Have you ever...

ksech

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Have you ever had to make a spur of the moment decision which would affect another person? And how did you feel afterwards?

For some unknown illogical reason, my heart is heavy this morning. I had to make a decision when at work last night, deep down in my heart I know it was the right decision and psychologically I know it DEFINITELY was the right decision. Perhaps, it's the situation which has me down.

A young woman ( maybe late 20's early 30's) came into the restaurant in which I work. Originally assuming she was a drunk I kind of passed off her odd behavior. As time passed I realized she wasn't drunk, but probably zoning out on some kind of drug. Since I wasn't busy I let her sleep at the table, checking on her occassionally making sure she was still breathing. Around 4 AM one of the town police stopped in for his "lunch" break. I asked him if he would come over and assess the situation. It took a little prodding, but he finally got her to wake up.

To make a long story short, she was overdosing on prescription drugs. We ended up calling an ambulance and her parents. I've dealt with many parents over the years and was a tad bit anxious about the reaction of the parents to this young woman and what I had done. Thank goodness the parents were grateful I was concerned enough to do something for her, a complete stranger.

As I sit here typing this, I am wondering if ( and yes hindsight is great) I should have called help sooner. If you were in a situation such as this, how would you have handled it?
 
Where I live in Ontario, a restaurant could lose it's liquor license for allowing someone who appeared intoxicated to sleep at the table, or remain on the premises even if you had not served her.

If she was capable of moving along of her own accord when I first woke her, I would have sent her on her way. If she was unsafe to walk, I would have called an ambulance for her. While in this case it was prescription drugs, diabetics with either low or high levels of sugar/insulin in their bloodstream can exhibit similar symptons, and EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) are very capable of handling such situations.

So, short answer... you did the right thing, but next time, do it sooner. And leave her to deal with her parents.
 
That's a tough one. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do until you're in a situation like that and sometimes (especially for a woman) it's a little scary dealing with a person who's (apparently) drunk or on drugs. Once quite a few years ago I was walking my dog and found a guy lying beside the curb with his head on the street. It was the corner right by my house and I hauled ass back inside and sent my boyfriend out to check on him while I stood by with the phone in my hand. Turns out the dude just thought it would be a good place to take a nap. :rolleyes:

But Jazzy's right - just because someone looks drunk or high, it could be a medical thing. Normally if I see someone that looks like they need help I phone 911 right away.

Did you guys see on on the news a few days ago about the good samaritan who saved some woman from getting mugged but then bled to death on the street while people walked past (one actually went over and took a picture with his cell phone!) Everyone assumed that someone else would do something and nobody did. That's just sad, we don't want to be like that.

For the OP, I sympathize with how you're feeling - unless you've been in a situation like that before, you wouldn't know what to do. I can see kinda thinking maybe you're doing the girl a favor by giving her a safe place to sleep. But the important thing is that the story could have ended a whole lot worse, so I guess you can be glad that you did get her some help and be thankful that it ended up as well as it did.
 
Okay, here is what I left out...
The restaurant I work in is one of 2 24 hr restaurants in a thirty mile radius. We get a lot of drinkers after the bars close (thank goodness this was a slow night for us) and she had come in teetering like someone who had overindulged. When I went to set her up I noticed there was no smell of alcohol of any type ( I have a fairly sensitive nose to this). My cook ( who ran as an EMT on a neighboring towns' ambulance ) also noticed no trace of alcohol and was watching her closely as she ordered. We conferred and made the assumption she was high on something, so decided it would be safer to "watch" her than to let her go out walking on her own (there was no car in our parking lot so we assessed she had walked there).

When the town police came in and woke her up she began rambling on about nothing in particular, evading his questions. Then she burst into tears. At this point I asked the cop if he would like me to try to get some of the answers for him. I sat down next to this woman and put my arm around her. Eventually we got some of his questions answered.

After having calmed down now, here is why I am grateful I did what I did...
1) She had a handful of the prescription drugs in her pocket she was going to take when she left the restaurant (she thought she had missed her dose and was going to take more).
2) She was staying in the motel located behind us and she was alone. She probably wouldn't have made it and no one would have known she was in trouble.
3) After talking with her parents I found out she was suffering from depression, anxiety and panic attacks...taking conflicting meds.

So, all in all, I am hoping and praying this young woman will get the help she needs. And I am glad I was able to be there for her when she needed someone to care...
 
Things will happen. Something in your gut told you to do what you did and be thankful you listened. Why worry aabout the fact you waited so long. Things turned out for the best. There is no I should have or what ifs dont waste your time worring about that. You did a good deed and be proud of yourself. Most would have walked by or not noticed.

I have learned many times to listen to my gut and its nevered stared me wrong except at online slots. lol.

Good Job way to and high five Im proud of you and grateful that there are still people who take the time to care.
 

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