people surprise me

[1905]

husband and I went out to eat last night at Olive Garden. I had never even eaten there. But, there was this deal where you can eat one entree there and for free they will give you another one to take home (from a select menu), plus you can eat all the soup and salad you want so I was planning on taking both entrees home. PLUS, there is a $10 off $30 coupon you can use alongside all that. We had to order a dessert to reach the $30, so for $20 that was a huge amount of food.We'll be eating this for days!

While we were eating, a man and his grandson were there, and so were at least 30-40 others. The boy suddenly shouted out for help, his grandfather had slumped over and was falling out of the chair. I ran over and grabbed the grandpas underarms and tried to keep him from falling, husband ran to get someone to call 911. He came back and helped me, I couldn't hold the man's weight. We wanted to lay him on the floor, I didn't know. The boy was shouting. The man woke up disoriented, sweating, we were still holding him though when the ambulance arrived and husband offered to call people for the boy. He had a phone and he called his mom. Not one other person even looked up or offered any help at all. Nobody made eye contact or tried to comfort the boy, everyone just ignored it all. I am still in disbelief that people could be so callous, really, a boy is shouting, "Grandpa" over and over. 5 feet away people were just eating and enjoying a quiet conversation. Olive Garden gave us a $25 gift card as we were leaving.

 

[Calamity Jane]

It's clear that you THOUGHT you and husband were there for the great deal that was offered (and you were, of course!), but you and husband were there for a bigger reason. You were meant to be in that restaurant, seated exactly where you were, so you could assist that grandpa and his grandson.
Who knows why no one helped? Sometimes it's cluelessness, self absorption, fear, apathy, all kinds of things. Maybe the patrons thought the restaurant staff would be better trained to handle the situation. I was just thinking that if anything like that ever happened to my loved ones, would anyone help? I hope so. We are all connected, we are all brothers and sisters. You and husband demonstrated that in a very visceral sense yesterday, and that's wonderful! It doesn't take much, does it? Just calling 911 and holding someone till the ambulance arrives, and calming the small child - what does that cost? What training, other than basic human kindness does that require? I'm glad the Olive Garden acknowledged your contribution with the gift card! Enjoy your leftovers, you've earned it!!

 

[BusynMember]

It is bonechilling to think of so many people ignoring the little boy as he cried for help for his sick grandfather. I don't "get" people a lot of the time and this would fall into one of those times. My husband would have been right there helping and even if I had been alone, and I'd probably have been afraid to move him for fear of making him worse, I would have instantly called 911 and gone to the child to soothe him. And with my loud mouth Iprobably would have called out loudly,"Any medical professionals here? THIS MAN NEEDS HELP!" I'm not one to stand by quietly and my social skills are poor enough that I don't get embarassed the way some do.

Horrible.

 

[AnnieO]

I've been that person that didn't want to get involved, but if I was it - I DID ANYWAY. Now, I'm far more likely to jump in and at LEAST call 911. Which I did for a dog in the road - and a couple people who had stopped.

KUDOS!!!

 

[DammitJanet]

Excellent post and I am so glad you were there. It is amazing how odd people's reactions can be to emergencies. I think in today's world some are afraid of being sued.

I do have to say though that not all people are like this. On our Xmas trip to visit Jamie we stopped at Golden Corral. In case you dont have them, they are a huge buffet type restaurant. We were there for a nice breakfast before being on the road for a long time.

Anyway, while I was eating I started choking on something I was eating. I was coughing and gagging and this middle aged woman immediately jumped up and came to my aid. I was alone at the table because Tony had gone back to the bar. She kept hitting me on my back until I was able to get the food up. Im sure she would have tried the Heimlich but I am very large and she was very small. I doubt she could have gotten a good grip around me from my sitting position. I was so grateful to that woman.