Again with the police and EMTs!

Last night I went downtown to pick up some thai food Hal and I ordered for dinner. I picked it up and went to my car. As I was pulling out of the parking lot, I saw a man lying on the ground. I figured that he probably just slipped on some ice and fell, and kept inching out of the parking lot.

I don't know why I stopped, but I decided to back up and check on him. I turned around and opened my window.

"Are you okay, sir?" I asked.

He looked up.

His face was COVERED in blood. I was like, holy crap.

He said, "Well, no."

I said, "Can I call the hospital for you."

He said, "Oh no, don't do that. I just need some help to the shelter over there." (We were very close to the homeless shelter, where this man lives. He was also a little disoriented, probably both from being drunk (he was) and from hitting his head so hard.

I told him I was going to call the police and I did. While I did that, a couple of others came up to see if we needed any help. A guy got him standing (although that was probably not the best idea. He was very unsteady on his feet and he was losing a lot of blood). The dispatcher said she'd be sending police shortly. She asked if he had been assaulted and if I could ask him what happened. It was around this time that I realized he was probably drunk, too, and I told her that he was pretty disoriented.

Luckily, a young woman who had medical training happened on the scene. Someone had paper towels in their car. I happened to have gloves in my car from my Robinson Scholar CPR kit! (Interestingly enough, the first aid kit I had in my car did not have gloves. Stupid first aid kit! And now I have to buy a new first aid kit because I put it on the top of my car during this and drove off. It flew off into the street. Sad.) She took my gloves and was applying direct pressure to his face. She made him sit on the bumper of a van that was next to him. She said he needed at least 6 stitches in his nose and he had lost at least a liter of blood. (This was kind of an ordeal -- he didn't want to sit and he wasn't steady on his feet.)

I flagged the police down when they arrived. They gave the guy two options -- he could either go to the hospital or jail (I'm assuming because of public intoxication). Wisely, the man chose the hospital. They were very nice to him, actually. They asked his name and determined from him that he hadn't been assaulted but just fell down. They said they hadn't dealt with him before.

One of the officers said, "And you're drunk. Did you know that when you drink, your blood thins and so you bleed easier?" The guy nodded. They asked him how much he had to drink that day. They said, "Now, we don't care, but we need to figure out how much you've had to drink so the doctors can help you." He (his name is John) said, "A couple." The police officer said, "Now don't lie to us, how much have you had to drink." John said, "A whole lot." They said ok.

The ambulance was on its way when the police thanked us and told us we could leave if we wanted (although the girl with the gloves stayed to help until the ambulance got there).

What a night. Seriously. Between this guy and the girl who locked the kid in the car in July -- I've been in a police/EMT situation twice in the last 6 months. Come on, Bloomington, shape up! :)