witzend
Well-Known Member
I went to the grocery today to pick up some shrimp and polenta for a new recipe for tonight's dinner. I go straight to the seafood counter and realized that the store manager was on his cell phone right next to me. (Do you all have bottle recycling? Here we recycle bottles and cans at the store for a deposit. There's little back rooms with bottle and can sorting/crushing machines that give you a receipt which you take to the cashier to get your deposit back.)
Anyway, as I'm ordering and waiting for my shrimp, I realize that the manager is talking to 911. He's asking for an EMS unit to the store right now. He says a woman has fallen. She might have hit her head. She's unconscious. He gives direction to the bottle room, which is right back next to the seafood counter. He says maybe she hit her head, but he doesn't know what has happened.
I figure it's best to stay out of the way, and head right towards the produce. The plastic type door to the bottle room is propped open. I get my produce and head back for polenta, passing the bottle room. I'm squeamish, so I only glance. I can see someone doing CPR on an unseeable someone who is on the floor. No one is really noticing. It's probably been about 4 - 5 minutes since the call to 911 was made. A customer says "I tried to catch her, but she just went down." A meatcutter tells him "All you can do is hope for the best now."
I get my polenta, circle back to the front to get canned tomatoes and come back towards the bottle room towards the bakery. There's a small crowd of gawkers watching because the paramedics have arrived. I can see the flashing lights from the front of the store. I can't get past the gawkers and am determined to just get past without looking. I keep moving slow but sure, saying "excuse me" to push past and to maybe knock them out of their stupor. It's probably about 10 minutes now, maybe 15. And then that thing happens where you can't help yourself. I look.
I can't believe that the door to the bottle room is open, but it's small and the gurney won't fit in there with everyone. She's blue. She's my age, she's on the floor, and she's blue. There's not a lot of talk, not a lot of activity, just a blue woman on the filthy floor with some paramedics quietly on their knees and people standing around gawking. (by the way folks, if you ever have your kids in a public place and this happens, in my humble opinion you should move on. Just sayin'...)
I grab my bread and head to the front of the store to check out. There are long lines. No one can find a manager to answer a question. (Ya think?) There isn't anyone from the produce section (the other side of the bottle room) to answer the call for more cashiers. Two other cashiers - clearly unaware of what is going on - are talking as one checks the other out, and the one in line says "When that day comes you better just take me out 'cuz I don't want to go there." Lots of people - like them - are oblivious. I'm stunned. Literally. I've got nothing to say about it to anyone.
It's been 20 - 25 minutes easily since I first saw the call for help and they haven't brought this woman out of the bottle room. Clearly she didn't fall and hit her head. Part of me is in denial but it seems obvious - and unthinkable - that this woman just plain dropped dead at the grocery store.
Someone please explain this to me. I've never seen that before. I mean, I've seen dead people after they've been made up, but I've never seen someone blue before. I've seen people pass out from illness before, but not blue. Am I stupid? Am I over-reacting? Was she dead? This is a big town and it will be hard to find an obit unless I scour them and I don't take the paper. This is a big retailer and I'm sure that they will tell their employees to keep mum. I'm kind of upset. But detached. Some of you nurses or medical professionals, can you tell me if I am over-reading into this? I know death happens every day, and that it happens to all of us, but this was shocking.
Anyway, as I'm ordering and waiting for my shrimp, I realize that the manager is talking to 911. He's asking for an EMS unit to the store right now. He says a woman has fallen. She might have hit her head. She's unconscious. He gives direction to the bottle room, which is right back next to the seafood counter. He says maybe she hit her head, but he doesn't know what has happened.
I figure it's best to stay out of the way, and head right towards the produce. The plastic type door to the bottle room is propped open. I get my produce and head back for polenta, passing the bottle room. I'm squeamish, so I only glance. I can see someone doing CPR on an unseeable someone who is on the floor. No one is really noticing. It's probably been about 4 - 5 minutes since the call to 911 was made. A customer says "I tried to catch her, but she just went down." A meatcutter tells him "All you can do is hope for the best now."
I get my polenta, circle back to the front to get canned tomatoes and come back towards the bottle room towards the bakery. There's a small crowd of gawkers watching because the paramedics have arrived. I can see the flashing lights from the front of the store. I can't get past the gawkers and am determined to just get past without looking. I keep moving slow but sure, saying "excuse me" to push past and to maybe knock them out of their stupor. It's probably about 10 minutes now, maybe 15. And then that thing happens where you can't help yourself. I look.
I can't believe that the door to the bottle room is open, but it's small and the gurney won't fit in there with everyone. She's blue. She's my age, she's on the floor, and she's blue. There's not a lot of talk, not a lot of activity, just a blue woman on the filthy floor with some paramedics quietly on their knees and people standing around gawking. (by the way folks, if you ever have your kids in a public place and this happens, in my humble opinion you should move on. Just sayin'...)
I grab my bread and head to the front of the store to check out. There are long lines. No one can find a manager to answer a question. (Ya think?) There isn't anyone from the produce section (the other side of the bottle room) to answer the call for more cashiers. Two other cashiers - clearly unaware of what is going on - are talking as one checks the other out, and the one in line says "When that day comes you better just take me out 'cuz I don't want to go there." Lots of people - like them - are oblivious. I'm stunned. Literally. I've got nothing to say about it to anyone.
It's been 20 - 25 minutes easily since I first saw the call for help and they haven't brought this woman out of the bottle room. Clearly she didn't fall and hit her head. Part of me is in denial but it seems obvious - and unthinkable - that this woman just plain dropped dead at the grocery store.
Someone please explain this to me. I've never seen that before. I mean, I've seen dead people after they've been made up, but I've never seen someone blue before. I've seen people pass out from illness before, but not blue. Am I stupid? Am I over-reacting? Was she dead? This is a big town and it will be hard to find an obit unless I scour them and I don't take the paper. This is a big retailer and I'm sure that they will tell their employees to keep mum. I'm kind of upset. But detached. Some of you nurses or medical professionals, can you tell me if I am over-reading into this? I know death happens every day, and that it happens to all of us, but this was shocking.