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balto
22-Sep-07, 19:57
What sort of society do we live in when an old lady falls over and nearly everyone just walks past her, let me explain my mother inlaw who is nearly 76 fell yesterday (21st sept) while crossing over from the big coop hurting herself badly in the meantime she tripped over 1 of her shopping bags, but most people just walked past her while she was lying there, thankfully 2 ladys were nice enough to attend to her and assist her to walking to the council offices where one of their workers took her up to the dunbar hospital for treatment, now tell me how would people feel if it was their mother that fell and was treated like a piece of rubbish it just makes me sick to think people treat our elderly people like this, do they not realise that one day they too will be old.:mad::mad:

newpark
22-Sep-07, 20:04
How sad an awful. I fell quite bad once and an old lady tried to help me up. Everyone else just walked past and I am young. It is awful to think that our society has diminished so much that we do not even try and help each other.

Dadie
22-Sep-07, 20:05
I hope she is ok!
I would never leave anyone like that and i didnt think many people would have left someone in the road no matter if they were young or old!

society is changing..

for the worse..

corgiman
22-Sep-07, 20:09
Balto this is awful to hear, give her my best and tell her get well soon from us.

karia
22-Sep-07, 20:23
Hi balto,

My dad had a bad fall last year, he is 79..a young lady helped him to his feet and ensured that he was okay by waiting with him and returning to check on him after completing her errand.

Sorry that your MIL had such an experience..but it really isn't the norm... and she did receive assistance from the ladies and the council offices..It should have been an instant response, but a lot of folk are afraid to approach the elderly lest they be accused of mugging etc...this applies especially to men.

Which may explain why all of our heroes here ..are heroines!

Wishing her a speedy recovery

karia

botheed
22-Sep-07, 20:27
would never happen in wick:eek:

balto
22-Sep-07, 20:27
Hi balto,

My dad had a bad fall last year, he is 79..a young lady helped him to his feet and ensured that he was okay by waiting with him and returning to check on him after completing her errand.

Sorry that your MIL had such an experience..but it really isn't the norm... and she did receive assistance from the ladies and the council offices..It should have been an instant response, but a lot of folk are afraid to approach the elderly lest they be accused of mugging etc...this applies especially to men.

Which may explain why all of our heroes here ..are heroines!

Wishing her a speedy recovery

kariasorry dont agree 2 middle aged ladys went past her and just looked at her like she was a bit of dirt and 1 of the ladys that helped her works for the council she had been on the ground for a while before she came along it is just disgusting.

balto
22-Sep-07, 20:29
would never happen in wick:eek:aye do you know i agree with i am originally from wick.

karia
22-Sep-07, 20:33
sorry dont agree 2 middle aged ladys went past her and just looked at her like she was a bit of dirt and 1 of the ladys that helped her works for the council she had been on the ground for a while before she came along it is just disgusting.

There is nothing here for you not to agree with balto.

Your MIL had a horrible experience and I really feel for her, however it is not universal and there are good and compassionate people out there also.

karia

footie chick
22-Sep-07, 20:34
Thats horrible hope she is okay and on the way to a full recovery.

telfordstar
22-Sep-07, 20:39
that is such a shame balto i hope that your mother in law is ok and not to shaken up by that horrible experience. its such a shame that there are not may decent folk in the world who would of rushed over to help which is exactly what i would of done, a few weeks a go i had a funny turn in river street in wick and was overwhelmed but the amount of strangers who stopped and offered me help or pulled over in their car to offer me a lift to the hosp i was so very grateful for this its just a shame the sme thing didnt happen to your mother in law hope shes on the mend:D

corgiman
22-Sep-07, 20:44
Thurso is hardly a sprawling metropolis and it's a sad day when an elderly person can fall in the road in a busy area and people just walk past. It certainly explains the current attitude of it's not my problem in society, we moan about kids having no respect these days but if they are raised by people who cannot even give 5 minutes of their time to help a person in trouble then it's all we can expect.

Julia
22-Sep-07, 21:32
In the early eighties I collapsed in a very busy street in Bury, people just stepped over me, I was only about 14 at the time.

I'd never ignore someone obviously in need of help.

trix
22-Sep-07, 21:36
ats awful, yer poor mither in law. i wish her well.
i mind bein in inverness waitin for a bus, i wis sittin bletherin til iss mannie an i seen iss aulder wifie trippin an fallen aboot 30 feet awie.
it wis lek slow motion. i wis up lek a shot an by time i got til her 2 guys hed magically appeared and both simutaniously helped her up withoot even a word bein said.
by time e wifie got til her feet a chair hed magically appeared behind her and an ambulance wis on its way. it wis that fast. she wis on her own so i waited wi her til e ambulance came. she hed cut her heid and hand and their wis kwite alot o blood. we phoned her family and they were meetin her at e hospital. e ambulance wis no longer than 5 menids.
when i got back til e bus which hed arrived by then, there wis e mannie i wis speakin til howldin oot my bag til me which i had left an totally forgotten aboot.

we'r no all bad...

Anne x
23-Sep-07, 01:04
hope she is okay now and on the mend some folk just dont care

crayola
23-Sep-07, 01:28
There is nothing here for you not to agree with balto.

Your MIL had a horrible experience and I really feel for her, however it is not universal and there are good and compassionate people out there also.

kariaYou're absolutely correct karia. Threads on this forum get out of hand when people generalise and run down our society based on a single event, however appalling that event may have been.

Glasgow is a sprawling metropolis but people generally help old people when they fall in the street or have severe difficulties using public transport, for example.

I hope your mother-in-law is fully recovered by now, balto.

Whitewater
23-Sep-07, 02:24
What sort of society do we live in when an old lady falls over and nearly everyone just walks past her, let me explain my mother inlaw who is nearly 76 fell yesterday (21st sept) while crossing over from the big coop hurting herself badly in the meantime she tripped over 1 of her shopping bags, but most people just walked past her while she was lying there, thankfully 2 ladys were nice enough to attend to her and assist her to walking to the council offices where one of their workers took her up to the dunbar hospital for treatment, now tell me how would people feel if it was their mother that fell and was treated like a piece of rubbish it just makes me sick to think people treat our elderly people like this, do they not realise that one day they too will be old.:mad::mad:

Unfortunately this happens much too often now. Many people would perhaps like to help, but are too afraid of doing the wrong thing and causing more damage, they will not take the chance. This state of mind has come in from America where people offering 1st aid and help were sued if the person they were treating suffered any unaccountable damage.

However, having said that there are still far too many people who will just walk-on bye because they don't care and are too interested in their own little world. But we are not all like that, there are in the world today many people who will go out of their way to do the right thing and help when necessary, with genuine care and feeling.

Your mother in law was very unfortunate that too many of the wrong type of people were in the vacinity at the time. Lucky the two ladies ( the right type of people) came to her assistance in the long run.

I hope she is OK now.

crayola
23-Sep-07, 02:49
Many people would perhaps like to help, but are too afraid of doing the wrong thing and causing more damage, they will not take the chance. I don't believe people worry about doing the wrong thing and causing more damage when a 76 year old lady falls in the street. Nor do they worry about being sued.

Are you watching too much tv? :)

bobsgirl
23-Sep-07, 19:10
I think this is awful, that people just walk by and never bother.

I remember a couple of months back an elderly woman fell outside the 99p shop in Thurso. The women in the shop took a chair out for her to sit on and made sure she was ok. They were going to call an ambulance but she did not want to bother emergency services. She only wanted a taxi home.
I overheard this and offered the woman a lift home which she was very thankful for. I took her to her door, made sure she got in and her sister of whom was at her house, called her doctor to make sure she was ok.

Not all people in Thurso would walk past and let them suffer.

No-one can guarantee that this would not of happened in Wick. It is just such a shame that this woman had to go through this ordeal!
Hope she is ok!!

Thumper
23-Sep-07, 19:18
I think this has become a sad fact of life all over the world nowadays :( my heavily pregnant friend fainted in Thurso a few years back at the bus stop outside the jobcentre and not one person waiting at the bus stop or on the street stopped to help her!She just lay on the ground and nobody even looked her way!It's a sad sad state of affairs!I wouldn't care what happened to me afterwards, I would just go and help as best I could no matter who,what,where or when x

bluelady
24-Sep-07, 15:30
I canne understand how anyone can just walk past and ignore her without at least asking her if she needed help. Ok they may worry about helping her or moving her, but come on, not even a few words to enquire if she needs help etc. I can understand if it was a case of a drunk or a fight - even then I ask them at a safe distance, and would call police or ambulance if need be, but an old woman. Nearly everyone kens e elderly are prone to falls. Back in e 70's, my uncle took a stroke walking home from work and fell into the gutter, he called for help but everyone ingnored him, or gave him abuse for "being drunk". Eventually some kind soul called an ambulance and luckily he was near an hospital, but he suffered irreprable damage as a consequence and later had a massive fatal heartattack whilst at work one day. Ive been shouted at, swore at and lashed out at by peeps ive gone to help and still I continue to do it. These ignorant things have no excuse, they proberly have no feelings either. how maddening is that [disgust]

cuddlepop
24-Sep-07, 15:35
Its a sad society we live in when this can happen to an old lady.:(

Wher has our care and compassion gone for our fellow man.

Ash
24-Sep-07, 16:34
:confusedhow can you say this would never happen in wick!?

Bonnie Parker-Duke
24-Sep-07, 16:42
Recently I read that here in the States, at a quickstop, a man came in and robbed it, shot a female bystander and ran. The other bystanders stepped over her and stopped long enough to take her picture with their mobile phones but no one helped her until the police arrived.

I think we need to look at morals, ethics and values today...evidently the world over.

scorrie
24-Sep-07, 18:05
It happens in Wick too!! I once suffered from Hypoglycemia when I was out cycling. In the effort to speed up and get to the shop for some lucozade my foot slipped off the pedal, my lace got tangled in the chain and trapped my foot. The bike keeled over and I fell heavily on my shoulder in the gutter. A woman in her thirties saw it happen and was walking in my direction. I shouted to her to ask if she could help me up. I am still waiting for a reply and she walked past me as if I were invisible. Maybe she thought I was drunk or something but it was broad daylight and not far from some shops. I had to wriggle out of the trainer and make the one-shoe-shuffle to the shop for a refuel. The word "Cow" was in my mind for the rest of the day. On another occasion an old mannie doing about 100 mph ran me into a ditch when I was cycling not very far outside Wick. As I lay in the ditch with the bike on top of me, he stopped for a quick look and then sped off without comment.

I can sympathise with people who have tried to help and not always been thanked though. A few years ago an old wifie had been having too much of the falling down water in a Local Club and then proceeded to take that fall. Between myself and the Barmaid we managed to get her up and onto a chair. It quickly became apparent that something was broken (ankle as it turned out) so an ambulance was called. A couple of Paramedics attended and whisked her off to hospital. Imagine our surprise when we later got a call from one of the NHS staff to tick us off!! Apparently we had no right to be putting the woman into a chair and should have left her lying on the floor!!

Well excuse me!!

bluelady
25-Sep-07, 11:01
Aye but i bet you would carrying on helping someone scorrie, you do what you think is best. There should be more government campaigns on getting people to be aware of basic first aid,or what to do in an accident, instead of some of the more "less important or useless"campaings such as how to wash your hands properly. Perhaps more people - those with morals and feelings - will have the confidence to help or at least sit and talk with the casulty until help arrives.

Torvaig
25-Sep-07, 15:06
The best thing to do if someone is incapable of getting up themselves is to leave them lying until professional help arrives. To move someone with a broken bone can cause irrepairable damage and cause unnecessary suffering.

It is the same with any accident; think car crash; someone sitting upright but unable to move; professional help comes and the first they do is immobilise their neck to prevent further damage until a proper assessment is carried out.

Of course there are exceptions; i.e. immediate danger such as fire, other vehicles, drowning etc.This is why professional training in first aid is essential to be able to assess a situation. No-one is infallible no matter how well meaning they are.

Having said all that, well done to those who do render proper assistance; the victim is usually more than grateful for their attention.

Margaret M.
25-Sep-07, 18:05
How people can just walk on by, when someone obviously needs help, is beyond me.


The best thing to do if someone is incapable of getting up themselves is to leave them lying until professional help arrives. To move someone with a broken bone can cause irrepairable damage and cause unnecessary suffering.

Great post, Torvaig. Unless they can pop up under their own power, I would just stay with the person, make sure they stay still and reassure them that help is coming.

karia
25-Sep-07, 18:20
Hi Folks,


My mum still recounts, with something approaching fondness, the day she got caught up in a robbery.:roll:

Two 'bad' guys were fleeing the scene when one 'knocked her elbow' and sent her spinning. He ran on for a few yards then stopped came back, steadied her and ensured she was fine, before continuing his 'flight from justice'.

Now you could argue that had he not robbed the place he wouldn't be running away and so she wouldn't have got knocked over.

However, I get 'run into' and set aspin by all sorts of 'innocents' in our local mall and no-one stops to ensure they haven't injured me or even says 'sorry'.

I know that percy and others will argue that he didn't want to add assault to his crimes but he was very gentle with her and laid himself open to being caught by stopping.

It is her feeling, and mine, that he was prepared to commit an criminal act against property but not to upset an elderly lady.

Even criminals have some code of ethics ..and they all have mothers and grannies!

Karia