A Cyclist In Limbo

Central Park is a place in which to retreat from the craziness of the city.  There is much there to delight and rejuvenate oneself.  It is not a place you expect to see someone die.

Yesterday, while rambling around the Upper West Side of the park, I saw a middle-aged cyclist lying on his back, motionless, along one of the busy thoroughfares.  His bike was pushed haphazardly to the curb.  His eyes were closed, his skin grey and someone said he was not breathing.  Being Sunday, the park was filled with joggers, strollers, dog-walkers, and fortunately several doctors.  A few stopped as they approached the scene.  One pony-tailed woman in running shorts squatted down, put her fingers to his neck checking for a pulse, tilted her head to the side, and listened for any signs of breathing.  She began to perform CPR on him, while a woman in black sneakers phoned 911 and paced the asphalt.  A large crowd gathered along the bike path.

It took 8 minutes for an ambulance to get there and I thought how often I’d seen cars and cabs NOT pull off to the side while sirens screamed behind them.  Eight minutes are an eternity when a life is hanging in precarious balance.  No one seemed to be panicking, however, and I surmised that perhaps he was alone.  Maybe he said to his wife that morning, honey, I’m going out for a ride, I’ll meet you at Zabar’s for bagels in an hour.  And he never shows.

The ambulance arrives, and the EMTs climb out slowly, like they’re heading into the deli – no sense of urgency, but I attribute that to the CPR in progress.  He seems to be in capable hands.  The woman continues pumping the fallen man’s chest, her arms stick straight, leaning over his torso with all her weight.  Then I see him take a breath – and briefly I feel relief, until she resumes.  If she’s still working on him, does this mean that breath was involuntary, just a reflex, or is he on his way out of danger?  I wish I knew more.  A fire truck roars down the transverse, honking at the crowd to disperse, and pulls up along side the crashed bicycle.  The truck blocks my view and I leave.

Countless people die every year in New York;  that I was possibly witness to such an incident shakes me as only dying and death can do.  Split second upheaval.  Everything changes instantaneously, and not just for the victim, or the victim’s family and friends.  But all of us are affected, whether we realize it or not.  I feel duty-bound now, a social responsibility to be prepared.  What if someone’s life is at risk, and I am the only one around?

I resolve to learn CPR, first aid, the Heimlich.  I want you to do the same because we are all connected and maybe one day, my life will depend on you.

Posted by Kellie on 22 November 2010

https://offpeaklife.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/a-cyclist-in-limbo/