Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Yah, it's 4:00 AM. Do you know where YOUR kids are?

Apparently some parents don't!
Just got back from a call.

Family woke up to find a teenager unconscious in their laundry room/back porch.

He thought it was his home.

But he "only had two beers, officer!" Just a high school kid. But actually, I was happy about that, because the dispatcher's report said he "appeared to be nine years old". And I was fixin' to get my panties in a wad. Not that upper teens is better for a kid to get drunk...but "NINE" would have really ticked me off.

No shoes, mud all over him, shakin' like a leaf once the deputies woke him up. They gave him the third degree as officers of the law are wont to do. Turns out they had been looking for "two teenagers fighting in the city park" around midnight. Boy said he was SUPPOSED to be spending the night with a friend.
**SIGH** Won't his parents be surprised?

Then I took his vitals.
Had to show him how the Oxygen saturation monitor worked by putting it on my own finger, cuz he was afraid I was going to draw blood.
Couple of abrasions. Didn't want to go to the hospital. Can't just leave him...so Deputy tried to call his parents.

and tried to call his parents...

and tried to call his parents...

He was sittin' outside on a folding chair, just freezing. Thin blanket around his shoulders. Everyone walks away to do their investigating and check out the rest of the garage and such...
LEAVING ME standin' there with the kid.
the first thought in my head was..."OH crud! What if he decides to run?"

The second thought in my head was "He's just a scared kid and everyone is treating him like he has the plague just because he did something wrong. What would Jesus do?"
So I walked over next to where he sat, stood beside him and put my arm around his shoulders. He kinda leaned his head over against my hip.
I said "Bet yer gonna get in a little bit of trouble over this, huh?"
And we talked for a bit. He was bummed cuz he wouldn't be able to go on a Spring Break trip with friends and he'd lost his cell phone. I tried calling it for him to see if it was anywhere near. Didn't find it. Bein's as how he had been seen running into the local slough? He probably never will.

His parents never did answer the phone.

So the Deputies took him home.

And the lady of the house came out as I was packing up our equipment.
"Hey! You were here a couple of months ago to take care of my daughter when she cut her leg...I remember you!"
I was all flattered thinking she had remembered my compassion or my efficiency as a medic. So I did the humble "thank you, Ma'am. That's why we do what we do."
And she says...

"Yep! I remember you cuz you were wearing those VERY SAME Tinkerbell pajama pants!"

Ego ... Deflaaatttinnng.... kinda like a whoopee cushion someone sat on really slowly.

Ah well. It is funny though!

Have a good day, Ya'll!

1 comment:

Shosh said...

That is a little chilling. I hope he found his way home?