He lived and the phone rang

The passenger, after crashing in the ambulance was resuscitated. He lived.

When D got home this afternoon he shared the good news. I was thrilled.

Then the phone rang.

D’s job called because the parents of the young man ejected from the car and killed were there and wanted to speak to him. The father got on the phone and asked D what had happened. He said the police wouldn’t tell them anything. He wanted to know if his son had been driving. D explained that his son was the driver and upon impact was thrown from the car. He told him his son didn’t suffer and died instantly. The man said “Thank you for trying to help my son.” All D could say was “I’m so very sorry.” D got off of the phone quickly. He was terrified that the father would ask what condition his son was in when D ran up to the accident.

Afterward, he looked at me and said “What would I have said if his father had pushed for details? The kid was in really, really bad shape. I couldn't tell him that.” I told him that if the parents came back to ask more questions to try to be as supportive as possible and if they wanted details on their sons physical condition to tell them that after he knew their son had passed he tried to help the other kid trapped in the car. I told him that no matter how hard they pushed not to go into detail about his condition. I explained to him that the parents will know their sons condition soon enough. They will get a copy of the medical examiners report along with the death certificate. No one needs to know the gruesome details. Better they understand his physical trauma through the eyes of a medical examiner who can be professional than the eyes of someone fresh on the scene who will be emotional.

The phone call has pushed him into a deeper depression. I’m not asking questions, God knows he’s getting enough of that at his job. The rumor mill is so bad there that someone actually came up to him today and asked him “what happened when he was giving the dead kid CPR”. Sick, sick, sick people. All they want are the gory details. They have no clue what D is going through emotionally right now.

I’m so thankful at least one of them lived. It’s a small ray of light in a big black void.