Calling 911
One of my favorite lines from the movie Little Rascals is when Buckwheat asks, “Quick! What’s the number for 911?” Not so funny when you really need it.
On my bike ride home from the pool today, I came upon a car accident of someone I knew. I stopped to see if everything was OK, and it seemed to be. I made a phone call to offer help to the family, but they didn’t need me. I decided I wouldn’t be much help on my bicycle anyways, so I rode on.
But that was a crucial 4-minute delay.
I hadn’t even gone half a mile when these kids on the sidewalk started shouting at me, “Hey can you stop? Can you help this kid? Can you call for help?” I pulled over really fast to see a young guy on the ground with a gaping wound on his leg, and his bike lying on the ground near him. His two ‘friends’ who were yelling at me had their bikes in hand and were walking away as they called me. I asked, “Did you call for help?” They shouted, “No, not yet!” I said, “Where are you going?” They answered, “We gotta get home, so we won’t be grounded.” Jerks. But I didn’t say that out loud.
So I turned to the kid on the ground, who was in a lot of pain and definitely couldn’t walk anywhere. “Did you call your mom or dad yet?” “No.” “Here, call them,” and I handed him his phone that was lying on the ground. So he called his grandma, and I called 911. By this time, two cars had stopped – one lady and her daughter had been driving by and the daughter saw what happened. He had been riding on the sidewalk and ran into a sign pole. The mom said it sounded like cars hitting each other, and by the look of the wound I knew it was a pretty hard collision. The other lady who stopped was a nurse, so she was tending to the would a little bit while I was on the phone.
Let me say that I am unimpressed with 911 response. The phone rang for a long time, and I honestly wondered if I had dialed the wrong number! “What’s the number for 911…” Finally a lady anwered, “911, what is your emergency?” I felt proud of myself because I clearly gave the location of the accident and a description of the wound. She asked for the phone number I was using to call from, and asked me if I needed paramedics. YES. So she said, “Alright, let me transfer you to the fire department.” Oh thanks. So the fire department guy answered the phone and asked what the emergency was. Again, I gave location and wound description. Then, questions. “How old is he?” (“How old are you?” “14”) “What side of the freeway are you on?” (which I had already said) “Is he conscious?” (I just asked him a question and he answered me, hello) “What phone number are you calling from? Does he need paramedics? Are you in Ventura?” (Um, HOW many times have I told you where we are?) He gave me some instructions about not moving the guy or giving him food and water. It was windy outside and with traffic too I could barely hear him and he had to repeat himself a few times. When I finally got off the phone, the nurse said, “Wow, I’ve never heard 911 give anyone the third degree like that!” No kidding.
A fire truck came, and they started bandaging his leg. His hands were shaking, and I can imagine he was in terrible pain. The other people left in their cars, and one fireman asked him his name (Kyle), and questions about his parents, his birthday, phone number, and was filling in a form on his clipboard. He asked him other questions too, to make sure the kid was conscious. (He wasn’t wearing a helmet, so there was the possibility of head trauma, but thankfully he was ok in that respect.) An ambulance came with a gurney, and a policeman showed up. He took care of Kyle’s bike while he went away in the ambulance.
And I rode home.
At my missionary commissioning service this summer we sang a song called “Order My Steps,” asking God to do just that in our lives. I can’t help but think that God was ordering my steps today. I got out of the pool just a few minutes later than usual… I came up to the accident just a minute after it happened… I stopped just long enough at the car accident so that I got to the kid right after his accident happened and right as his ‘friends’ were leaving him…
God orders our steps.
To me, this timing was so obvious. But what about times it’s not so obvious? Or when we chalk things up to “coincidence” and shrug it off as luck or a chance happening. Let’s keep our eyes open even in the small things to see God’s hand at work.
And if you ever have a friend who needs help, don’t leave their side. Maybe it’s not a physical wound, or something that requires a 911 call. But our friends need us in their emergencies and crises – where are we? Don’t be the kids running off so they won’t get grounded. No, it won’t always be convenient for us… but in the long run? I wonder what Kyle will have to say to those punks the next time he sees them. Relationship is more important.
I don’t know what to say. That’s my story.
Hi Lauren,
Wow! What a story! I’m sorry about the 911 thing. Here’s some insight which may make you feel better, or at least explain some things that may have seemed strange.
When someone dials 911 from their house, or any “hard line” phone, as soon as the dispatcher answers, all of the information comes up on their computer screen. Name, address, phone number, name of business, nearest cross street, favorite color, favorite food, etc.. and it always goes to the dispatch center that serves that area. For example: If you call 911 from your house, it will automatically ring at the Ventura City fire and police dispatch center because you live in the City of Ventura.
When you call, they immediately know where you are and all they need to know is “what’s the problem” so they know what to send (ie: police, fire , ambulance). Pretty simple.
However, when someone dials 911 from a cell phone, nobody knows where you are. When cell phones became prominent, the infinite wisdom of our leaders decided that all 911 cell phone calls would go to the CHP dispatch centers spread around the state. The thought was that if you are using your cell phone, you most likely would be away from your home and most often on the road and in your car so….. Most of the time, this puts you on the freeway and in CHP jurisdiction.
The only problem is, when you are in a city or county and use your cell phone, often times you have to be “transferred” to another dispatch center that handles the area you are in. So on your initial call you probably were talking with the CHP and after many questions, the dispatcher figured out that you were not in her jurisdiction and she transferred you to the “right” dispatch center who then asked you all of the same questions all over again! Meanwhile, this young boys leg is bleeding all over the sidewalk!
Then, they start asking you all kinds of other questions but have not told you yet that help is on the way. I have experienced this and it is very frustrating! I have even stopped dispatchers mid-sentence and said: “please just tell me that the police and fire department are on their way!”. They will then reassure you that yes, help is on the way.
So, all the while you are answering questions, the firemen are on their way and if the dispatcher finds out something that she thinks the firemen or police should know before they get there, they can get on the radio and tell them. For example: If there is more than one patient, they may need more than one ambulance, if there are cars involved, tow trucks may be needed, and the list goes on and on. Doesn’t make it any easier for the person out on the scene but usually there is a rhyme to the reason behind the questions.
I think our 911 system could use improvement, there is no doubt. I have been in the exact same situation as you were and you can easily ask yourself, “What if I was being attacked by someone on the street and I got transferred because my phone rang the wrong dispatch center!”? No easy answer to this one but I would dare say that even with all of its faults, we still probably have the best emergency system in the world.
Anyway, hope this info helps. Been in your shoes on this one.
Martin