor lead me to conclude it was urine. I reached out to him and attempted to get him up several times, but I couldn't. I just didn't have to strength to carry his weight. The best that I could do was have him lean his back against a chair so that he wasn't completely on the floor. As I was trying to settle his back onto the chair so he could lean on it, I noticed he kept trying to slide off it, as if he was passing out or had passed out already. I didn't know at that point but I managed to keep his back steady from sliding off.
Knowing I couldn't do anything else, I advised his wife to call an ambulance to fix the cut he had incurred from the fall and to call her friend (Which I also deliver to) to help her out. I looked back at the old man before I left and he was just there with his back against the chair passed out. I figured he was tired from his attempts to get up and decided to get some rest.
The next day, when I make my stop at the wife's friends house, I get the news that the old man had died. When her friend went to go help her out after I left, she realized he was already dead when she got there. Now what's freaking me out is the thought of me having been witness to his death. The image of him leaning against the chair with his head down is the part I remember the most. It makes me wonder if I had the strength to carry him back onto his bed if he would've been able to regain his strength. Or if I would've just left him there on the floor and called rescue to save him, would the outcome change. Now I know medics, firefighters, and all the men and women who are out there saving lives are accustomed to this, but to the average joe like me, it's definitely odd.
Just thought I'd share this and see if anyone else has had something similar happened to them. Discuss.
I go into the house not knowing what to expect and as I approached him in his bedroom, he was on the floor bleeding at the top of his forehead and laying on what I imagine was his urine. His pants and the floor he was laying on was wet including the aroma that emanated from the floor lead me to conclude it was urine. I reached out to him and attempted to get him up several times, but I couldn't. I just didn't have to strength to carry his weight. The best that I could do was have him lean his back against a chair so that he wasn't completely on the floor. As I was trying to settle his back onto the chair so he could lean on it, I noticed he kept trying to slide off it, as if he was passing out or had passed out already. I didn't know at that point but I managed to keep his back steady from sliding off.
Knowing I couldn't do anything else, I advised his wife to call an ambulance to fix the cut he had incurred from the fall and to call her friend (Which I also deliver to) to help her out. I looked back at the old man before I left and he was just there with his back against the chair passed out. I figured he was tired from his attempts to get up and decided to get some rest.
The next day, when I make my stop at the wife's friends house, I get the news that the old man had died. When her friend went to go help her out after I left, she realized he was already dead when she got there. Now what's freaking me out is the thought of me having been witness to his death. The image of him leaning against the chair with his head down is the part I remember the most. It makes me wonder if I had the strength to carry him back onto his bed if he would've been able to regain his strength. Or if I would've just left him there on the floor and called rescue to save him, would the outcome change. Now I know medics, firefighters, and all the men and women who are out there saving lives are accustomed to this, but to the average joe like me, it's definitely odd.
Just thought I'd share this and see if anyone else has had something similar happened to them. Discuss.
