Chris & I were walking through town this afternoon - heading to the car, actually, and as we passed through Victoria Row we saw a crowd of people surrounding a man on the ground. The man had a pair of brown dress pants on, sneakers, and a light colored shirt that buttoned down the front. He looked to be in his 50's or 60's...but it was hard to tell. His face was purple. There were people kneeling beside him and it looked like they were doing CPR. A few moments later he was turned to his side, as he had started to vomit. A few minutes later the police arrived, and they resumed the CPR effort. He must have been alone when whatever happened, happened, because someone had the man's wallet out to ID him.
10 minutes later the ambulance arrived. It seemed like forever passed...but perhaps it was really only another 10 more minutes of trying what they could....tubes and IVs, and shock pads... Eventually the paramedics started to pack up their equipment, and the final step was to hoist the poor man onto the stretcher --I made a comment to Chris - asking him why they weren't putting him on the stretcher and getting him into the ambulance before cleaning up their stuff.
"Amber - he didn't make it...".
And they left the scene without lights or sirens.
I cried for a man I didn't know. For his family... he was someone's son. He was possibly someone's brother. Possibly someone's uncle. Possibly someone's husband...someone's father. And he died, with no loved ones at his side...on the street, with strangers and passersby gawking at him.
That poor man.
Life is so fragile, and it can be over in minutes, without any warning. Live without regrets...and tell the people around you that you love them... I hope and pray that the poor man on the street had heard the words, "I love you" sometime today...
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