You don't know what you've got till its gone

Hey…

( I really wanted to post this but didn't know where to post it. I think that it is important because it relates to relationships with people, even if they are total strangers. I know you won't believe this at first but this is a true story that just happened to me at 10:30 PM last night)


I had the most unusual experience of my life tonight. I was sitting at my computer and I could hear some kids in my complex being very loud, like they were fighting. The shouting went on for a few minutes and then I heard a man out side asking if someone needed help. I took a little more notice in what was going on but I couldn't really make out what anyone was saying. When the shouting went on a little longer I finally got up and went outside. I went out on my patio and I could see that the man that was shouting was my husband.

Then I looked up to where he was looking. I could hear at least two children from the apartment unit above me screaming. I thought they were fighting. All of the sudden I hear the little boy shout out, "mommy please don't die." That's when I took off running, grabbed my cell phone, and headed up the stairs. I ran to the door of their apartment and there was a neighbor standing and listening at the door. He saw me rushing towards him and asked me if he should knock. I said "YES KNOCK!" He did and the two children came out. As far as I can remember there were only two children, one boy and one girl. They were crying hysterically. There was another man in the apartment; he was just a young kid around my age. Apparently the kids had knocked on his door for help and he was in their apartment calling the police. When they opened the door he was on his cell phone. When he saw we were here to help he pleaded for the man standing next to me to help do CPR on a woman in the house who was not breathing. The man told him he could not help because he didn't know CPR. That's when my husband and one other tenant came in to help saying they knew CPR. The kid with the cell phone told them to come with him. I came in as well and went straight to the kids to get them out of the way and tried to calm them down.

Both of the children were at the wall crying and shaking. I told them that everything was going to be alright and for them to calm down. I then walked into the room that my husband and that other tenant went into...and to my horror....they were trying with all of their might to pull a 350 pound naked woman off the bed. She had stopped breathing and her throat was almost sealed shut. I ran back to the kids and asked if any of them had dialed 911. I couldn't get a straight answer so I ran outside with my cell phone and started to dial. Just then I saw the red lights flashing and the loud siren. I ran back to the kids and told them that help was here and to stay back. The boy was already on a cell phone with a card in his hand. It was a list of family emergency numbers.

I realized that the paramedics had no way to get into our complex unless someone opened the lobby door for them so I told the kids I would be right back and I ran down stairs to meet the paramedics. Once I got to the bottom, they were already on their way up. They asked me where the problem was and I had them follow me up. During this time, my husband and the tenant were giving the woman CPR and trying to find a pulse. Finding a pulse on a woman that large was impossible for them and so was trying to find the right place to place their hands on her chest.

I ran back down to let the man with the stretcher in and met him at the elevator to lead him to her. There was quite a gathering by this time. One of the tenants looked at me and told me that he really couldn't handle what was going on. All the men that were standing around were shaking all over. Luckily I have the ability to remain very calm during many situations. Once the cops showed up there really wasn't anything left for the rest of us to do so we all went back to our apartments while the paramedics did their job.

Once back in the apartment, we thought about what had just happened. I thought about the kids and how they were doing. The poor things. They were probably so scared. I hoped that she would be all right. Around 11:00pm one of the neighbors of that woman and her kids knocked at our door. I remember passing him in the hallway on my way down to help the paramedics in. At that time he didn't know what was going on. All he had to say to us when we opened the door was, "I was told by the cops and paramedics to tell everyone who helped out that they thank you so much for all of your help......but she didn't make it."

It was so unbelievable. After all of that she died. I was shocked. Apparently she suffered from extreme asthma attack and possibly fell asleep when she had it. My husband had found her sitting in an upright position on the bed with foam coming out of her mouth and her eyes rolled practically out of her head. The neighbor also told me that when the paramedics were taking her out of the apartment on the stretcher that her face was completely purple from lack of oxygen. By that time she was already dead. The paramedics just couldn't get air to her lungs because of how swollen shut she was. The most interesting thing about being in a room with someone who is dead, for me, is that I wasn't devastated when I heard the news. I was more upset over what would happen to the children. Apparently their father was contacted and was on his way to pick them up. I think what devastated me more is that those two kids were in the room with her when she died. I think the oldest was only 11 years old. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be them right now.


It just makes me think…you know? One minute you're eating dinner with someone, laughing and having a good time and the next minute they are dead. Life really is short and sometimes so unfortunate.