HELP ME!

"Help me! Somebody please help me!" 

I hear a struggling voice, yearning for help. I am seated in a waiting room at the eye-center at CU Health, a teaching hospital in Denver, Colorado.

"I can't see and I can't hear. Somebody please, please help me!" The voice calls out agin. There is a definite sense of urgency.

Nobody is moving in the waiting room. There are 3-4 employees seated behind plexiglass watching this woman, and there are about 30 people in the waiting area.

"Somebody please help me!"

I stand, extend my telescoping white cane and begin tapping toward the voice. I can't see who is asking for help, but I move toward the voice.

"Help me!"

After about 30 feet of tapping in a straight line, I arrive at the voice. A frail grey-hared 70+ year old African-American woman in a wheelchair is anxiously begging for help. She continues to urgently say, "I need help! Somebody please help me!" She has a device she is speaking into....it seems to be like a microphone, and somehow it helps her hear. 

I speak to her, "My name is Jason. I will help you." She doesn't hear me. I speak louder into the apparatus she is holding "My name is Jason! I will help you!" The entire waiting room is staring at us. They are a silent audience. You could hear a pin drop.

"I need to get to dialysis." The woman is anxious and frightened.

I touch her shoulder and speak into her microphone, "I understand. I am going to get a nurse to help you right now!" Her agitation seems to calm, and she seems reassured.

I tap with my cane to the staff people behind plexiglass windows. There are 3 employees huddled together, whispering. I say loudly, "This woman needs help! She needs to get to dialysis." A staff person speaks and says, "we will get her a nurse." A male staff member walks away from the group. I speak to him and say, "Are you going to get a nurse?" 

He says, "We have this covered. You don't need to be involved. Go back and sit down!"

I am the only person who has spoke with the woman in need. I have many emotions, but instead of retaliating against the male staff member I go back to the woman, as I realize she is not getting the help she truly needs. I ask the woman for her name. "Bonnie", she says.  I again put my hand on her shoulder and she seems comforted.

A woman appears behind Bonnie's chair. I ask if she is a nurse. she says "yes" in a soft voice. The nurse tries talking to Bonnie in a soft voice, but Bonnie cannot hear her. I explain to the nurse that if she uses a loud voice and speaks into Bonnie's microphone, Bonnie is able to make out her speech. 

The entire waiting room is watching the scene in silence and the nurse seems embarrassed. She whispers into Bonnie's microphone and Bonnie says, "I can't hear you! I can't see and I can't hear!"

I speak into Bonnie's microphone in a loud voice, "Bonnie! The nurse is here! She is going to take you now! I told her to talk loudly into your microphone so you can hear her!" The nurse says nothing. Bonnie thanks me profusely.

Bonnie is wheeled away and I am standing in the middle of the waiting room with all eyes on me. The silence is deafening

I use my cane and tap back to the seat where I was sitting, and continue waiting for my appointment.

After about 1 minute, a patient sitting next to me said, "Thank you for helping that lady." 

"Of course. That is what we are supposed to do. Help each other." I say these words without even thinking.

Then, she says disgustingly, "Did you hear what that staff person told you? He told you to sit down and mind your own business!"

The entire waiting room is silent and seems to be listening to our exchange.

"Jason!" A staff member calls me for me appointment. I again stand and tap my way to the location of the voice. The staff member takes me behind a closed door and my eye appointment begins.

"Hold the Line" aka Do The Right Thing - jasonromero.net