Humanity

While I was out and about yesterday, I encountered a man who had been cut on his hand by a piece of a falling brick at a construction site. He was grey with shock, holding his hand and staring at the wound in the way that someone does when they hate the sight of blood but are drawn to a particularly gruesome sight.

Next door, a Puja had just been performed and there were plenty of people wandering around. Seeing the man there, I walked across to take a look at the wound. It seems like a lifetime ago, but I was a Hospital Corpsman at one time. And an EMT. And a bit more, but suffice to say that I have had some training.

The wound was deep. It was obvious that it needed sutures, but it was also obvious that more permanent damage was likely given the depth and the nature of the injury. Falling pieces of brick, from a height of about 16 feet, gain a respectable amount of speed. Peering into the angled wound, it looked like some nerves might have been damaged - and perhaps even some tendons. Generally speaking, I knew that this should be seen by a doctor, and said so. The fellow wandered off, mumbling something about changing his clothes, while I sent someone to find some methylated spirits. I had bandages and so forth in the pickup, so I got those.

In cleaning the wound - superficially - I saw just how bad it was. It was only a few centimeters across - a sharp V torn out of the back of the right hand, 2 centimeters above the knuckle of the index finger, going down to a depth of about half of a centimeter, it seemed. Having him turn away, I checked his sensitivity and range of motion and found that (1) He couldn't feel his finger, and (2) he couldn't move his finger properly. This is, generally speaking, not good. I told him he needed to go see a Doctor.

He wandered off again to see about getting to a medical center. Seeing the son of the owner of the construction site there, I explained the situation and said that the fellow needed to get that checked immediately, before the medical center in the area closed. And he said, "The Boss will be here soon, and he can take him."

"Just put him in the car and take him. It will only take a minute."

"No."

I've never encountered this. Ever. He genuinely could care less if the worker had permanent damage. I told the worker to meet me at the pickup - I would take him. He gets to the pickup, opens the door and decides not to go. He claims it's about money, but the fear in his eyes isn't financial. He's afraid of the treatment. I've seen it before, and likely I'll see it again.

Well, I can't force him. I call the owner of the construction site and explain the situation. He tells me to tell his son to take the man to the medical center - so I walk over and tell him just that. And walk off. He drives off in a tantrum, without the worker and in the wrong direction.

I shake my head.

There's no sense to be made of all of this. For one, the man who was breaking bricks at the top was doing it where people were walking below. Next, the contractor wasn't there. Then, the son of the owner of the construction site could care less. And honestly, I wonder if I'll be reminded of the day every time I see the man wandering around. I did what I could, but the world conspired to keep the status quo.

This is not the world I would choose. But this is the world that others choose.