The 911 Experience..!!

I have had this story to share, since, over a month but I didn't know where to start with, writer's block as they as

But then..

“You cannot shine if you are unused, for then you will rust and deflate.” 

― Phindiwe Nkosi, Behind the Hospital

so would be the case with my writing skills. I can't work on and improve it, if I stop writing just because I am not in the flow.

So, here's how I am going to narrate this one. This may not be the best way to ink an experience as grand as this one but never mind ;-) . 

I and another girl(now a friend) were staying with an 89 year old Chinese American lady(landlady), who was doing pretty well (considering the fact that she is so old) until week 2 after I moved in. We used to share conversations, at least 10/15 minutes per day in common areas of the house. She told me about her life stories, that she had to move to the US several years ago, bidding adieu to her dad & home forever at a very young age, how she navigated through the streets of NYC, with a dream and hope to move to California one day(which as per her, and some others I know, is the best place to live in the world), that dream which she could share only with her diary until she could achieve it one day, how she struggled and worked hard to buy a house in San Francisco, lost it all and then made her way out through thick and thin, persevering hard to be where she is today. I admire the energy and zeal that she has towards life, to be by herself, the enthusiasm and hope to live another 10 years, and the way she said that she would be really happy and contented if she could do that. I still remember the zeal with which she played the piano and sang a song for me, not only that, she made me sing a (Hindi) song too(as some might know, this doesn't happen that often ;-) ).

I mean, I have met several people over the course of my life, but have not seen anyone with that kind of fervor towards life. 

Anyway, I wrote that all just to let you imagine how it felt to see her lying on the floor, in an unconscious state, as soon as I entered the house one evening. She did mention about her episodes of vertigo during one of those conversations but I could never think that it can be that bad. I had a rather long day and was quite tired. I knew there is 911(in the US) help available in case of medical emergencies, but I had never really seen a medical emergency, even back home(in India), forget medical emergency, I have not really taken anyone to a hospital or went along with someone to see a doctor ever. It was hard for me to judge if it was a medical emergency for real. I tried to talk to her but she was just blabbering something. It was kind of clear that she couldn't comprehend what was going on, around her.

I called her son up a few times, who lives in the bay area as well, who would probably be the best person to come to a resolution but he didn't pick up the phone. I left a voicemail, texted him but all in vain. I called up the other housemate then, to help me gauge the situation. It was another 20/25 minutes with just me and her(the landlady) in the house.

With every single minute passing by, I felt as if I was risking someone's life because of my indecisiveness. I remembered she had always been hesitant about going to a hospital or seeing a doctor, especially due to the cost of medical help here. I tried to explain her that she seemed to be in a very bad shape, and that she needs medical help but even then(when it was pretty clear that she had no idea how bad her condition was), she managed to say in her quivering low voice that she didn't want to go to any hospital. 

Finally, the other roommate was there and she felt that landlady's close/old friend(one of our neighbors) could guide and that we didn't need 911 help. She decided to go call her and I stayed back with the old lady. I felt that she seemed worse than she did 30 mins ago. I, finally took the matter in hand and called 911. It was one hell of a experience. They ask you all sort of questions over phone, from, "if you are the patient or if you are with the patient", "questions about patient's condition and how critical did it seem", "relation, family member's availability, medical history, allergies....." and give you instructions to keep clear the way, for the medical team, have the medical card/record/insurance etc. and other sorts of information ready...so on and so forth..and they stay on line with you until the team arrives.

I kept the door open as per the instructions and within a span of 3/4 mins, a team of 10/15 people rushed past the main door(guided by me), crossing the hallway, straight towards her room. They asked most of the questions that I mentioned earlier plus a ton more, for most of which I had no answer. The neighbor and my other housemate were here too by then. They diagnosed her, all thanks to Teledoc, portable medical equipments etc. Amidst the clamor, did I hear that some kept complaining about the user interface (the app was upgraded a few days ago). Sorry, but I couldn't help ignore this one.

Finally, after 45 mins(or so) of diagnosis and remote consultation, they were sure she required medical supervision and the next stop was the emergency room at Stanford Medical Center.  They asked about her family members and then we tried calling her son, a few more times and we could finally reach him.

It all started at around 7:25 pm and we were finally on the way to the hospital at around 9:45ish. We reached there by 10:00 pm. Her son was in by 10:45 pm, wearing a smile(like seriously?, he wasn't out here for an evening walk) . We went to see her one by one (since in emergency care, only one person can be in, to see the patient, at a time) and were on the way back home at around 12:50 am(not to mention that it was a weekday and we did go to work next day). After a couple of days, she was moved to a senior living place until she be fit enough to claim her independent status back. I hope she will get there soon..

And, for me, it's a memoir, that very few experience in a foreign country, in less than a year. And, I don't think I would ever forget, either her, her story or this episode.