Yesterday was waiting for the elevator in our complex.
While waiting…heard the faintest of female voices…”Help, help”
We went towards the voice and sure as hell there was a woman standing in her doorway with the door halfway open leaning out and crying, barely whispering, “Help”. I ran down the hall and she was holding something tangled in her hand and at first I thought she had gotten her hand caught in something that was painful. Turns out that wasn’t it, she simply was holding 2 broken hangars. I don’t know why.
She couldn’t really talk. Shaking. Saying something about her grandma. Hard to imagine her grandma being alive given her age but she kept saying something about her grandma. She couldn’t get it out.
Calling 911 now and comforting her until they came. Her apartment was a mess. 62 degrees and just a wreck.
She could answer sort of yes/no questions but couldn’t really talk. We couldn’t see what the threat was. Why did she need help?
Ambulance came and they were so cold and even threatening. Loud and harsh and coming at her from all angles of talk, touch and assessment. She shook more. Really frustrated me. So cold…but then again…I’ve been in and out of hospitals my whole life and that entire industry has lost its way. So, while frustrated, I’m not surprised.
Then they took her to the hospital…
I don’t know what her issue was and it’s none of my business. But…there is something I absolutely know. That was one of the bravest things I’ve seen a person do. That woman lived in an apartment that was so uncomfortable and a mess that it bordered on unlivable. That woman was so scared and frazzled that she was holding broken hangars for no apparent reason. I promise you she wouldn’t recognize me if she saw me face to face tomorrow. And yet…and yet…she had the courage to walk to her apartment door, open it, and cry for help.
I’m crying as I type that.
Isn’t that all it takes? One simple word. “Help”
If you need help…ask for it. Please. Just ask. Just turn to someone and say…”help”.
That’s a great four letter word…
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